Kelly Liu
2026 Eco-Hero
FINALIST
Kelly Liu
Age 16
San Jose, California, USA
ConServe: Data-Driven Air Quality Monitoring and Environmental Justice
Growing up in East San Jose, Kelly Liu experienced firsthand the heavy toll of seasonal wildfire smoke and chronic air pollution. Realizing that vulnerable, high-exposure neighborhoods often lacked local air monitoring, Kelly founded ConServe. Merging environmental justice with advanced data science, she developed a machine-learning model to estimate localized pollution risks in unmonitored areas.
Using her model's insights, Kelly raised over $4,000 to deploy 15 real-time particulate matter sensors across ten underserved elementary schools in the Alum Rock and Franklin-McKinley districts. She worked directly with administrators to turn data into action, prompting schools to upgrade to high-efficiency MERV-13 air filtration systems. Kelly has since expanded ConServe into two additional districts, bringing air quality initiatives to 48 more schools serving 29,000 students.
Kelly also drives structural policy change. She partnered with the Stanford Burney Lab to create an air quality curriculum and drafted climate resolutions across local districts. In July 2026, she unanimously passed a resolution with the Santa Clara County Office of Education to advance air pollution education for more than 270,000 students countywide. Beyond ConServe, Kelly conducts tree-mortality machine learning research through a University of Maryland internship and leads zero-waste campaigns with Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action.
"Wildfire smoke is only one part of a larger picture; many communities regularly live with poor air quality from traffic, industry and seasonal fires. Meaningful change requires persistence, and my goal is to use data, technology and community partnerships to make environmental risks visible for the communities most affected."
