Venika Menon

Venika Menon's work sits at the intersection of civic policy, urban mobility, and youth leadership. Before joining the Learning for Action Fellowship, she was already managing projects related to youth advocacy for sustainable mobility and urban resilience. Her passion for understanding the field more deeply and connecting these themes to the broader conversations around just transition, climate finance, and mitigation and adaptation strategies led her to join the Uakaris cohort in January 2026. Through the fellowship, she gained a clearer perspective on the urgency of global coordinated climate action and a passion for hopeful, action-oriented climate communication, alongside connecting with professionals from the various niches of the climate spectrum. One of the tools she was introduced to during the fellowship was Climate Fresk, and she later went on to train as a facilitator for the game. At a time of unprecedented AI expansion, Venika also joined the Terra.do Studio Fellowship, to further her comprehension of the impact and potential uses of the technology on climate change. Currently, she leads the climate vertical at Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC), designing and running youth fellowships and policy engagement programmes that translate environmental issues into concrete civic action, from national climate solutions incubators to sectoral convenings. As a Yellow Belt Climate Fresk Facilitator, she has been conducting workshops in her community, using the tool as a grounding to make climate systems legible to audiences who are new to the issue. She continues to build direct lines between citizen action and policymakers, with a focus on translating public demand into measurable and equitable regulatory and institutional outcomes.