In this episode, we continue the shift from speaking to scholars across the country to speaking to young leaders who have decided not to wait for change to happen.

Dr. Joe Bishop unpacks with Shiva Rajbhandari his decision to run for his district’s school board in Boise, Idaho and his passion for raising awareness about the climate crisis.

Road trips after graduation are a rite of passage for many young people. However, Shiva and his friends give it new meaning by using it as an opportunity to educate others about climate change and the impact it has had on his home state of Idaho. He has decided that his age will not limit his ability to advocate for climate justice. He won’t sit idly by when there is work that needs to be done to make our country a better place.

Why are we afraid to see young people as policy shapers? How can we actively make room for age-diverse leadership in policy spaces?

Special Guest: Shiva Rajbhandari was elected to his district’s school board in September 2022 as a student at Boise High. He is currently an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Shiva has been a community organizer since 9th grade, working on climate change, gun violence, and voting rights issues. As the first student to ever serve on the Board, he is passionate about mental health, supporting teachers, and sustainability approaches in schools.

Shiva is a member of the Idaho Climate Literacy Education Engagement and Research executive committee at Boise State University. He volunteers for BABE VOTE, Youth Salmon Protectors, Reclaim Idaho, and the Idaho Climate Justice League. Before his election to the Board, he served on the Boise Schools Sustainability Committee and on the Boise High Student Council. Shiva works as the Youth Engagement Coordinator at the Idaho Conservation League. In his spare time, Shiva loves to run, ski, and fish in wild Idaho.

Check out his Instagram @shiva_rajbhandari and Twitter @_Shiva_R.

Our Children Can't Wait is a podcast by the Center for the Transformation of Schools in the School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA. Dr. Joe Bishop (Twitter @joepbishop) is the host. Elizabeth Windom is the Producer. Julia Windom is the Associate Producer. Geneva Sum is the Creative Director, and Senior Producer is Jay Woodward. Our Children Can't Wait is a companion to the book of the same name, Our Children Can't Wait. Available now from Teachers College Press and Amazon. Our Children Can't Wait is produced by Windhaven Productions and Bluejay Atlantic.

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