A lover of the great outdoors, Tia has nordic skied and run competitively since she was small. During 2013-15 her home region of Bend, OR received record low snowfall, which set her on a path of learning more about the changing climate. She saw how the low snowfall led to drought in the summer months, and when she met law professor Mary Wood and heard about Our Children's Trust she was ready for action.

"I didn’t realize my capacity to be heard in the political system growing up, and I assumed the government had my best interest in mind," Tia says. "This is not always the case, and I wish I had known sooner what I could have done."