Columbia University Biodiversity Club

Columbia University has a Climate School, whose goal is to drive climate change solutions across disciplines and fields through Interdisciplinary work. The Biodiversity Club lead by President Leilani Salas focuses on biodiversity loss and potential solutions.

This initiative highlights how college students can take meaningful action to better our planet’s health through inspiring projects.

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"Columbia Biodiversity Club serves as an instigator to galvanize multidisciplinary collaboration and innovative problem-solving aimed to halt or reverse biodiversity loss in New York City and its impacts to residents, with prioritization for the needs of communities facing environmental injustice.

This hub will serve to mitigate the (5) main drivers of biodiversity loss (climate change, overexploitation, pollution, habitat loss, and invasive species). While focus will be on New York City, localized biodiversity-positive actions can produce broader impacts, thus providing the opportunity to advance biodiversity-positive outcomes beyond New York City."

About Leilani Salas, Columbia University Biodiversity Club, President

Sustainability management professional with experience in ESG strategy, climate risk assessment, and corporate sustainability consulting. Skilled in GHG accounting, life cycle assessment (LCA), impact investing, and cross-cultural stakeholder engagement across Latin America and global contexts. I bring an equity-centered approach to the complex intersection of environmental health, sustainability, and impact. Currently completing my MS in Sustainability Management at Columbia University, where I serve as President of both the Biodiversity Club (2025 Student Organization of the Year) and Women and Sustainability.

I lead strategic ESG consulting projects for maritime logistics and clean energy startups, specializing in cross-sector collaboration, stakeholder engagement, sustainability, circular economy solutions, and climate resilience strategies that drive systems-level change.