Xiuhtezcatl Martinez

Xiuhtezcatl Martinez first emerged as a prominent activist for protesting the impacts of the fossil fuel industry in his Colorado community. At 15, he gained worldwide recognition when he became the youngest person to address the United Nations General Assembly on the topic of climate change, and months later, joined twenty other youth to sue the federal government for failing to act on the climate crisis. Xiuhtezcatl’s activism and music is grounded in his Indigenous Xochilmica roots as well as his lived experience growing up in a working-class, immigrant household.

In his early adulthood, Xiuhtezcatl has grown a global platform to uplift community-led solutions to the climate crisis through a combination of art, storytelling and creative organizing. He is the face of global sustainability campaigns with brands like Nike, Dr. Martens and Levi’s, and serves as a social impact advisor to Seventh Generation. Xiuhtezcatl has delivered speeches at over 100 conferences, institutions and schools across the world, and his two books, "We Rise" and "Imaginary Borders," are taught in thousands of classrooms.

He has made hundreds of press appearances, including on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Real Time with Bill Mahr, PBS Newshour, CNN, MSNBC and Univision. He holds dozens of awards and is listed on TIME Magazine’s “30 Under 30 List” and Rolling Stone’s “25 Under 25.”