About Us
Meet Our Team
John Cinque
Team Member
John Cinque is a senior at Carlmont High School. He loves learning about various climate change topics such as consumerism, waste reduction, and food and water sustainability. He is excited to work alongside Connie in organizing the art contest and reviewing submissions! In his free time, he likes to play guitar, go on runs, and watch the Premier League on TV.
Connie Gong
Creator and Team Lead
Connie Gong is a senior at Carlmont High School. She has attended art classes since the age of seven, and has fallen in love with it over the course of the past ten years. In combining her passion for environmental education and art, she worked with her team to create this art contest! During her free time, she enjoys basking in golden hour sun, reading 1920s literature, and making playlists on Spotify.
Michael Chong is a sophomore at Carlmont High School, who is involved in the Youth Climate Ambassadors program. Last year, he was part of the Cross County team, and plans to continue being part of it. He also enjoys playing soccer, and while he does not have much experience for it, coding.
Michael Chong
Team Member
Our members are also currently involved in another project in which they install rain barrels on Carlmont High School’s campus. In doing so, they hope to reduce the amount of rainwater that carries trash and debris into the Bay and instead repurpose it for watering plants and grass fields on campus. Currently, they are working with the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability to buy the necessary supplies and schedule a date for installation. They aim to have the rain barrels installed in late September or early October, just in time for the rainy season. Please check in for more details and pictures soon to come!
Meet the Judges
Youth Climate Ambassadors
Jessica Liu
Jessica Liu is a senior at Carlmont High School. She is passionate about protecting the environment and strives to lead a more sustainable lifestyle. Jessica has attended watercolor classes for five years and has experience teaching kids how to paint at a summer camp, so she is very happy to be working on this project! She also enjoys spending time in the city and exploring new sceneries.
Zoe van Duivenbode
Zoe van Duivenbode works for the County of San Mateo’s Office of Sustainability where she works on environmental policies and climate change education programs. In her free time, Zoe enjoys backpacking, watercolor painting, running with her dog, and baking pies.
Sara Chong is an Animation/Illustration major at San Jose State University. Though her experience in climate activism is limited, she strongly believes in the importance of educating people about it. She hopes that this contest will cause many to be more conscious of their impact on the Earth and what they can do for the future.
Sara Chong
The Youth Climate Ambassadors (YCA) program provides high school students in San Mateo County with the opportunity to learn about environmental issues, such as climate change. In the latter half of the program, students are given the opportunity to create a community impact project with funding from the program.
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This art contest is a YCA community impact project.