Layasree “Laya” Vemmata Gopi – Youth Advisory Council Member 2025-2026
About This Event
Layasree Vemmata Gopi (She/Her) is an 18-year-old ocean conservation and environmental justice advocate and student based in India. She firmly believes that the protection of our oceans and the overall mitigation of climate change and its negative effects lie at the intersection of the environment and human rights. She is currently studying Biology and Environmental Studies at Ashoka University.
Laya’s journey into ocean conservation began with her participation in the Summer Term program at The Island School in the Bahamas, which was her first introduction to the ocean, research, and scuba diving. She studied marine ecology, sustainable systems, coastal fisheries, and volunteered at the aquaponics farm and at the wetlab, which is what made her greatly interested in ocean health and conservation from the standpoints of a researcher and an activist, as she learned about the devastating effects of seafood waste, bycatch, and overfishing.
She realises that ocean health is not just limited to ocean conservation but also extends to the health and well-being of the communities of people that depend on the oceans for their sustenance and livelihoods. This is why she innovated a business model for her startup named Cool Equity, which aims at providing decentralised cold storage solutions to small and marginal fishermen using phase change material-based cooling to help reduce seafood waste, provide access to cold storage, and improve the first mile connectivity in the seafood supply chain, benefiting both the fishermen and our oceans.
Laya won the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge 2025 under the Business Concepts category for her startup idea, Cool Equity, and received a prize of 4000 euros and a mentorship program to support the development of her startup for ocean protection and to support the small fishing communities in India and in the Global South. She was the youngest woman of colour to win this challenge, representing her country, India, and advocating for the needs of the fishing communities on the global stage. Now, she continues to work on her startup, Cool Equity, and aims to promote awareness of ocean protection globally.
Laya is a Millennium Fellow and the Campus Director for Ashoka University as part of the Millennium Fellowship program held by the United Nations Academic Impact, where she works on documenting the flora around her and helps others work on social impact projects to further the UN SDG goals at the grassroots level. She is also a Coach Dream it Real x Coachtopia
Scholar, a scholarship designed to support students with high financial need who have a passion for sustainability and are interested in learning about how we can build a better future for our planet by advancing progress towards a circular economy.
Laya enjoys and loves birdwatching and scuba diving, as she feels that she is most connected to her surroundings and nature while doing these activities. Now she continues to advocate for the protection of our oceans, the environment, and human rights in the Global South, as people, especially people of colour, bear the unjust brunt of global warming and climate change.