My name is Luisell Valencia, a 19-year-old Peruvian activist from Ica, Peru. I have already graduated from high school and am currently in a gap year, which I’m using to deepen my learning through research and youth-led initiatives. Growing up in a family affected by teenage pregnancy shaped my passion to use education to guarantee sexual and reproductive rights among youth.

My leadership journey began with the Student Leadership Program at Enseña Perú, where I later returned as a speaker and coordinator, supporting over 2,000 young leaders in designing community-based projects. I used this experience as motivation to found Up To You, a youth-led initiative focused on preventing teenage pregnancy through science-based information and digital advocacy across Latin America. Moreover, I created Luminous, an organization aimed at mentoring low-income students and connecting them to educational opportunities, helping many envision futures they had never thought possible.

I also collaborate with Desafío Condorcanqui, working alongside Indigenous leaders to address child sexual violence in Awajún and Wampís communities, and I contribute to global youth efforts such as the Global Youth-Led Manifesto to End Violence Against Children, which seeks to influence policy across multiple countries.

Through the Student Leader Advisory Council, I hope to bring the perspectives of youth from underrepresented and rural contexts into decision-making spaces, and to help Teach For All strengthen solutions that are grounded in students’ lived realities.