History of Sophia Kianni in Timeline
Sophia Kianni is an Iranian-American social entrepreneur and climate activist. She co-founded Phia, a digital fashion app. She also founded Climate Cardinals, the largest youth-led climate nonprofit globally, translating climate information into numerous languages. She has advised the EPA's National Youth Advisory Council and the United Nations, making her the youngest UN advisor in US history. Kianni is a prominent voice in the youth climate movement.
3 hours ago : Sophia Kianni and Phoebe Gates make TIME100 Next list, discuss consumer AI app.
Sophia Kianni and Phoebe Gates were recognized in the TIME100 Next 2025 list. They also discussed their consumer AI shopping app, Phia, at Disrupt 2025, highlighting its innovative features and potential impact.
December 13, 2001: Sophia Kianni's birth
On December 13, 2001, Sophia Kianni, an Iranian-American social entrepreneur, was born.
November 2019: Participation in Extinction Rebellion Protest
In November 2019, Sophia Kianni, at age 17, participated in a protest organized by Extinction Rebellion in Washington, D.C., demanding a conversation with Nancy Pelosi about climate change. She gave a speech, did press interviews, and continued a hunger strike remotely. She also wrote about her participation in Teen Vogue.
2019: Teen Vogue article on Pelosi office hunger strike
In 2019, Kianni wrote an article for Teen Vogue about the Pelosi office hunger strike.
2019: Climate Activism and Fridays for Future
In 2019, Sophia Kianni joined Greta Thunberg's Fridays for Future and took time off school to support climate action. She helped organize the 2019 Black Friday climate strike and became a national strategist for Fridays for Future and national partnerships coordinator for Zero Hour.
May 2020: Launch of Climate Cardinals
In May 2020, Climate Cardinals was launched, attracting 1100 volunteers on its first day and partnering with Radio Javan to share translations with Iranians.
July 2020: Appointment to UN Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change
In July 2020, Sophia Kianni was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to his Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. As the youngest member of the group, she represented the United States, the Middle East, and Iran.
August 2020: Climate Cardinals Volunteer Growth
By August 2020, Climate Cardinals had over 5,000 volunteers, with an average age of 16.
December 2020: Climate Cardinals Partnerships and Reach
By December 2020, Climate Cardinals had 8,000 volunteers and partnerships with UNICEF and Translators Without Borders, reaching over 350,000 people with over 750,000 translated words of climate information.
December 2020: Named one of Vice's Motherboard 20 Humans of 2020
In December 2020, Sophia Kianni was named one of Vice magazine's Motherboard 20 Humans of 2020 for her role as the U.S. representative for the United Nations Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change and for starting Climate Cardinals.
2020: Articles on coronavirus effects
In 2020, Kianni wrote two articles about the effects of the coronavirus, one for Cosmopolitan Middle East about its effects on Nowruz, and another for Refinery29 about its impact on her daily schedule as a climate activist.
2020: Founding Climate Cardinals
In 2020, Sophia Kianni founded Climate Cardinals, a youth-led non-profit organization aimed at providing climate change information in every language, inspired by her experience translating articles for her Iranian relatives.
2020: High school graduation and attendance at Indiana University
In 2020, Sophia Kianni graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and attended Indiana University.
2020: Shift to Remote Activism and Climate Cardinals Development
In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sophia Kianni shifted to remote activism, continuing her activism remotely with her talk at Michigan Technological University. She accelerated the development of Climate Cardinals, a website to translate climate change information into different languages.
September 2021: Co-chair of Youth4Climate event in Milan
In September 2021, Sophia Kianni co-chaired the Youth4Climate event in Milan. Climate Cardinals translated the Youth4Climate manifesto into the 6 official languages of the United Nations.
November 2021: Speaker at COP26
In November 2021, Sophia Kianni spoke at several panels at COP26 in Glasgow and met with António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
December 2021: Named one of Teen Vogue's '21 under 21'
In December 2021, Kianni was named one of Teen Vogue's "21 under 21" for her climate activism.
2021: Hosting a podcast for The New Fashion Initiative
In 2021, Kianni began hosting a podcast for The New Fashion Initiative, interviewing experts involved in the fashion industry about addressing climate change.
2021: Transfer to Stanford University
In 2021, Sophia Kianni transferred to Stanford University to major in Science, Technology, & Society and study climate science and health policy.
October 2022: Featured in Vogue Arabia for COP27 Representation
In October 2022, Sophia Kianni was featured in Vogue Arabia for representing the UN and speaking at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
November 2022: Named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 for Climate Activism
In November 2022, Sophia Kianni was named one of the Forbes 30 Under 30 for Climate Activism for 2023.
2022: Speaking at Several Conferences
In 2022, Kianni spoke at several conferences, including Web Summit and the 2022 Arch Summit.
2022: Article for The Washington Post on sustainable college living
In 2022, Kianni wrote an article for The Washington Post about how she lives sustainably in college.
November 2023: Named to the BBC's 100 Women list
In November 2023, Sophia Kianni was named to the BBC's 100 Women list.
2023: Partnership with Google Cloud AI-powered Translation Hub
In 2023, Climate Cardinals partnered with the Google Cloud AI-powered Translation Hub to translate 800,000 words into 40 languages in three months.
2023: CNN editorial on Alaskan oil drilling with Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate
In 2023, Kianni partnered with Greta Thunberg and Vanessa Nakate to write a CNN editorial criticizing US President Joe Biden's endorsement of the Alaskan oil drilling Willow project.
2023: Board of Directors of the Museum for the United Nations & EPA National Environmental Youth Advisory Council (NEYAC)
In 2023, Sophia Kianni joined the board of directors of the Museum for the United Nations - UN Live, and was appointed to the Environmental Protection Agency National Environmental Youth Advisory Council (NEYAC).
April 2024: Google.org donation to Climate Cardinals
In April 2024, Google.org donated $400,000 to Climate Cardinals, marking one of their initial funding rounds for a youth-led climate organization.
August 2024: Hiring First Full-Time Executive Director for Climate Cardinals
In August 2024, Climate Cardinals hired Hikaru Wakeel Hayakawa, a founding director of Climate Cardinals, as its first full-time Executive Director.
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