Speaking Engagements

UN Women Panelist

In March 2016, Sienna had her first major public speaking engagement at the Delegates’ Dining Room at the UN’s NYC HQ. As the representative for the 2015 cohort of Global Community Champions, she was a co-panelist with Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women; The Honorable Carolyn Bennett MP; and Sarah Personette, VP of Facebook’s Global Business Marketing.

Photo credit: UN Women/Ryan Brown

International Delegate - 2016, 2017, & 2018 Vatican Youth Symposiums

Jointly hosted by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (PAS) and SDSN Youth, these annual conferences brought together fifty leaders in a variety of areas of sustainable development to form collaborative partnerships. Sienna was asked to present before the VYS panel (made up of Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Monsignor Sánchez Sorondo, and Dr. Betsee Parker) all three years. At the 2017 VYS, Sienna lead efforts to establish 2030 Today, while seeking funding from the UN and PAS supporters.

Photo Credits: PAS/Gabriella Marino

Keynote Speaker & Panelist - 2016, 2017, & 2018 AYUDH Americas Youth Parliaments

AYUDH, an international youth organization with chapters around the world, brought together hundreds of representatives from their Americas chapters to this week-long event in Chicago, IL. At the Youth Parliaments, Sienna delivered keynote addresses on the SDGs and the importance of youth to global action. She also led a political economy exercise while participants planned sustainability initiatives and goals for the year ahead, and led panels on financing the SDGs.

Photo Credits: Mata Amritanandamayi/AYUDH Americas

Georgia Tech University's Greater Atlanta UN SDGs Young Leaders Panel

Sienna was the UN RCE of Greater Atlanta’s Youth Network Representative at this March 2018 event. Sienna was a co-panelist with Trisha Shetty, founder of SheSays; and Rainier Mallol, President of AIME. Both Trisha and Rainier are the UN’s official Young Leaders for the SDGs.

World Youth Day 2019 Workshop

Sienna co-led SDSN Youth’s renewable energy and sustainable innovation workshops at World Youth Day 2019 in Panama City, Panamá. The event was co-lead by Nicolás Palacio Serrano, SDSN Youth’s Network Coordinator for the Andes. Nico and Sienna were tremendously assisted by Daniela Guevara, Selena Jimenez, David Carchipulla, Martin Velez, and Maria Jose De La Torre; SDG Coordinators and volunteers with SDSN Andes. The event brought together Catholics from Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Panamá, and Germany. The event was hosted in both English and Spanish.

World Bank Group and IMF Annual Meetings 2023

Sienna spoke on a panel with Martin Mühleisen (former Chief of Staff to IMF Managing Director Lagarde) and Mark Sobel (former Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Treasury) to honor the launch of Mühleisen’s The Bretton Woods Institutions under Geopolitical Fragmentation report with the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center. Sienna also presented the preliminary research findings for her own policy report – Governance Reforms of the Bretton Woods Institutions – with her co-author, Joël Christoph. She and Joël also presented their preliminary findings to the IMF Youth Fellows and received their constructive comments, criticism, and feedback.