Girl Up

Jazmine is a high school senior from San Dimas, California. She is passionate about bringing awareness to gender-based violence and empowering girls everywhere. Jazmine loves to go on runs with friends in her free time and has a golden chihuahua named cinnamon!

Sophia is a high school junior at Sidwell Friends School. She is passionate about educating younger girls on self-image, personal values, and confidence in their identities. The summer before her junior year, Sophia studied abroad in France. She also plays volleyball and lacrosse!

Olivia is a first-year student at Harvard University, originally from Sacramento, California. She is passionate about easing climate anxiety among younger teens and empowering girls with the resources and confidence to engage in environmentalism and the fight for climate justice. Outside of academics and extracurriculars, Olivia enjoys exploring Boston’s art museums – her current favorite being the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum!

Irene is a high school junior from Orange County, California. She is passionate about increasing equality for girls in STEM and empowering underrepresented groups to take leadership. She serves as the National Parliamentarian of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) where she represents over 230,000 students and works to increase funding and support for career and technical education in schools. She is a four-time national gold medalist in Academic Decathlon and a dedicated volunteer with the American Red Cross and Alzheimer’s Association. In the future, she hopes to be a neuroscientist and develop accessible treatments for neurodegenerative disease!

Aishvarya is a high school sophomore from Johns Creek, Georgia. She is passionate about improving menstrual equity for girls across the world. In her free time, she likes to play the guitar or go hiking!

Nikki is a high school junior from Richmond, Virginia. She is extremely interested in advocacy for female immigrants in education systems and alleviating period poverty. Nikki is also a dancer, tennis player, and avid Model UN leader at her school. In her free time, Nikki enjoys watching comedy movies and traveling!

Saanvi is a high school junior from Frisco, Texas, and a dedicated pre-med student with a deep passion for the intersection of STEM and the humanities. A frequent hospital volunteer, she is currently exploring neuroscience through various projects. She is also committed to both journalism and activism, serving as the senior editor for her school’s yearbook and creating a women’s safety startup. Saanvi strives to make a tangible impact through her work, creating a brighter future for all women and demonstrating that barriers are meant to be broken.

Sahasra is a high school junior from Allen, Texas. She is an intersectional innovator and activist, working to build a world where no community or identity is left behind in the fight against climate change. Sahasra loves slow fashion, trying new cuisines, and ecotourism (the next country on her bucket list is Iceland!). She finds joy in discovering and curating music across decades, genres, and cultures, and is always up for a spontaneous philosophical discussion!

Sanjana is passionate about the environment because it is a place fully natural and beautiful, and living in Southern California, she enjoys taking long hikes with her dog up neighboring hills. After witnessing the littering and extreme unawareness for environmental degradation in her community, she has committed years to raising awareness in her city about properly recycling e-waste and taking care of our beaches. Sanjana grew extremely fond of landscapes and often paints various sceneries she has seen throughout her travels, her favorites being Switzerland and Germany.

Shriya is a student at the Orange County School of the Arts passionate about helping environmental restoration. Going to India many summers, Shriya has seen the depths of poverty and how the cleanliness of the society has to do with it. She understood the intricate harshness of not having proper hygienic and sanitation because of society’s lack of understanding about trash and its detrimental effects. Shriya wants to clean society so the new generation can experience the beauties of the world and ensure how to treat it properly. Shriya cares deeply for nature and is adventurous, whether it is ziplining or going in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night to see the unique animals’ lifestyle.

Abby is a senior at Fordham University studying International Studies and Peace and Justice Studies. She is passionate about maintaining the natural beauty that our environment provides and a protected habitat for wildlife. Abby has been interested in the future of sustainability in menstrual hygiene products and making them accessible for all. A fun fact is that Abby has been the mascot at Fordham for the last three years.

Siyeon is a high school senior from South Korea but now based in Lafayette/Broussard, Louisiana. Passionate about climate advocacy, she serves as president of her school’s Eco Club and is actively involved with EarthEcho International, The Climate Initiative, and NOAA. After learning about coastal restoration efforts and Louisiana’s Cancer Alley, she is dedicated to building community resilience while protecting and restoring our oceans. An avid nature explorer, Siyeon was also a featured guest on “The Conservation Conversation” podcast!

Akshara is passionate about the environment because her mother’s experience as an environmental engineer inspires her to carry this legacy forward by protecting the environment. As captain of her school’s engineering design TSA team, she works with her team to create engineering innovations to promote environmental sustainability. In her free time, she loves to hang out with her friends and play the piano. She is extremely excited to lead a clean up, directly making a change in her local community.

Jahnavi and Lucy are both high school juniors from Houston, Texas who are extremely passionate about the environment and the world around them. Through their organization, Apparel Advocates, a cause dedicated to fighting fast fashion, they are committed to educating the community around them, as well as making an impact through their grassroots efforts to fight climate change and pollution step by step. Inspired by witnessing real time advocacy efforts in their community, they cannot wait to make a change! In their free time, the two enjoy hanging out and trying new restaurants around their city.

England is passionate about education and social justice, believing that access to quality education is essential for improving the quality of life. She advocates for systemic change to ensure that education is equitable, recognizing its intersection with policy, action, and community involvement. She co-founded an education initiative aimed at improving access to resources and information for middle through college students. A fun fact about her is that this initiative has grown to become a vital support network for students, helping them navigate educational challenges and opportunities.

Chetana is a passionate student advocate who feels strongly that climate change should be at the forefront of initiatives for global positive change. She believes that through encouraging young activists and students to take charge and clean up their own communities, we can begin to see a positive difference in attitudes and impact of climate change projects. Coming from the South Florida area, Chetana constantly sees pollution and the unhoused population it directly affects, limiting access to clean food, water, and shelter. Inspired by a vision to do better for future generations, Chetana hopes to lead climate initiatives in her community to help those in the near and far future while also helping the planet.

Priyanshi is passionate about the environment because she grew up on the beaches of San Diego to the mountain ranges of Georgia, fostering a deep appreciation of nature’s beauty and its ability to have a home for each animal small or big. She is dedicated to environmental restoration and sustainability to make sure those animals always have a home to thrive-and while believing that collective action can heal the planet for future generations, Priyanshi works to advocate and raise awareness to inspire others to protect natural spaces and environments in every-way she can. Furthermore, her dream is to travel the world in the future and hope to see everything in its true nature untouched by the modern world from the Iguazu Falls to the Great Barrier Reef to the Colosseum and much more!

Zara is passionate about the environment because she understands that her generation holds a unique responsibility to safeguard the planet. She channels this responsibility into mobilizing youth, empowering them to become active participants in creating a healthy future. This awareness, along with a deep love for the greenery of her hometown, Malvern, Pennsylvania, motivates her to seek sustainable solutions.

Caroline is passionate about the environment because she is a biology major and a sustainability intern at her campus’s facilities office. Every day she works to improve the sustainability efforts of those around her from encouraging close friends to think and act more “green”, to advocating for more sustainable practices across campus. Caroline was first inspired to take action towards the environment when she began taking courses on environmental science in high school. One thing she believes is most important to understanding the environment is keeping environmental education alive in schools.

Josephine is passionate about the environment as she loves spending time exploring and relaxing in nature. Having lived for years near a national forest in Arizona, Josephine has seen the devastating effects of pollution and fires on the surrounding areas. This has driven her to protect the environment and work to conserve nature’s beauty by promoting sustainability and working to protect her community. Josephine also enjoys trail running through the desert mountains surrounding her, and she is a member of her high school’s track and cross-country team.

Krithikha is passionate about the environment because she grew up surrounded by the natural beauty of Texas and developed a profound appreciation for the interconnectedness of ecosystems. She witnessed the impact of pollution firsthand in marine and wildlife ecosystems. This fueled her commitment to raising awareness and also innovating sustainable solutions to preserve the planet for future generations. Her prized possession is her seashells, a reminder of why protecting the marine ecosystem matters.

Valeria is a passionate environmental and gender equality advocate based in Texas. Growing up near Canada’s Rocky Mountains, she developed a profound love for nature at an early age. Witnessing the devastation of human-induced wildfires in the lush Canadian forests solidified her commitment to combating climate change, addressing how it disproportionately affects women and girls worldwide, and contributing to a sustainable future for coming generations to thrive in a healthy environment. In her free time, she enjoys visiting flower fields and watching nature documentaries!

Ellie Noh and Crystal Yeh are from New Jersey. Ellie is a first-year at UC Davis studying Environment Policy, and Crystal is a first-year at UPenn studying Environmental, Social, Governance and Finance. They pursue their passion for sustainability through the youth organization they founded — LEAP for Climate — which focuses on closing the opportunity gap in climate education and leadership. They love to play tennis together, and their favorite animals are frogs!

Anjali M is a high school freshman from Chicago, Illinois. She is passionate about fighting healthcare inequities and working towards gender equality especially in competitive chess. She runs Cross Country/Track and Field, loves to read, and enjoys going to concerts of her favorite artists!

Anshuni K is a high school senior from Sugar Land, Texas, who plans to major in Chemical Engineering in college. She channels her passion towards addressing menstrual poverty and advocating for female empowerment in STEM. Anshuni has actively participated in her school’s chapters of Girl Up, Girl Up South East Texas, and Girl Up Texas, and looks forward to extending her advocacy to Girl Up USA. In her free time, she indulges in singing, playing the guitar and piano, and expressing herself through art.

Camila O is a first-year student at Harvard studying Government, Philosophy, and EMR(Ethnicity, Migration, and Rights). She is from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania and is passionate about gender-based violence advocacy and gendercide advocacy worldwide. Camila wants to be a United States Supreme Court Justice, and her favorite movie is “The Impossible.”

Helena B is an uprising senior at Naples, Florida. She is passionate about international affairs and participates in Model UN, Debate, National Honor Society, and (of course) Girl Up! In her free time, Helena loves to oil paint, sketch, listen to music, and spend time at the beach or with her friends. She is so excited to participate in Girl Up’s mission as a Youth Advisor!

Jiya M is a high school junior from Phoenix, Arizona. She is passionate about menstrual equity and advocacy for women’s health through public policy. Jiya is active in Speech and Debate and Theater, and loves her three dogs, travel, Olivia Rodrigo, and cookies!

Karla A is a high school freshman from Reading, Pennsylvania. She is passionate about youth mental health and female representation in STEM fields. In her free time, she loves to hangout with friends and family, play tennis, and listen to music.

Tanya V is a high school senior from Orange County, California. She served as the SoCal Coalition Leader for two years and is excited for this new role as Youth Advisor! She is passionate about representation of women in STEM as well as its intersection with reproductive rights and justice. She loves to play tennis in her free time and travel with her family!