Charitie Ropati

Background

About Charitie Ropati

Charitie Ropati (Yup'ik & Samoan) is an Indigenous climate justice advocate and Water engineer. She was newly appointed as a Youth Climate Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General and is a part of the third youth advisory group, becoming one of the first Inuk appointed to this role. She has worked on building pipe infrastructure and water infrastructure for rural Alaska Native communities. She is originally from the Native Village of Kongiganak Alaska, a small coastal community in the Southwest region of Alaska and Anchorage, Alaska. Charitie is a recent graduate from the School of Engineering at Columbia University and holds a bachelors of science in Civil Engineering on the Water Resources track. She was awarded by the World Wildlife Fund as a Conservation Leadership Awardee and has keynoted at the UN ECOSOC Partnership Forum at the United Nations Headquarters, on behalf of her Arctic community. She continues to fight for Indigenous human rights, advocating for the protection of land, water, and sovereignty She also implemented a culturally relevant curriculum in her school district in Alaska and passed a policy that allowed for students to wear their cultural regalia during high school graduation, this work has impacted over hundreds of thousands of students and more to this day. She currently works as a Water Engineer and is the North America Regional Facilitator for the Youth Climate Justice Fund. She is also a part of the United Nations Women's Leader Initiative. And most recently was featured on the 2025 Forbes 30 Under 30 List, under Education for her work with lilnativegirlinSTEM, an organization dedicated to diversifying the STEM field for Native women and girls. For speaking engagements, booking inquiries & more please contact: ropati.charitie@gmail.com