Kevin Patel

Kevin J. Patel (born September 23, 2000) is an American climate justice activist and community organizer.^[1] Patel has openly shared his experience as a frontline climate activist diagnosed with respiratory issues.^[2] He is also the founder and executive director of OneUpAction, an international youth-led nonprofit based in the U.S. that supports marginalized youth by providing them with resources to create change in their communities.^[3]

Kevin Patel
Patel in 2021
Born	Kevin J. Patel (2000-09-23) September 23, 2000 (age 24) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	Loyola Marymount University
Occupation(s)	Climate justice activist, student
Organization	OneUpAction
Movement	School Strike for Climate, Environmental Movement
Website	https://oneupaction.org/

Early life and education

Kevin J. Patel lives with his father, mother, and older brother, in Los Angeles, California. He grew up in South Central Los-Angeles.^[4] He has studied at Carver Middle School, where he first began his advocacy. He then went to Santee Education Complex, where he started the first environmental club.^[5] In 2019, he was involved in the Youth Climate Strike L.A.^[6][7][8] He was a leader in Fridays for Future Southern California. As of 2020, Patel was starting his second year at Loyola Marymount University^[9][10] where he is studying Political Science.^[11] In 2021, he participated in a panel "Taking Action for People and the Planet."^[12][13]

Activism

In 2012, Patel worked with his community, teaching his fellow peers about food inequalities within South Los Angeles^[14] at Carver Middle School. Later in 2013, he was diagnosed with irregular heartbeat/heart palpitations^[15] which he claims is partially due to Los Angeles’ poor air quality.^[16]

In 2019, he founded OneUpAction International^[17] and through his work, he has collaborated with his community to create the first Youth Climate Commission in Los Angeles County^[18] in efforts to amplify youth voices on the climate crisis. Patel is a United Nations Togetherband Ambassador for Sustainable Develop Goals 13 & 14 and a National Geographic Young Explorer.^[19] Patel serves on the Youthtopia World Circle of Youth Council, Climate Power Advisory Council,^[20] World Economic Forum's 1 Trillion trees U.S. Stakeholder Council,^[21] and the Intersectional Environmentalist Council.^[22] OneUpAction is an intersectional youth-led activist organization founded by Patel in 2019 working to provide resources to youth advocates.