‍Greenville, NC

Born in 2005, David Yoon has spent his whole life interested in the environment. As the older he grew, his passion only grew stronger which led him to take initiative and become a youth-leader. Living in Greenville, NC, home of the Tar and Neuse River,  he was able to experience first-hand the effects of plastic pollution in our environment, so he understood the need for change - and quickly became that change. 

Starting in the summer of 2019, David led, engaged, and mentored over 2,500 underserved youth in outdoor STEM-focused environmental activities. As the founder and Executive Director of Plastic Free NC (PFNC), an umbrella organization dedicated to uniting and empowering youth leaders to increase global efforts tackling environmental and social issues. Over the course of a year (2019-2020), he designed and coordinated sticker-campaign promoting sustainable practices led by local businesses, social-media campaign (e.g., #SkipTheStraw); led educational outreach via community reusable bag and bottle giveaway events, public presentations at local city council meetings, environmental rallies, and participated in university sustainability film showings. Recently, David has engaged in local greenway cleanups and helped remove hundreds of pounds. of litter. He has also assisted with teaching thousands of at-risk youth how to ride bikes to maintain active lifestyles and contributed to revitalizing vacant lots into community gardens which utilize sustainable agricultural practices; donating 30,000+ lbs. of produce to 400+ at-risk families. 

Along with his impact, the skills, benefits, and growth that he gained in leading PFNC has inspired him to continue directing it. He has vastly improved his public speaking skills, learned how to lead a team, and— most of all— found his method of giving back to his community and beautiful environment.