Veronika is an engagement innovator, community builder and collaborative climate action strategist. She is currently Lead, City Transformations at Demos Helsinki, a global non-for-profit think tank on a mission to support governments and institutions towards a sustainable, fair and joyful next era. Veronika is the Co-Founder CityHive, a social enterprise on a mission to transform the way that youth are engaged in civic processes, planning and decision making in their cities. In her 8 years as Executive Director of CityHive, the team has grown to 16 staff and having engaged over 25,000 youth in a decision making process through hands on civic and environmental programs. Veronika holds an MPA in Innovation and Public Policy from UCL's Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, where she focused on public sector innovation for climate transitions.
She was awarded as a Top 25 Under 25 Environmentalist in Canada in 2015 and has delivered a TEDxYouth talk on Urban Sustainability. She was an Innovation Fellow with RADIUS and served as a Commissioner on Vancouver's City Planning Commission, on the Board of CityStudio Vancouver and the Board of Urbanarium. She is passionate about creating more sustainable, youthful and liveable cities, and amplifying the engagement of youth in addressing city challenges.