EE 30 Under 30 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If you're being nominated by someone else, you'll be asked to submit an introduction video (90 seconds max) and written responses to a few questions. Please take a close look at the full application, whether you are nominating yourself or someone else, to understand the requirements.

If you're nominating yourself, you'll need to submit an introduction video (90 seconds max) and written responses to a few questions, as well as send a request to a reference for a letter of support. Please take a close look at the full application, whether you are nominating yourself or someone else, to understand the requirements.

We highly encourage nominees in any role and across sectors and disciplines to apply. Take a look at the profiles of past awardees to see the variety of roles held by our EE 30 Under 30 alumni. Even if you don’t see your EE role represented in our alumni, we encourage you to apply!

We welcome nominees who are:

• Working at any scale: local, national, regional, or global, in urban or rural contexts, just to name a few!
• In any position or role: community organizer, director, consultant, artist, teacher, and much more.
• Using education in any context: in schools, businesses, communities, church groups, networks, government, the media—you name it!

• Learn more about EE and why it matters here.
• Read about the founding principles of EE from the Tbilisi Declaration.

• We broadly think of leadership as leading change and inspiring others in your community, organization, or network. Leadership covers a wide diversity of traits, and we encourage you to describe in your nomination what uniquely makes you a leader. Check out our blog about leadership in EE here.
• Some examples of showing leadership can include:
• Building partnerships and fostering collaboration
• Promoting a clear, shared vision for change in your community
• Adapting to change and uncertainty
• Finding innovative solutions to challenges
• Welcoming everyone to participate and engage
• Mentoring or coaching others
• Listening to the needs of your community, colleagues, or others

You can submit more than one nomination (e.g. yourself and someone else, or nominate two different people), but you must submit a separate nomination for each person. 

• Must be 30 years old or younger on May 12, 2025
• Must use environmental education in their work. Learn more about EE and why it matters here.
• Must demonstrate leadership through their work.Check out our blog about leadership in EE here.
• Must be able to complete the application in English. 

Awardees are selected from a thorough review process. Reviewers include EE professionals, including EE 30 Under 30 alumni, from all over the world and many different backgrounds. Within each class, we aim to award young leaders from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, roles, and identities.

Applicants can be located anywhere in the world!

Yes! Your submission will not be judged based on your English language ability.

• Use concrete examples that demonstrate your (or the nominee’s) leadership and environmental education impact.
• Include as much detail as possible within the word count.
• Avoid listing past awards or recognitions—focus instead on your EE work and impact.
• Overall, tell us your story. We want to learn about your EE efforts, but also about the person behind it and how you got to where you are today.
• Watch the recording of our 2025 Applicant Webinar to learn more about the program and some tips for submitting a strong nomination. 

• Talk to the camera and keep it simple! We discourage you from adding graphics, videos, or music—just you in front of the camera is perfect.
• Keep it short. The video can only be a maximum of 90 seconds, so think carefully about what you want to include.
• Make it personal. We want to get to know you and your passions, what drives you, and what led you down this path.
• Ensure a quiet background. Listen to your video before uploading to make sure you can hear yourself! If you want to record outside, that’s fine, but find a quiet place.
• Make sure your lighting is good! We won’t judge your submission based on video quality, but our reviewers should be able to hear and understand you clearly in the video.
• Make sure your video is free of copyrighted material. Any music or photos used in your pitch must be free of copyright. Please provide links or other proof that any third-party content used in your pitch is copyright-free.

• If you are nominating yourself, it is required to submit a letter of support. In the application, there is a section where you can add the email of a reference who can speak to your EE efforts. Your reference will receive a form via email, where they will submit this letter.
• If you are nominating someone else, it is required that you add the email of  the person you are nominating in order for them to submit a short video and letter. In the application, there is a section where you can add the email of your nominee. Your nominee will receive a form via email, where they will submit their nomination materials.
• Letters of support are due May 12, so we recommend submitting your request to them early in the nomination process.
• See the “Letter of Support” section of the online application for instructions. You can submit your request for a letter of support before you are ready to submit your nomination. Simply enter their email and click “send request,” and you can continue filling your nomination. 

• If you are nominating yourself, we will accept a letter of support from your reference in a language other than English, though English is preferred.
• If you are nominating someone else, the letter of support from your nominee must be submitted in English. The video can be submitted in a language other than English, but must include an English transcript or subtitles. 

• If you are nominating yourself, you can only request one letter of support from one reference.
• If you are nominating someone else, you can only request a video and letter of support from one nominee per nomination. 

Your introduction video can be in a language other than English, however, your submission must include an English transcript or subtitles. If your video includes words that are not translatable to English, please write out the full spelling of the word in the subtitle or transcript.

If you haven’t already submitted your application, you can cancel your previous reference request and send a new one. If you’ve already submitted your application, email us at ee30u30@naaee.org and we can  help you cancel the request and send a new one.

We treat both types of nominations equally. If you're deciding between nominating yourself or asking someone to nominate you, we encourage you to consider how your story and experiences will be most effectively communicated. If you are nominating yourself, you will be required to invite a reference to provide a letter of support. If you are nominating someone or being nominated by someone, the nominee will need to provide a brief video and letter of support.

We encourage nominators/nominees to submit just one nomination per nominee. We do this because nominees are required to submit a video and additional information even when nominated by someone else. The selection panel does not take into consideration how many nominations a nominee has, but rather the content of their nomination.

If you are nominating someone else, only you will be notified of the status of your application. All applicants will be notified by August 2025.

Unlike past years, we no longer accept supplemental documents, such as photographs, in the application. However, there is a section of the application that allows you to include links to your affiliations, social media, web pages, etc. 

You do not need to include links to your social media—in fact, you don’t need to have a social media presence in order to be selected as an EE 30 Under 30 awardee! That being said, there is a section of the application that allows you to include links to your affiliations, social media, and web pages, should you prefer to include those.

We welcome nominees from all backgrounds and abilities. If you and/or your nominee (if nominating someone else) are an individual with a disability, you may request a reasonable accommodation if you are unable or limited in your ability to apply for EE 30 Under 30 using the online application. You can request reasonable accommodations by contacting ee30u30@naaee.org. 

EE 30 Under 30 is a community that thrives on virtual engagement from its alumni and awardees. If you are recognized as an EE 30 Under 30, we'll initially need your help compiling your information to share on our website and social media, and we also ask that you attend a virtual orientation. While there is no set time commitment beyond that, we hope those in the EE 30 Under 30 community will continue to engage with the network by sharing resources or opportunities, providing updates about their work, attending virtual community calls, etc. EE 30 Under 30 alumni and awardees also receive various opportunities to attend or present at NAAEE conferences or other speaking events, review for future programs, and more.

Nominees who would like to be considered for a joint EE 30 Under 30 Award can indicate so on their application. Joint nominations will only be considered for nominees with very closely aligned initiatives/experiences (for example, co-founders or colleagues). If you’re applying for consideration of a joint EE 30 Under 30 Award, please indicate so in your application, including the name of the joint nominee. Each nominee is required to submit their own nomination—joint nominees will need to individually nominate themselves or be nominated by someone else.

Please email your questions or concerns to ee30u30@naaee.org.