Dejea has dedicated herself to working for a better future for her home, the Cayman Islands, with the hope to create a future free of environmental destruction.
Dejea has dedicated herself to working for a better future for her home, the Cayman Islands, with the hope to create a future free of environmental destruction.
Growing up in the Cayman Islands, Dejea was surrounded by pristine eco-systems and natural beauty. However, due to the increasing threat of pollution and sea level rise, her home was under threat.
In 2017, the youth-led environmental organisation Protect Our Future was formed. Now boasting over 60 members from seven high schools across the Cayman Islands, Protect Our Future has relentlessly campaigned to bring attention to the banning of single-use plastics, mangrove deforestation and halting construction along the coastlines of her islands.
They have brought environmental conversations to the forefront of policy and change. Collectively, they have gathered over 200,000 signatures to prevent the government from building a cruise berthing facility off Grand Cayman that would destroy the critical barrier reefs.
In 2021, Dejea was invited to represent the United Kingdom Overseas Territories as the youth speaker for the territories at ‘COP26’ in Glasgow. That same year, Dejea became one of six young editors of the global magazine OH-WAKE, where she has been able to create awareness about the importance of our oceans through written pieces such as poems and interviews.
In 2023, Dejea was accepted into the Caribbean Climate Justice Academy hosted by Island Innovation where she had the opportunity to attend COP28 in Dubai and represent the Caribbean and the Cayman Islands once more where she brought awareness about climate injustice in her region.
Dejea is a confident leader, go-getter and opportunity seeker. Her work is changing how young people are taking action in their communities to support their future for the better.
