State: Georgia
Years on RSYC: 2026
Sophia is a creative leader and small business owner who combines data science with sustainability.
After starting her own small jewelry business, Sophia was inspired to create Clean Choices Together to facilitate small businesses’ transition to sustainable packaging.
One of Sophia’s initiatives, Small Biz Stories, involves conducting interviews with business owners and employees. Another key endeavor is using The Waste Estimation Model, a data driven tool coded by Sophia that estimates packaging waste, maps geographic impact, and generates sustainability recommendations for small businesses. Clean Choices Together also sends free kits, called EcoClean Packs, containing honeycomb mailers, kraft tape, and glassine bags to encourage businesses to adopt sustainable packaging products. To date, Sophia and her collaborators have worked with over 50 small businesses across 19 countries, helping reduce waste for over 14,000 customers.
Outside of Roots & Shoots, Sophia is a junior in high school who participates in programming competitions, conducts data science and generative artificial intelligence research, and plays the cello. She is also active in the Atlanta Roots & Shoots Basecamp serving as a mentor to younger Roots & Shoots members.
This Aesop quote guides Sophia’s work: “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
