Elsa Mengistu is a strategist and visionary within the social impact industry and the environmental justice movement. She currently serves as the Programs Director for Black Girl Environmentalist where she is building ecosystems of care for Black girls, women, and gender expansive folk. Much of her work is around green job force development, mentorship, and community building.
She was a Founding Member at Generation Green (GG), an intergenerational network, community, and platform that fortifies youth leadership in the environmental liberation movement throughout the African Diaspora. She also served as the Cultural Development and Outreach Specialist in her time with Generation Green.
Her work in environmental justice began when she organized the first ever Global Youth Climate March with This is Zero Hour in 2018. She later went on to serve as both the Partnerships and then the Operations Director for Zero Hour. She organized the Youth climate Justice Summit in Miami which had over 200 attendees and involvement from all 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates.
Elsa recently graduated from Howard University where she worked as an NCAS-M Fellow where did research on the relationship HBCU students have with Climate Change. She was deeply involved on her campus where she served as both the President of Alpha Chapter, Zeta Phi Beta, Sorority, Inc., and the NPHC.
Elsa’s words can be seen on the global stage on various platforms. Her focus is to always uplift and support Black women, girls, and youth in each and every space she is in.