Through our Global Goals Ambassador program, members can leverage their passion for issues within an SDG and engage local and national communities around programming and other activities. During this yearlong program, the Ambassadors receive training from UNA-USA and United Nations Foundation staff to help support their engagement plans, blog posts, workshops, speaking with various audiences, and all other efforts around their SDG. We encourage you to learn more about, and engage with, our new cohort of Ambassadors.

SDG 3 – Good Health and Well-Being

Beverly Isa, MPH

A California native, Ms. Isa is a Harvard educated professional who obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance, and a Master’s Degree in Public Health, with a concentration in Health Promotion and Advocacy. She is passionate about international development and creating equitable health systems for all, regardless of race, creed, or socio-economic status. Ms. Isa has over a decade of experience in finance and accounting, where she works in Revenue Management for the County of Los Angeles. Ms. Isa is also the Creative Director for the African Legacy Awards (ALA), an annual event that recognizes the achievements of those who make a lasting and sustainable impact on the continent. She also serves as a Global Health Coordinator for African Global Alliance (AGA), a non-profit organization which provides free health and education services for high-risk communities in sub-Saharan Africa. In this role she has partnered with international governments, media agencies, and other non-profit organizations, with a focus on building positive dynamic collaborations, while delivering excellent quality of service. Ms. Isa had the distinction of representing Nigeria as an official delegate at the 77th annual United Nations General Assembly (2022) at U.N Headquarters in New York.

SDG 4 – Quality Education

Virgil Parker

Virgil Parker currently serves as the Program Officer for Equity at the Rochester Area Community Foundation. The role allows him to support the foundation’s equity leadership and investment in nonprofits and public sector entities in eight counties across upstate New York. Mr. Parker’s roles enables him to help create equity in education and poverty reduction, and work to foster racial and ethnic understanding and equity. He has the additional responsibility of serving as the Global Goals Ambassador for Sustainable Development Goal #4: Quality Education. Mr. Parker believes that everyone should have the basic human right or accessing quality education, and plans to promote that idea as much as possible. Mr. Parker is a U.S. Fulbright Alum, community advocate and Howard University graduate. He served as a White House HBCU Competitiveness Scholar for the White House Initiative on HBCUs. Mr. Parker has moderated and participated in national and regional conversations regarding a variety of topics such as The Future of HBCUs in the COVID-19 Era, Philanthropic Equity for Minority Serving Institutions, and Bringing Local Governments And HBCUs Together. Additionally, he has been a part of discussions such as Increasing Philanthropic Impact for Communities and Institutions of Color, The United Nations’ 8th Sustainable Development Goal: Decent Work and Economic Growth and more. His work has been included in media outlets such as Forbes, iHeartRadio, Blavity, HBCU Buzz and Diverse Issues In Higher Education. Mr. Parker plans to commit his life to helping others by promoting social equity and supporting underserved communities.

Ilana Drake

Ilana Drake is a nineteen-year-old student, author, and activist from New York, New York. She is a passionate feminist and lover of dialogue. She is a sophomore at Vanderbilt University planning to pursue Public Policy Studies. During high school, Ilana was one of the 25 students on the New York City Department of Education Chancellor’s Student Advisory Council where she worked with stakeholders and policy officials on issues impacting New York City youth. Ilana has also been an advocate for inclusion and students with disabilities through New York City Schools, as well as nationally with Special Olympics as one of 12 Unified Champion Schools Correspondents. During the summer of 2019, Ilana was selected to be a United States Seed in Seeds of Peace, and she returned in the summer of 2022 for the Global Institute in Washington, D.C. In addition to her activism, Ilana’s writing has been published internationally in Ms. Magazine, PBS NewsHour, and The Tennessean. Her poetry has been seen in Chinchilla Lit, WriteGirl’s Lines & Breaks, and Poetry as Promised, among other publications (https://ilanadrake.wixsite.com/portfolio). She has been featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Teen Vogue. Ilana has served as a Formal Delegate for the 66th Commission on the Status of Women Conference and attended the U.S. Youth Consultation for Climate Strategy. She is delighted to be a Global Goals Ambassador for SDG #4.

SDG 5 – Gender Equality

Varsha N., JD

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito.” African proverb Having worked with victims/survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, I have witnessed the impact that trauma has on individuals around the world. It is very important for me to continue to be the voice of women and underrepresented people around the world – It’s an honor to serve as a Global Goals Ambassador on SDG 5 to continue to engage in meaningful dialogue so that others, whether public leaders or the public at large, can become engaged in meaningful dialogue and much needed action. My international experiences providing training sessions and keynotes to women in Rwanda, judges in India, Romania, and Italy amongst other countries on issues related to bias and violence against women further energizes me to continue to elevate voices around the world and also help mentor professionals in relation to the Global Goals Ambassadors program. In addition, training received through courses and certificate programs through Mayo Clinic, Harvard, and Yale on healing mindfulness, wellness, and resiliency have furthered my journey as a Mayo Clinic Trained Wellness Coach helping serve as a guide to professionals who desire to make life changes and live an abundant life. I look forward to engaging with public entities, UNA-USA chapters, and/or UN Foundation partners, as a speaker and ally to address issues related to Survivors of Violence around the world, Healing and Mindfulness, Bias and Communication, Bullying, and much more.

SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities

Safwan Bey

Safwan Bey is a declared Moorish American,a member of the MSTA, and a Human Rights Consultant. He also owns Trinlah a Marketing/Consulting company Safwan Bey is mainly interested in human rights,and ending poverty as a Moorish American he is charged with eradicating poverty by 2032. Safwan choose SDG 10(reduce inequality) because Human Rights are for everyone and everyone deserves to be treated equally no matter race,sex,nationality,or sexual orientation as stated in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He currently is working with Even Though I’m Blind(ETIB) as a Human Rights Consultant to raise awareness of the treatment of the blind and visually impaired and that their human rights matter.

SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities

Jarrett James Lash

Jarrett is a UNA-USA Global Goals Ambassador for Sustainable Development Goal #11, Sustainable Cities and Communities. He is inspired by opportunities to build community coalitions for positive change, create physical value through smart development, and design fiscally responsible solutions for our nation’s top issues. Alongside his fellow SDG #11 GGA, Lash is currently planning the inaugural UNA-USA Smart Growth Summit. The summit will support local government officials in orienting their development strategies to align with the Sustainable Development Goals through a virtual, daylong speaker series from thought leaders across the country. He is currently a founding member and Strategic Growth Lead of Sheltainer Homes, a sustainable, modular housing startup focusing on developing homeless supportive housing communities. Sheltainer Homes has retooled a former Northrop Grumman factory used to produce naval aircraft during WWII into a modern production facility to combat our current housing crisis. He is also the Co-Founder and Policy Director of the Center for Rural Homelessness which advocates for further action in tackling rural homelessness through legislative means and grassroots campaigns. Previously, Lash was a United Nations Academic Impact Millennium Fellow where he focused his research on SDG #11. He has worked in consulting, private equity, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State. Lash is a 2022 graduate of New York University and his senior thesis was “The Politics and Economics of Housing Affordability In the United States.”

Jennifer Borrero

Jennifer Borrero is a first generation American and a daughter of Mexican-Colombian immigrants. She is a social impact advocate based in Los Angeles, CA. Since 2015 she has led programs on international human rights issues, specializing in homelessness and education. From Nicaragua to the Middle East and domestically, she has led programs in the private and public sector. She most recently supported the US Department of Veterans Affairs on their first housing development initiative for unhoused Veterans in Los Angeles. Previously she served as an Implementation Manager at BlackRock, overseeing the implementation of over $40bn USD. Her career began as a management consultant where she focused on government healthcare initiatives, primarily serving the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA. She has also served as a Global Ambassador for TheirWorld and has spoken at The United Nations Transforming Education Summit 2022 on the importance of education. Jennifer has also served as the Chair of Professional Development for the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where she created and led events for the Hispanic members of the cohort. Jennifer is currently a member of the Housing and Homelessness Council for Urban Land Institute where she advocates for sustainable and green housing. She is also the current Vice President of Advocacy for the United Nations Association – Los Angeles chapter. She holds a Masters degree in Healthcare Administration. You can find her running, baking, and surfing in her free time.

SDG 13 – Climate Action

Sophia Kianni

Sophia Kianni is an Iranian-American activist studying Science, Technology, & Society at Stanford University. She is the founder and executive director of Climate Cardinals, an international nonprofit with 9,000 volunteers in 40+ countries working to translate climate information into over 100 languages. She is the youngest person to ever serve as a United Nations advisor. Sophia has amassed a following of over 200,000 across social media platforms and her work has been featured in news outlets including The New York Times, CNN, Vogue, Business Insider, BBC, NPR, ELLE, The Guardian, NBC, and even on the front page of The Washington Post. She won the TED global idea competition and her debut TED Talk has 1.5+ million views. She has been named VICE Media’s youngest Human of the Year, a National Geographic Young Explorer, among Business Insider’s Climate Action 30, one of Teen Vogue’s 21 under 21, and a Forbes 30 under 30 honoree.

Okezue Alexander Bell

Okezue is a current high school senior and climate and education activist. As a Nigerian-American, he is passionate about educating and supporting the BIPOC community and Global South against climate change, supporting intersectional climate action both through science and advocacy. He has advised and partnered with sustainable food, clothing, and civic engagement organizations such as H&M, Perfect Day, #TOGETHERBAND, and more on socially-responsive climate innovation. Bell also hosts STEM and climate workshops for underprivileged youth around the globe, having reached 75,000 students across 80 countries and 36 of the 50 US states with support from the Villars Institute, Google, Softbank, UNICEF, and several other on-ground organizations. Outside of his work in climate, Okezue has conducted biomedical and socio-computational research at Harvard Medical School, the MIT Media Lab, and the Boston Children’s Hospital. He was named Johnson & Johnson’s Grand Prize BioGENEius Winner, 2nd place internationally at the International Science and Engineering Fair, and a Scholar at the Regeneron Science Talent Search. He is also a recipient of the full-tuition 2023 Cameron Impact Scholarship, a Code.org and CSTA CS Hero, and a NASDAQ Face of Entrepreneurship. His social enterprises, Fidutam, a microlending applet for low-income individuals, and WeArm, a low-cost prosthetic, have received over $350,000 in support and impacted over 10,500 amputees and unbanked families. Okezue has spoken at Web Summit, Climate Week NYC, COP27, and more. In 2022, he was honored by Governor Tom Wolf and Vice President Kamala Harris for his humanitarian and scientific efforts.

SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals

Cindy Serrano Roberts

Cindy is a globally recognized Certified Diversity and Inclusion Practitioner who has led the overhaul of policy for 665K service members across the Department of Defense, specifically extending support to women and families around the world. She served as a vital member of the team that established the Department of the Air Forces first-ever Diversity and Inclusion office, providing expert guidance to senior military leaders and political appointees to ensure global reach and readiness. Additionally, she led a service-level working groups to analyze and drive policy inclusive of employees with disabilities and established a Mission Resource Group 100K Airmen and Guardians. She was recognized by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force for her contributions to diversity and innovation. As a Senior Gender Advisor, she drove increased representation for women in public decision-making spaces in foreign militaries and humanitarian missions in the Pacific region. She is a Truman National Security Political Partner and a 2022 DINSN CSIS US National Security & Foreign Affairs Leadership List. As a non-profit founder that seeks to empower women and girls around the world, she leads initiatives around the world to address menstrual hygiene, leadership, and professional development. Cindy serves as a federal advisor to government agencies concerning DEAI and gender equality. Her efforts across all of these areas earned her the UNA (USA) Advocate of the Year 2021.