SES Alumni Impact stories
SES has catalyzed thousands of young energy leaders and youth-led energy initiatives. Below are several featured stories from previous SES delegates that showcase the amplification outcomes of attending the 2023 Student Energy Summit:
Kakembo Galabuzi Brian - Uganda
SES 2015 Delegate; SES 2019 Changemaker Panelist
In 2015 Kakembo Galabuzi Brian pitched an idea during the Summit’s Innovation Jam and has since launched his enterprise, Waste to Energy Youth Enterprise (WEYE), which now employs 12 full-time and four part-time staff, with constitutional stoves constructed for 10 schools, 2 poultry farms, and a healthcare centre. Kakembo is also a Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 recipient and sits on Student Energy’s Board of Directors.
Sandra Chavez - Mexico
SES 2009 Delegate, SES 2013 Changemaker Panelist
Sandra Chavez is a Renewable Energy Consultant at The World Bank. Growing up in Mexico, Sandra saw the realities of how people lived in rural areas. As part of her undergraduate education, she visited these communities and helped municipalities develop micro-businesses, which sparked her interest in helping communities move forward.
After attending the 2009 Student Energy Summit, Sandra Chavez began working with REN21 (Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century). Sandra and her colleagues founded Synergy for Development in 2011, a nonprofit organization that is inspired by their multi-cultural backgrounds. Synergy voluntarily advises rural energy projects intending to promote development.
SevenGen & ImaGENation - Canada
SES 2017; SES 2019
Indigenous youth delegates and SevenGen Co-Chairs Cory Beaver and Disa Crow Chief pitched their vision for the Canada-wide Indigenous Student Energy Summit during the Innovation Jam at SES 2017 in Merida, Mexico. This has since developed into two SevenGen Indigenous Youth Energy Summits, the largest gathering of Indigenous Youth on energy in Canada, and ImaGENation, an Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program supporting Indigenous youth across Turtle Island. SevenGen programming has directly supported nearly 400 Indigenous youth to date and brought the first Indigenous-led youth delegation .
Emma Wiesner - Sweden
SES 2015 delegate, SES 2019 Changemaker Panelist
Emma gained a valuable understanding of the international perspective on energy as a delegate at SES 2015. She then became an Energy Market Specialist for Sweco AB. Her experience inspired her to work in the European energy system and ultimately to run for European Parliament in the 2019 election as an engineer wanting to change the energy system politically. Between 2020-2021, Emma served as Vice President for the Swedish Centre Party in Stockholm. In 2021, Emma was elected as a Member of the European Parliament.
Manuel Wiechers - Mexico
SES 2009 Delegate, SES 2017 Changemaker Panelist
Manuel Wiechers sparked his passion at SES 2009, where he first had his idea for an organization he would later co-found – the social enterprise Iluméxico, which builds solar home systems in off-grid areas, providing tools for communities to realize the economic potential of clean energy. Iluméxico has provided energy access to over 100,000 people with over 23,000 solar installations. Manuel is a Forbes Top 30 Under 30 in Energy recipient.
Joshua Migual Lopez - Philippines
SES 2017 Delegate
Attending SES 2017 introduced Joshua to climate and renewable energy work, where he was exposed to changemakers who had pursued leadership roles in shaping the energy future. Joshua works in the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Philippine Office on climate action and renewable energy and created the Renewable Energy Bootcamp or REBOOT, a program that trains youth from various professions to pilot renewable energy projects that also solve development needs in marginalized communities. He also created the Renewable Energy Congress, a national multi-stakeholder conference that unites leaders from politics, local government, industry, academia, and civil society to develop catalytic projects and accelerate the energy transition in the Philippines.