Charlene Ren

Charlene Ren, also known as Xiaoyuan Ren, is a Chinese environmental engineer and social entrepreneur. She is the founder of MyH2O, an information platform that uses data to monitor water quality and improve access to clean water resources for rural communities in China.

Early life and education Ren was born and raised in Beijing. Her parents were both the first in their families to attend college.

As a high school student, she became interested in environmental issues and joined a local chapter of Roots and Shoots, the international youth organization founded by Jane Goodall. Her grandparents live outside the capital, and their experiences with unreliable water quality were an influence on her future field of study.

Ren received a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics from Vassar College and two master's degrees in Environmental Engineering and Technology Policy from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As part of her graduate work, Ren studied rural water monitoring systems in India. This exploration developed into the ongoing MIT/India "Data for Improved Governance" project.

Career Ren first wrote a business plan for the company that would become MyH2O in 2014 during her postgraduate studies at MIT, with mentorship from engineer John H. Lienard V. She was inspired by the robust network of water quality and sanitation databases that she observed in India while completing her master's degrees. She launched the platform in 2015 with the goal of using similar data collection systems to combat a crisis of poor water quality in rural China. Data is made available to volunteers and residents via a dedicated mobile app, which also provides resources and guidance about purifying contaminated water. The MyH2O network covers 1,000 villages located across 26 provinces. She was honored as one of the United Nations Environment Programme's 2020 Young Champions of the Earth, an award which comes with project funding and mentorship.

Personal life Ren describes herself as a "proud vegetarian" and a supporter of feminist causes.