2026 UNGA/Climate Week NYC Round Up

OLN Annual Meet Up

The OLN hosted its annual UNGA/Climate Week meet up in New York on September 21. The meetup was held in partnership with the Open Society Foundation who hosted us in Midtown to gather 75 OLN members across issues and sectors. 

This is a natural reunion moment for the entire global leadership network. We had registrants from 31 out of all 32 program alumni cohorts to date! A majority of those in attendance were from Leaders USA and Voyagers, but all programs were represented, with a wide range from inaugural program alumni (2018 cohorts) up to a few of the newest of current participants.

We were also joined by several guests, including other members of the Obama Foundation Staff, members of the Open Society Foundation, the Resilient Futures Fund, Three Cairns), and guests from partner network L-Hub. 

Attendees learned about and connected with a menu of engagement opportunities across the OLN, including Peer Groups and new Communities of Practice sprints. As a result of this event, we also exceeded the threshold of now having more than 1,000 OLNers in our opt-in global WhatsApp community! 

The evening culminated with a short speech from Ben Rhodes, who spoke about finding hope in increasingly precarious times. He reflected on the power of giving people a sense of agency and the chance to act on their values, in times where many feel a pervasive sense of powerlessness. He emphasized the need to imagine new solutions rather than attempting to repair past systems, and urged attendees to use this Network as a way to build those together. The discussion concluded with reminders of leadership and hope as active choices to make especially in challenging times. 

Partner Events

Members of the OLN were invited to a special coffee hour with Three Cairns, which brought together members of the three different networks they fund. OLN members Hong Hoang (Scholars 2018-2019), Jeremy Orr (Leaders USA 2023), Christian Vanizette (Scholars 2019-2020), and Liangyi Chang (Leaders Asia-Pacific 2019) met members of Columbia’s MBA - Business and Climate Change Program and members of Yale’s Climate Program for the Global South. Mark Gallogly made special remarks where he called out Hong’s story as a testament to the strength and importance of these networks. 

In recent years, the 12 annual Obama Scholars at Columbia University received free passes (valued at $895 each) to attend the Concordia Summit from Libra Philanthropies. Given the sunsetting of that program, we were able to have about 15 OLN members attend the Concordia Summit instead. In addition, Libra Philanthropies hosted OLN staff and members Josephine Goube (Scholars 2024-2025), Mikah Rector-Brooks (Voyagers 2023-2025), and Liangyi Chang (Leaders Asia-Pacific 2019) in a meeting with their Democracy Fellows. The session included a cross table Q&A to foster collaboration and share learnings across the groups. 

At least a few OLNers who work on gender equality also attended the Girls Opportunity Alliance networking breakfast, including Natalie Au (Leaders Asia-Pacific 2019) from Singapore and Aya Chebbi (Leaders Africa 2023) from Tunisia/Kenya. 

Other OLN Member Events

At least 20 OLN members collaborated with each other hosting timely and  wide range  of events during the week, with many hosted at the community space the Bench through a partnership with Christian Vanizette (Scholars 2019-2020)’s Chilli Foundation, and including but not limited to:

• 40 Years after the Right to Development, a Key Moment for Multilateralism with Rosario Diaz Garavito (Obama Scholar 2019-2020).

• Island Actions: Protecting our Island from Climate Change with Austin Shelton (Leaders Asia-Pacific 2019) and Julian Aguon (Leaders Asia-Pacific 2019) from Guam

• What the World Can Learn from Ukraine's Energy Resilience with Svitlana Romanko (Leaders Europe 2024-2025). 

• During this event, Svitlana shared this reflection: “During the Obama Leaders program, I learned that you need to find ways to work with your opponents, to hear the other side, to be respectful and recognize the humanity of even your most critical opponents. And now I see values as the driving force of real change. I am grateful for now being able to even find opponents whose values match ours, because everyone is important in this fight.” 

• Flavors of Our Earth Dinner with Ivanna Morales Mercado (Voyagers 2023-2025) and Jothsna Harris (Leaders USA 2023).

• How We Hold Hope: A Conversation with Global Human Rights Leaders hosted by Shobana Powell (Leaders USA 2024-2025) and including fellow OLNers Luis Villahererra (Obama Scholar 2023-2024) and Ivanna Morales Mercado (Voyagers 2023-2025).

• The “OLN in NYC” city group also hosted a casual meetup for local and visiting leaders alike, as part of the recent expansion of city hubs in the Network.