About us
Fifty Percent is a youth-led media start-up working and digital magazine, which focuses on empowering youth to tell their stories on sustainability topics they are passionate about. Our initiative is a part of the Global Youth Engagement Program and runs in partnership with the Club of Rome and the Pennsylvania State University Sustainability Institute.
We are a community of writers, journalists, and digital communication aficionados.
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We believe that storytelling has the power to connect, inspire, and catalyze change. We have a project vision to:
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Cultivate a global platform for youth to share their stories in relation to sustainable development.
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Amplify voices that are often overlooked by developing an inclusive and diverse community of storytellers.
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Establish a mentorship program with workshops that empower storytellers to identify and build upon their skills to confidently communicate about local and global issues
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Catalyze critical thought, reflection, and action from audience members through the exposure of new perspectives and stories told by youth from all corners of the world.
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Partners
The Club of Rome
The Club of Rome is a global think-tank made-up of 100 members consisting of former heads of state and government, UN administrators, high-level politicians and government officials, diplomats, scientists, economists, and business leaders. It aims to address the multiple social and environmental crises humanity and our planet are currently facing. Learn more about the Club of Rome here.
Penn State University Sustainability Institute
The Sustainability Institute at Pennsylvania State University is an integral part to the movement of making the University more sustainable. The framework of it's work is integrated in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, aiming to advance issues that affect people, planet, shared prosperity, peace, and partnerships for current and future generations. You can read more about their work here.
Executive Board
Kristen Miller
Editor-in-Chief | Executive Director
Kristen is a third-year student from Pennsylvania in the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State University. She is studying Global & International Studies (B.A.), Latin American Studies (B.A.), Labor & Employment Relations (B.A.), and Spanish (B.A.), with a minor in Portuguese. Her interests include human rights, youth empowerment, foreign affairs, diplomacy, cultural competency, civic engagement, and social justice. Apart from coursework or extracurricular commitments, she spends her free time hiking and thrifting. She also enjoys bullet journals, the beach, bubble tea, photojournalism, documentaries, and card games.
Vanessa Terschluse
Editor-in-Chief | Executive Director
Vanessa is a recent MEnv Sustainability and Environmental Management graduate from the University of Leeds, where she wrote her dissertation titled 'A Political Ecology Approach to Community-Based-Conservation: Evaluating the role of NGOs as agents of development'. Growing up in Brazil and witnessing large-scale environmental destruction as well as staggering inequality, she has developed an interest for alternative societies in which humanity and the planet can thrive together.
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Incredibly passionate about environmental justice and the power of communication, Vanessa is currently working with Greenhouse Communications in the advocacy team in preparation for COP26. In her free-time, she enjoys reading, drinking coffee with friends and being in nature.
Paula Hirschgänger
Mentorship Coordinator
Originally from Northern Germany, Paula moved to Glasgow in 2017 to study International Fashion Branding which resulted in her falling in love with Scotland’s nature and people. She decided to stay longer and is currently studying Supply Chain and Sustainability Management in Glasgow along with being a mentorship coordinator for Fifty Percent. Her three big passions are the environment, sustainable fashion and food, so you will find her hiking or mushroom foraging in the Scottish Highlands, making the most out of her closet, cooking at home or trying out new restaurants.
Branko Andric
Partnership Coordinator
Branko joined Fifty Percent in August 2021. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from Kingston University and a master’s degree in International Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation from University of Warwick. Immediately after graduation he started his career within financial industry. During his education he developed passion towards economic empowerment and inclusion of different schools of thought in economics curricula. His other interests are ESG Investing, sustainable development and volunteering.
Anushka Agnihotri
Partnership Coordinator
Anushka Agnihotri is currently pursuing B.Tech Computer Science & Engineering. She is from India. Her interests include sustainability, climate change, clean energy and social issues. Her name means "Ray of Light" as well as "Lightening" and she feels that her passion to help people goes along with her name. In high school she was the house captain and in college she took over the responsibilities of social media co-lead, sponsorship and research team of clubs. She loves to take part in debate and case-study competitions. She is an avid reader and a Twilight fan. Her belief is to try out new things and be a lifelong learner. She hopes to bring a change however small may it be but believes strongly to help the world take a step forward.
Kieran Price
Fellowship Facilitator
Kieran Price is a recent graduate from the University of Leeds’ BA Politics and MA Political Communication programmes. He has a rich experience in progressive political advocacy around such issues as Universal Basic Income, Voting Reform, and now Climate and Sustainability as part of the wonderful Fifty Percent. He is the Fellowship Facilitator here at Fifty Percent, building global communities, and finding common ground that we can all stand on in our pursuit of a brighter, more equitable future for our planet.
Ninna Catipon
Fellowship Facilitator
Ninna is a 21-year-old stubborn climate optimist. She is currently taking her bachelor’s in Environmental Science at the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines.
Although she grew up with family working in the environmental sector, her involvement in environmental advocacy began when she was 14 after coming across a mini-documentary that showed the impact of the agriculture industry on the planet. After delving into various environmental issues and taking on leadership positions in youth-run organizations, she found her passion and love for creating spaces wherein young people can tell stories to discover and discern their role in the environmental movement.
Her other interests include indigenous knowledge in biodiversity conservation, community-based solutions to climate change, and youth involvement in policy. When not engaging in advocacy work, she loves cooking vegan food for her family.
Jeremy Alvarez
Editor
Jeremy Alvarez is a photographer, musician and storyteller from the Philippines. As a child he grew up around stories. Whether it was the recounting of his mother's time in Africa while her father worked for the United Nations, to the influx of people from different cultures sharing stories while passing through his family's home - he'd find a love for the world and people.
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He graduated with a degree in Behavioral Sciences majoring in Organizational and Social Systems Development. Jer's passionate about human rights, the environment, and fighting inequalities. He aims to use his love for writing, music and photography to encourage people to be themselves, stand up for what they believe in, and fight to make this planet a better place.​
He also has a band and plays three instruments. You can check out his portfolio here.
Hasheemah Afaneh
Editor
Hasheemah Afaneh, MPH is a Palestinian-American writer and public health professional. You can find her work in the Fair Observer, HuffPost, Shado Magazine, Rusted Radishes, The Markaz Review, Sinking City Literary Magazine among others. She's passionate about social justice, Palestine, and forming community. She loves being with the people she loves and listening to podcasts in the morning.
To find more of her work, you can visit her website or follow her on twitter.
Bodil Stald Lund
Editor
Bodil is 27 years old, from Denmark, and currently lives in Aarhus. She has a degree in Philosophy with a minor in Economics and Cultural Studies, with which she plans to become either a corporate slave until she has enough money to change the world or a struggling idealist working tirelessly for the greater good. Her daytime job is currently within sustainable marketing and communication. She has a passion for coffee, wine, green cities, creative profanities, and making knowledge and thoughts about sustainability accessible.
Maja Jakobs
Social Media Assistant
Maja recently graduated from the University of Leeds where she studied Sustainability and Environmental Management. Being passionate about tackling climate change whilst exploring complex human/environment relationships, she wrote her dissertation on ‘experiencing climate change: An investigation into the attribution of extreme weather events and their influence on climate change’, with a focus on the Australian ‘Black Summer’ bushfires. Her interests lie within reading psychology books, learning new languages, traveling the world, exploring new cultures, and finding unique items in charity/second-hand shops. Additionally, Maja is very interested in and passionate about self-development and strongly believes in lifelong learning.
Her biggest dreams and hopes are to actively and meaningfully contribute to a better future, both environmentally and socially.