John

John Abad is the 17-year-old president of Save Our Planet, an environmental non-profit dedicated to promoting sustainable development through scientific research and the formation of young leaders.

Working with other non-profits, John recruited volunteers from businesses, schools, churches, and city worker units and managed large beach and river cleanups involving as many as 2,300 participants. To raise awareness about the effects of plastic pollution, John would talk with the volunteers about the importance of environmental protection and discuss it with authorities like the Peruvian Minister of the Environment about the issue.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, John engaged in extensive data collection and scientific research on the most polluted beach in Peru. Furthermore, he has documented river pollution in the Andes and the Amazon Rainforest. Due to all these efforts, John has received recognitions such as Action for Nature’s International Young Eco-Hero Award and Plastic Tides’ Global Youth Leadership Award.

His dream is to expand environmental consciousness by creating “an army of positive environmental leaders today to ensure that tomorrow we’ll keep our beloved Earth healthy.”

Apart from his environmental advocacy, John is a student at Vanderbilt University pursuing a double major in Computer Science and Economics. Passionate about technology and AI, John has authored the book The Gateway to the Future: AI, presented at the World Summit on Political Communication, to empower young people to become STEM leaders.