Millie Edwards
Executive Director, The Iris Project
Madrid, Spain
What inspired you to join Mountaintop?
"I joined Mountaintop to strengthen my ability to shift systems, not just deliver programmes. I'm here to learn alongside other leaders and bring back practical tools to move more resources and decision-making power to young people leading change in their communities."
Millie Edwards is the Executive Director of The Iris Project, a youth-led organisation backing young people around the world to protect and restore nature. Since launching in 2022, she has worked alongside inspiring youth-led projects tackling everything from plastic pollution and ecosystem regeneration to sustainable product innovation — amplifying solutions grounded in lived experience and local knowledge.
Millie believes deeply that when young people are trusted as the experts of their own projects and supported through flexible, trust-based funding, mentorship, and capacity building, the ripple effect of their impact is extraordinary. Yet too often, youth-led initiatives remain underfunded and underestimated.
At The Iris Project, her mission is to change that: to break down misconceptions around risk, showcase the power of youth-led action, and demonstrate what's possible when a youth-led organisation funds other young people. Millie is also a trained Art Psychotherapist, bringing a relational, care-driven approach to leadership in the environmental space.