Ruby Rorty has always found inspiration in the natural environment, from the rocky coast of her hometown, Santa Cruz, California to the shores of Lake Michigan, where she attends school at the University of Chicago. She has been in the youth conservation movement since 2014, when she founded the Santa Cruz Environmental Alliance, a local environmental organization that seeks to empower young people as ocean advocates. Through SCEA, she coordinated the #nomoremermaidtears social media campaign, implemented the Trashtastic! curriculum, a three-part lesson plan designed to educate elementary school students about plastic pollution, and collaborated with other local groups to host beach clean-ups and other events.

Although local work is at the core of Ruby's advocacy, she has also joined the international conservation community as a youth leader for EarthEcho International, a board member for Climate Sports Student Summits with the Green Sports Alliance, and a public speaker on youth, justice, and the environment at events around the country. Most recently, she has served as a youth leader for delegations like SeaYouthRiseUp and eighteenx18 and since moving from California to attend college, has gotten involved with on-campus research regarding energy policy, sustainable decision-making, and more!

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