Policy Committee
The Policy Committee develops most new campaigns for GENup to pursue. They are also in charge of drafting educational policy, reaching out to legislators and tracking key bills that GENup may support.
Chief of Higher Education
Policy
Adela Gonzalez Systems often fail the ones who need them most, a reality I learned early while navigating the foster care system. That experience taught me resilience, adaptability, and the vital necessity of self-advocacy, while showing me the power of compassionate people helping people. Today, I turn those lessons into action by driving sustainable, structural change.
My work focuses on closing the distance between policy intent and real-world resource access for underserved communities. Whether revitalizing dormant judicial bodies as Chief Justice of ASRCC or organizing field outreach for Assembly Bill 2033 to bring EBT availability directly onto campus, I am dedicated to fixing institutional gaps, ensuring equitable access, and turning legislative promises into practical relief.
Director of
Policy
Elise Choi(She/her) is a junior at the Orange County School of the Arts and serves as Director of Policy at GENup and High School Research Fellow at the Media Education Lab. An aspiring journalist, Elise is a former reporter with Scholastic Kids Press and currently writes for her school newspaper, OCSA Evolution, as well as the Los Angeles Times High School Insider, where she also serves on the Student Advisory Board. As a 2024 Civic Innovator Fellow, she examined the connections between media, education, and civic engagement. Outside the newsroom, she enjoys studying world history and foreign languages and is committed to empowering young people to think critically and participate meaningfully in the media landscape.
Director of
Policy
Director of Policy
Utkarsh Sinha is GENup's Director of Policy and is passionate about creating change and amplifying youth voices. Utkarsh works for his counties youth advisory board where he helps spread awareness on issues affecting the youth. He is extremely interested in politics and has written for the National Center of Youth Law as a guest writer. One of the main issues Utkarsh works in is mental health and he has spoken at California's State Capital advocating for a bill by sharing his story to the press. Utkarsh attends Irvington High School as a sophmore and he participates in Parlimentary Debate and serves as the Treasurer for the number one ranked Model UN team in the bay area. He also loves to teach younger students, volunteering as a summer lead for the Non Profit Fremont Debate Academy in teaching an eight week debate course. On the STEM side, he is the Vice President of Communications for Fremont Robotics Academy where he helped send over two thousand books to Malawai to help their education, petionined to lower the import tax in India for robotics kits, and hosted numerous competitions. In his free time, Utkarsh loves to read, hang out with his friends, watch basketball, and exploring new topics to educate himself and his peers.
Varsha Garigipati(She/Her) is a senior at Silver Creek high school in San Jose, California. She has a passion for policy and youth advocacy, with experience serving on the City of San Jose's Youth Advisory council as the Deputy Commissioner of Communications. She also is the Executive Officer of San Joses GENup chapter where she works to bring GENups mission to her community, through policy reforms and youth events. Through her previous work in policy, she has been a persistent advocate for education equity, presenting reforms to the Santa Clara Democratic party on issues such as censorship in curriculum. She strives to continue policy reform and advocacy through GENup and hopes to make the education system equitable for all.
Director of
Policy
Rishi Sikh is a junior at Westlake High School and is very excited to serve as GENup’s Director of Policy this term. He’s noticed the stark amounts of injustices that ESL students face, all across the nation, and that will be a major focus during his tenure. A student advocate passionate about solving that problem and uplifting the ESL community across the world, he is the Founder & CEO of SpeakUp Scholars, a non profit organization dedicated to enhancing educational equity for ESL students, specifically through debate and public speaking workshops. Inside his school, he runs Global Policy Forum, a club which empowers teenagers to understand policy, participate in civic life, and engage in informed political decisions. Additionally, he plays Varsity Tennis and participates in Speech & Debate and Model United Nations. Rishi cannot wait to drive forward legislative advocacy for GENup!
Director of
Policy
Andrea Wong is a junior at Mountain View High School in California passionate about educational equity. She is thrilled to serve as GENup’s Director of Policy! At school, she is the Vice President of the Speech and Debate team where she competes every weekend. She serves on the advisory board for both the school principal and her city. Beyond campus, she is the incoming Executive Director of Education Refuge, a nonprofit that serves over 200+ refugees around the world. She is also the Youth External Lead for Save Cantonese, leading language preservation efforts in high schools. Politically, she is an intern for the Santa Clara County Democratic Party where she helps with youth advocacy and authoring bills. She is so excited for this year!
Director of
Policy
Rachel Choi (She/Her) is 16 years old and the Founder of HERA Foundation, a Title IX based initiative that has educated 2K+ low-income individuals through in-person Title IX workshops. She serves as the UNA-LA Communications Director, represents the U.S. in the GYIG at Plan International as one of the youngest fellows, and a two-time Los Angeles Youth Poet Laureate Finalist. At Orange County School of the Arts, she serves as a Co-Director for one of the most cross-conservatory shows, Beyond Borders, which blends spoken word, music, and dance.
Director of
Policy
Vanessa Robbins is a junior at Marin Academy in San Rafael. With a lifelong interest in the law, she has a passion to advocate for policies that shape and improve her community around her, especially for youth. As the Youth Board Member for Marin Healthy Youth Partnership, she leads an intership and spreads awareness about underage substance use. Vanessa also volunteers with Youth Transforming Justice, a California Youth Court promoting restorative justice, and serves on the leadership and peer solutions team. Previously, she interned at her San Francisco District 2 Supervisor's office during the summer learning how to interact with constituents and draft policy. Additionally, Vanessa is the captain and co-founder of Marin Academy’s Science Olympiad team, an active member of Mocktrial, and plays three sports.