After three years of extensive research and presentations at the annual New York Youth Institute (NYYI), Shaker junior Ella Bagchi has been chosen as an NYYI Delegate for the World Food Prize Foundation’s 2026 Global Youth Institute. Ella is one of seven students selected by the NYYI judging panel during the annual youth conference at Cornell University back in March. Ella was notified of her selection in mid-May and will now present her Global Challenge research on climate change and food insecurity in Yemen at the Global Youth Institute (GYI) in Des Moines, Iowa this fall.

As part of NYYI this year, Ella presented her Global Challenge topic along with nearly 100 other student participants. She then discussed her research with peers in a roundtable discussion and learned about different food security issues in other countries through the research of fellow participants. Ella’s previous research topics were sustainable agriculture in India and climate change in Ethiopia.

Ella says it has long been a goal of hers to be selected as a GYI delegate and she’s excited for the opportunity to present alongside 180 other students from around the world. Congratulations Ella!