Meghan Parischa

2006 Finalist – Environmental Category
Age: 20
Hometown: Hockessin, DE

Meghan Pasricha’s personal health challenges with asthma and her trouble breathing in smoke-filled public places motivated her to become a passionate youth advocate for tobacco control and work hard to protect health and the environment. When she read in a newspaper that Delaware’s legislators were debating an indoor smoking ban, she decided to do something about it, speaking at public hearings in the state for a bill to ban indoor smoking and eventually earning a grant from the American Lung Association. She founded the Anti-Tobacco Action Club (ATAC), which seeks to reduce the problem of youth tobacco use and indoor air pollution caused by second-hand smoke. More recently, as the founder and president of Global Youth H.E.L.P. (Health Education Leadership Program), Pasricha has given dozens of presentations to youth both domestically and abroad outlining the hazards of the environmental toxins created by tobacco use. She has spoken to thousands of young people across the world to deliver this message. Currently, Pasricha is an undergraduate student at Harvard, but she returns frequently to Delaware and devotes a tremendous amount of effort and energy to conduct training programs for youth.