User:Sim-Marcel-Bilal/sandbox

= Kevin J. Patel =

Kevin J. Patel (Born September 23, 2000 ) is a First-Generation Indian-Asian American Intersectional Climate Justice activist. Patel identifies as an Advocate & Organizer for his community as he speaks openly about his experiences as a frontline activist being diagnosed with respiratory issues. He is also the founder and executive director of OneUpAction, an international youth-led nonprofit based in the U.S. that supports and empowers marginalized youth by providing them with the resources they need to be changemakers. He also has been featured in various media outlets, Such as Men’s Health Mag ,Vox, NowThis, Aljazeera , Yahoo News and Insider.

Activism
In 2012, at age 12, Patel was already working with his community teaching his fellow peers about the food inequalities that are present within South LA. Later that year 2013 he was diagnosed with irregular heartbeat/heart palpitations. Growing up with severe heart issues due to Los Angeles’s poor air quality, Kevin is one of the millions of people across the world who are already victims of the climate crisis. Since then Patel has fought as an intersectional climate justice activist for the past eight years. In 2019, he founded OneUpAction International — an organization that supports and empowers marginalized youth by providing them with the resources they need to be changemakers. Through his work with One Up Action, Patel collaborated with the community to create the first of its kind Youth Climate Commission in LA County to amplify youth voices on the climate crisis. Patel is a UN Togetherband Ambassador for Goal 13 and 14 and currently serves as a 2020 National Geographic Young Explorer. Patel also serves on the Youthtopia_world: Circle of Youth council, the ClimatePower2020 council, and the Intersectional environmentalist council. Currently, Patel is pursuing his undergraduate degree in Political Science at Loyola Marymount University. Patel was recently featured in Men's Health Magazine making the 20 in 2020 project.

OneUpAction
OneUpAction is an international youth-led non-profit organization founded by Patel in 2019 to offer support and empower marginalized youth by providing them with the resources they need to be changemakers. It was named “OneUpAction” to encourage youth to step up and “One Up” their actions around climate and for them to go back into their communities and start implementing solutions. Patel was inspired by the many years he has been in the movement and the adversities he had faced within it. OneUpAction is sponsored by March On & March On Foundation as a 501(c)(3) & 501(c)(4) nonprofit, Which allows OneUpAction (OUA) to participate in both political and non-political actions. OneUpAction is built by a group of powerful intersectional youth advocates who realized that just participating in climate strikes, rallies, and legislative advocacy wasn’t enough to solve the climate crisis. In order to see a true impact, we must take our energy to mass mobilize and complement it with innovative solutions. They are the founding members of OneUpAction with the goal of creating a platform in which marginalized young people could get the resources needed to be empowered to take direct action in their own communities to combat the climate crisis when people in positions of power are not.

Personal Life
Kevin J. Patel lives with his father, mother, and older brother, In Los Angeles, California. He has studied at Carver Middle School, where he first began his advocacy. He then went to Santee Education Complex, where he started the first environmental club. As of 2020, he is starting his second year at Loyola Marymount University where he is studying Political Science.