Eighteen year-old Houston, Texas native, Whitney Burton’s activism was first inspired when she heard the activist Craig Kielburger speak about Iqbal Masih, a Pakistani child laborer, who was murdered at the age of 12 for standing up for other child laborer's rights in the carpet industry. After hearing this story, Whitney researched child labor and poverty and determined that the best way to give children in abject poverty an opportunity to make a better life for him/herself is through education. Not wanting to waste any time, Whitney led a successful initiative at her high school to raise $16,000 to build a school in Sierra Leone. This project also spread awareness throughout her community about the difficult situations of many children around.

Whitney believes that education is an essential ingredient in eradicating poverty and child labor. She also believes that youth have the power to change the world. Through her job with Free the Children, the largest network of children helping children through education, she empowers youth to become socially conscious, global citizens. Whitney also loves learning about different cultures and people's lives. She is a student at George Mason University in Virginia.

Show full bio

Hide full bio