Young Digital Marketer Using Skills to Drive Climate Action

Young digital marketer and social media specialist, Sheyenne Leslie, is passionate about climate change, leveraging her skills in graphic design, content writing and website development, to promote behaviour change and mobilise action in support of the environment.

While operating her own digital marketing company, Link Media JM, the 26-year-old has served as the Business Development Officer at Jamaica Recycles since August 2025, where she coordinates a team of graphic designers, content writers and creators, videographers, and video editors focused on promoting a culture of recycling through innovative digital storytelling via their website and social media pages.

Launched in 2013, Jamaica Recycles is committed to building a cleaner, greener Jamaica by collecting and recycling plastics, educating citizens and working with businesses to undertake recycling programmes.

Miss Leslie was also Coordinator of Communications, Engagement, and Public Relations of the Jamaica Climate Change Youth Council (JCCYC) from July 2024 to July 2025.

Since being established in 2017, the Council has served as the youth affiliate of the Climate Change Advisory Board, which falls under the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development.

Miss Leslie tells JIS News that she remains proud to have been a member of the organisation, noting their commitment to attracting support for the cause, including during challenging times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I was drawn to JCCYC’s mission and impressed by the tangible effect they’ve made since launching. Over the years, they’ve done a lot of things, like doing a youth climate action expo,” she notes.

“We hosted virtual campaigns during the pandemic… They’ve brought creativity into advocacy through those different campaigns that they’ve done, especially during COVID; that was a hard time for everyone,” she says.

She notes that prior to joining the JCCYC, she had already gained experience in volunteering through Equality Jamaica and WeChange, in which she focused on youth empowerment and social justice, respectively.

Through her involvement with these organisations, Miss Leslie explains that she was easily able to adapt to the cause of climate action and, by extension, ease the process of now focusing on another aspect of environmental action – recycling.

“I’ve always had a love for social justice and advocacy, and from there, shifting into climate advocacy just felt like a natural extension,” she notes.

Miss Leslie tells JIS News that she became motivated to get active in environmentalism due to the urgent and evident implications of climate change.

“Honestly, the fact speaks for itself. We are literally the generation that must live climate change… because it’s not just something you read about. It’s literally happening around us,” she asserts.

Miss Leslie notes the crucial role her professional background has played in the extent and type of support she gave to the JCCYC and now Jamaica Recycles.

“It’s a lot of things. It’s a lot of creating educational posts. It’s managing campaigns, posting onto the [JCCYC] podcast, and promoting events,” she tells JIS News.

“Through the JCCYC, I developed a stronger understanding of how environmental issues affect our communities, especially in Jamaica, and I also realised communication and engagement are as equally important as the technical side of sustainability,” she adds.

Expanding her horizon to her ongoing position at Jamaica Recycles, Miss Leslie has committed to carrying over these lessons to convince others to follow suit and get on board with the cause of environmental action.

“In my current role, as Business Development Officer for Jamaica Recycles, a lot of what I do involves building partnerships and relationships and strengthening community engagement,” she explains.

“I have become involved in strategy outreach as well as digital communication, making sure that people not just understand what we do but why we do it and why it matters,” she notes.

Miss Leslie is not only a passionate defender of the cause of environmentalism but also the use of content creation to educate and drive positive behaviour change.

She rejects the notion that social media and, by extension, content creation are inherently harmful.

“I believe social media is what you make it. We all know about the doomscrolling and how much time people spend with their screens, but this can also be a space for education, empowerment, and advocacy,” she declares.

“I’ve seen youth, young people, discover their voices and connect with others and even organise movements through social media platforms,” she says.

She remains committed to approaching social media as a force for good and using her skills to promote climate action among Jamaicans.