Amanda Amaeshi 

When Amanda was named a 30 Under 30 in 2020, she was 16 and in S5. She was already a Year of Young People ambassador, Girlguiding UK Advocate Panel member and a published writer with the BPOC Writers Network. She hadn’t even heard of 30 Under 30 before the nomination. 

Now: Amanda graduated with a First Class Honours Law degree in 2025, completed a legal traineeship with the Council of Europe and now works as a Legal Caseworker at Lawmanity. She also currently sits on our board of trustees, impacting the future of The Young Women’s Movement.  

Notable Achievements:  

• A council member on the First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls. 

• Interviewed by Angela Davis at the Royal Albert Hall. 

Amanda on being nominated:

“It gave me the confidence to keep going with the work I was already doing. It really felt like a moment of validation, reinforcing for me that the issues I cared about and the work I was doing mattered.”

You can find more of her work on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Iris Duane  

When Iris was named a 30 Under 30 honouree in 2023, she was a politics and social policy student at the University of Glasgow, channelling her energy into student union advocacy. She campaigned on gender-based violence support while focusing on improving the student experience. She also spent time volunteering for the Green Party. 

Now: Iris made history this year as the first openly transgender woman elected to Scottish Parliament, winning a seat for the Scottish Green Party. The election was part of the Scottish Greens’ strongest ever Scottish Parliament result. 

Notable Achievements  

• First openly transgender woman to be an elected member of the Scottish Parliament.  

• Treasurer of the Glasgow University Politics and International Relations Society. 

You can find more of her work on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Ellie Craig 

When Ellie was named a 30 under 30 honouree in 2023 she was 20 years old and already Vice Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament. She was fiercely campaigning for Grieving and Growing, a campaign raising awareness of the effects of bereavement on young people, launched during Children’s Grief Awareness Week 2022.  

Now: Ellie is now coming to the end of her undergraduate degree in Politics and Sociology, her dissertation examines the implementation of the Votes at 16 campaign under the requirements of Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. She also sits as the Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, paving the way forward for other young people. Ellie also recently started an internship with the David Hume Institute 

Notable Achievements: 

• Featured on STV news during the Scottish Election coverage. 

• Board member of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR). 

Ellie on why recognition is important for young women and girls:

“As young women, we can often fall into the trap of not celebrating our own successes and face real imposter syndrome. It is so important that we recognise our achievements not only for ourselves, but for this to be visible to other young women and girls to empower them to have confidence in their own abilities.” 

You can find more of her work on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Fatima Ishaq 

When Fatima was named a 30 Under 30 honouree in 2022 she was 18. At the time she was a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, a member of Dundee Youth Council and a trustee for Feeling Strong, a youth mental health charity. She was focused on breaking stigma around mental health in South Asian communities and had co-created Oor Fierce Girls, a campaign tackling peer sexual abuse and promoting healthy relationships.   

Now: Fatima works across social justice, gender equality and youth participation. She is a consultant at HUDL Youth Development Agency, working alongside The Co-operative Foundation to design and allocate £1.75 million through the Future Communities Fund. She also serves as a delegate to the European Youth Forum through the European Young Women’s Christian Association, representing countless young women and girls across Europe.  

Notable Achievements: 

• Speaker at the Scottish Parliament’s International Women’s Day panel. 
• Independent Fostering Panel member at Bernardo’s, helping ensure the welfare of children and families in their fostering and adoption service.

You can find more of her work on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Mikaela Loach 

When Mikaela was named a 30 Under 30 honouree in 2021, she was 23 and a medical student in Edinburgh. At the time she was also a climate justice activist, co-host of the Yikes Podcast and one of three claimants taking the UK government to court in the Paid To Pollute case.  

Now: Mikaela is an acclaimed author, climate justice organiser, and speaker recognised by Forbes, The Guardian, Vogue and BBC Women’s Hour as one of the most influential women in the climate movement. Prospect magazine named her one of the World’s Top Thinkers in 2024. Mikaela’s work is deeply rooted in community organising. Her activism includes organising with grassroots climate movements such as Stop Cambo, Fossil Free Books, Resist Glencore and The UK Black Eco Feminist Collective. She is also co-director of the AWETHU School of Organising and has an online community of over 300,000 followers. 

Notable Achievements: 

• Mikaela’s second book, Climate Is Just The Start, was published by Penguin Random House Children’s in 2025 and was awarded Junior Library Guild Gold Standard.  

• AWETHU is now in it’s third year of delivery of their programme on organising around climate justice and Black liberation for young Black people. 

Mikaela on 30 Under 30:

“This was probably one of the first celebratory lists that I was included in at the start of my public-facing career. I was a medical student taking the UK government to court, running between hospital placements and organising meetings. Having the work I did be recognised was touching.”

You can find more of her work on TikTok and Instagram.

Emma Ahlert 

When Emma was named a 30 Under 30 honouree in 2025 she was 29, a community builder and an advocate dedicated to improving sexual health care. She co-founded Back Off Scotland, a national campaign that successfully pushed for 150 metre safe access zones around abortion clinics, legislation has since been passed into law. Her Master’s in Sociology was also dedicated to researching how inadequate sex education impacts women’s emotional wellbeing.   

Now: Emma is the founder of Elsie, the first global community for freelancers in female and sexual healthcare. She was named the Association of Scottish Businesswomen’s Woman of Inspiration for 2025. She also manages communications for Fertility Matters at Work, an organisation helping employers implement fertility-friendly policies across the UK. 

Notable Achievements: 

• Received a £10,000 Young EDGE grant to fund and scale her healthcare start-up ventures. 
• Founder of Elsie, connecting 130+ freelances across 15 countries.

You can find more of her work on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Alice Murray 

When Alice was named a 30 Under 30 honouree in 2025 she was 23 and already an accomplished activist. She was also a co-founder of Back Off Scotland, a campaign inspired by her first-hand experience with anti-abortion harassment. Alice spoke at the emergency summit meeting on abortion with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. A quote from the summit: “We need to keep on having conversations about making abortion care the best it can be across Scotland.” 

Now: Alice is channelling her activism into law. After working as a Communications and Parliamentary Officer at the Scottish Parliament, she accepted a solicitor training contract with Baker Mckenzie, one of the world’s leading international law firms. She has spoken publicly about using her legal career to continue fighting for abortion rights and services.  

Notable Achievements: 

• Featured by the BBC, STV, The Guardian and The Herald.  
• Delivered legal education sessions at the Royal College of Music. 

You can find more of her work on LinkedIn.

Kelly 

Given

When Kelly was named a 30 Under 30 honouree in 2021 she was 24 and already doing so much important work. She was a workforce coordinator for the NHS mass vaccination programme and co-chair of the NHS Lothian Disabled Employee Network, rewriting staff resources on autism and neurodivergence. An autistic woman with seven years of experience in third sector leadership and human rights policy, she was also a 2021 National Diversity Award Finalist and named on the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 list. 

Now: Kelly is an award-winning disability rights campaigner and writer currently studying law. She writes a weekly column for The National Newspaper, regularaly appears as a commentator on television and radio, and is known for her role in the Channel 4 series Make Me Prime Minister.  

Notable Achievements: 

• Completed her second year of law school and have spent the last three years writing professionally for The National Newspaper. 
• Featured on Channel 4 and the BBC. 

Kelly on 30 Under 30:

“For a long time, I was the young girl reading the 30 under 30 list, wondering if I would ever find my own direction or be as impossibly cool as I thought those women were. Seeing their success made my own feel achievable at a time when I really doubted myself. They inspired me to follow their lead and, by just existing in front of me, gave me the permission I needed to take up space and chase my dreams with the same boldness they did. To be recognised on the list later in life, alongside so many inspiring women, was an incredible honour – and felt like a full circle moment for the girl I was before that needed a little encouragement.”

You can find more of her work on TikTok and Instagram.