Growing Green Leaders is led by Founder-Chairman Steve Bender. The strategic partners below lead the organizations that power the program.
Steve Bender
Steve Bender is a global sustainability leader and strategic advisor with decades of experience turning environmental goals into practical, measurable impact across business, government, and civil society.
He serves as CEO of Sea 2 Sky Solutions, an international consulting firm helping organizations across six continents develop sustainability strategies, partnerships, and growth plans, and as CEO of The 7 Seas Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting the world's oceans. Steve is also Global Head of Strategic Partnerships at EarthX and founder of The Environmental Xperience, a new global sustainability event series.
As President of the Rotary Club of Newport Beach and Director of the Rotary Climate Action Team, he supports environmental projects across more than 1,700 Rotary clubs. A certified Master Diver, Steve brings both professional expertise and personal commitment to every partnership he builds — including Growing Green Leaders, which he prepared and leads as Founder-Chairman.
Bio adapted from rcatnow.com/steve-bender. Contact: steve@stevebender.net
Leia Lowery
Leia is the co-founder and Executive Director of The Climate Initiative, where she has spent 30 years building educational programs that connect young people to the places they live. Her work is rooted in the belief that meaningful climate action starts locally, and that young people are more likely to show up for a place they actually know.
A teacher, curriculum developer, and national speaker and trainer, Leia has spent her career helping young people develop the skills and confidence to act in the face of the climate crisis. For over 11 years she has brought those same skills to the Kennebunk Rotary Club (District 7780). She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science from Virginia Tech and is completing her PhD in Policy and Education Leadership at the Muskie School of Policy, University of Southern Maine.
Within Growing Green Leaders, Leia oversees the TCI Climate Action Leadership Program (CALP) foundation — Lessons 1–3 — that every division of the program is built on.
Bio adapted from rcatnow.com/leia-lowery.
Morgan Baker
Morgan joined CAVU in June 2025 as Education Director, bringing eight years of classroom experience teaching middle school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Boise, Idaho. As Education Director, she leads the development and implementation of the Climate Innovation Challenge (CIC).
Morgan earned her BS in Rehabilitation Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a Master's in Education after serving with AmeriCorps. She discovered CIC while teaching 6th and 7th grade Design in Boise, where it became a cornerstone of her classroom before she joined CAVU's staff to work on curriculum full-time.
Within Growing Green Leaders, Morgan oversees the CAVU storytelling and video toolkit — Lessons 4–5 — that translates student climate action plans into short films for the High School Video Track.
Bio adapted from cavu.org/people/morgan-baker.
Rebecca VanArnam
Rebecca is an environmental educator and researcher passionate about making science meaningful, equitable, and accessible to young people. She earned degrees in Marine Science & Biology and Spanish from the University of Miami, with experiences ranging from marine conservation in the Florida Keys and Galápagos Islands to environmental education and youth programming in New Jersey.
Rebecca currently serves as Director of Program Operations at Climate Advocates Voces Unidas (CAVU), where she manages the day-to-day logistics of the Climate Innovation Challenge, leads the youth advisory board, and supports classrooms across the country.
She is also pursuing her PhD in Environmental Science Education at the University of California, Davis. Across all of her work, Rebecca is especially interested in building stronger connections between scientists, educators, students, and communities while creating more inclusive pathways into science and conservation.
Bio adapted from cavu.org/people/rebecca-vanarnam.
Ariel Maldonado
Ariel is The Climate Initiative's Youth Engagement Manager and leads the teaching of the Climate Action Leadership Program for Growing Green Leaders. Since 2018 she has dedicated herself to teaching youth about climate change, and she advocates for learning about both the climate sciences and the social implications of climate change and its solutions.
Ariel has a background in Fine Arts and uses her creativity to the fullest when working out how to educate, excite, and activate youth to engage with the climate crisis.
Based in Los Angeles, Ariel has seen firsthand the disproportionate impact climate change has on communities, and she works to educate others on the less obvious impacts of climate change. She is formally trained as a ceramicist and currently works as a sculptural artist using upcycled materials, weaving sustainability into both her art practice and the materials she chooses.