Kelly Crepaldi Chaves
Brazil, 19
She/Her
Project: The Girls' Biology Olympiad (OFB)
A science competition in high school opened doors Kelly never knew existed for a girl growing up in rural Brazil. She founded the Girls' Biology Olympiad (OFB) to make science education accessible to girls across Latin America and equip them to build climate solutions. Working primarily with underfunded schools, OFB runs climate science workshops, research tracks where girls design their own solutions, and themed competitions tied to real environmental challenges, awarding seed funding to the strongest ideas. In its first year, OFB directly engaged 10,000 students and reached 4,000 more through free, open-source educational resources. Partnering with national governments, OFB now operates across 11 Latin American countries and Spain. Kelly is now launching a school club program to make hands-on science a permanent fixture rather than a one-time event.