Lauren Castelino | Markham, Ontario
At only 20, Lauren is already a changemaker. Soon after she graduated from high school, she founded a youth-led non-profit organization called Pitch It Green. At Pitch It Green, Lauren has reached 5500+ people, through organizing, attending and speaking at several events and workshops focused on sustainable business education. When the pandemic hit, Lauren also founded Wholistic Wellness Collective, a wellness group for low-income womxn now at 55+ members. In coupling her volunteer and business pursuits, she was named one of Corporate Knights’ Top 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders, a recipient of Toronto’s Urban Hero Awards in the environmental category, and has received a signed certificate of recognition from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. As a third year International Studies and Business student at York University’s Glendon campus, Lauren hopes to use her bilingual and multidisciplinary education to further her impact for the benefit of people and planet.
About the Sustainability Spotlight Summit
In February this year, Lauren attended the Sustainability Spotlight Summit organized by the Global Spotlight Foundation, where she learned more about the climate crisis. She listened to inspiring speakers such as Elizabeth May, Lilah Williamson, and Barb McHanon. As an ICN Youth Delegate, she crafted a pantoum embedded in an art piece to reflect on her lived experiences and insights from the event. With vivid water colours and metaphoric symbols, Lauren hopes to paint a picture on how we can get closer to achieving a more sustainable and just world.