Andrea Villarreal Rodríguez
(Mexico, 2000) - Visual storyteller and community organizer based in Monterrey. Her work highlights the leadership of girls and women in addressing the climate crisis. She has been featured in the MIT Technology Review and National Geographic en Español.
She founded The Storytelling Lab, empowering youth to craft impactful narratives through documentary film. This platform deepens understanding of the disproportionate effects of the climate crisis on the Global South while showcasing the diverse ways girls and women mobilize their communities.
Andrea is a proud National Geographic Explorer and Future Rising Fellow. She is part of the #UnRíoEnElRío Assembly, a movement dedicated to safeguarding the Santa Catarina River. She is also a member of Viaje al Microcosmos, a youth-led collective that combines science and art to engage their local community in river conservation.
She serves as a Youth Advisor for both the Monterrey Air Quality Observatory and the UNICEF Mexico U-Report Committee. Additionally, Andrea is a volunteer forest ranger at the Chipinque Natural Reserve.
Features
National Geographic: Andrea Villarreal Rodríguez localizes climate storytelling in her native Monterrey (2024)
National Geographic en Español: Fotógrafas de México (2024)
MIT Technology Review: The citizen scientists chronicling a neglected but vital Mexican river (2024)
Jevas Combativas: Andrea Villarreal, conquista con eco-narrativas que impulsan la justicia climática (2023)
Coolhuntermx: 29 Talentos menores de 30 presentado por GUESS (2022)
El Sol de México: Andrea Villarreal cuenta historias por el planeta (2022)
Conecta: De revista a la realidad: alumna Tec trabaja con National Geographic (2022)
The Climate Reality Project: Women's History Month: Women in Climate (2022)
Vice: Let These Stunning Photos of Young Climate Activists in Lockdown Inspire You (2021)
Engagements
Article: #UnRíoEnElRío: Una lucha por la vida by Coolhuntermx (2024)
Article: El nuevo rostro de la robótica by Coolhuntermx (2024)
Speaker: Explorer Classroom by National Geographic (2023)
Podcast: Overheard by National Geographic (2022)
Podcast: Lo que haces cuenta by National Geographic LATAM (2022)
Article: Resonancias by Revista Ambulante (2022)
Speaker: Local Conference of Youth (LCOY) at the Mexican Senate (2022)
Speaker: Girl Up Global Leadership Summit (2020-2022)
Speaker: Climate Disruptors at the NGO CSW66 Forum and Skoll World Forum Ecosystem Day (2022)
Speaker: Together for Climate: Community Action Rally by The United Nations Foundation (2021)
Distinctions
Second Cohort of the Periodismo de lo Posible program (2024)
Jóvenes por la Gobernanza del Agua y el Clima by Stockholm International Water Institute (2023)
Voces Climáticas by make_sense (2023)
Future Rising Fellow by Girl Rising (2023)
National Geographic Young Explorer (2021)
Girl Up Storytelling Scholarship sponsored by Lenovo (2021)
Eugenio Garza Sada Medal of Excellence in Student Leadership and Academics by Tecnológico de Monterrey (2019)
Academic Merit Scholarship by Tecnológico de Monterrey (2019)
Harvard Book Prize Award (2018)