Operations Committee
The Operations Committee oversees all other executive committees. They work closely with the Executive Director to make decisions on action plans for nationwide campaigns.
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Executive
Director
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Executive Chief of Policy and Programs
Alvin Lee (he/him) is the founder and Executive Director of GENup. In this capacity, he oversees day-to-day operations of the organization as well as strategic development and expansion of the organization as a whole. He is a current Sophomore at Stanford University studying public policy and education. A proud graduate of California public schools and a Bay Area native, he has been deeply involved in California education policy since 9th grade and envisions an interconnected education system where student voice and leadership help drive policy creation.In the fall of 2019, he organized youth-led marches for education in three cities (Oakland, SF, San Jose) for the Schools and Communities First Ballot Initiative. After getting involved in local school district issues and noticing the lack of youth participation in education, he founded GENup: a national, youth-led advocacy organization that strives to advocate for education reform through the power of youth voices. Alvin believes that grassroots, community-oriented organizing is at the core of every successful movement.
Alvin is the founding member of the California Department of Education’s first Youth Advisory council, where students utilize youth voice to shape education-policy affecting all of California’s 6.3 million public school students. Alvin is also a co-founder of the California Student Board Member Association.
In his free time, Alvin enjoys music, hiking, and tennis.
Email: alee@generationup.net
Genavieve Koenigshofer (she/her) is a sophomore at University of California: San Diego. She is a pre-med student pursuing a double major in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience and Political Science: Public Policy. As Chief of Staff, she oversees all Directors on the Executive Team and coordinates GENup’s operations. Genavieve developed an interest in education policy as the 2019-2020 Student Advisor to the Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees, representing almost 50,000 students. She is a founding member of the California Student Board Member Association and now sits on their Board of Directors. Genavieve has also served as the Operations VP for Congresswoman Katie Porter's Youth Advisory Board, as a UCSD campus leader for the UC Advocacy Network, and as the President of GENup higher education at UCSD.
Email: genavieve@generationup.net
Chief Operations Officer
Executive Chief of
Communications
George Ashford (he/him) is a sophomore at Claremont McKenna College and a prospective Politics, Philosophy, and Economics major. Before joining GENup's Higher Education policy team, George pursued his passion for youth advocacy and local government as the Chair of the Takoma Park Youth City Council and a Cohort Captain and Roundtable Facilitator with the YMCA Changemakers Institute. He has volunteered and organized campaigns including that of Senator Gary Peters and President Joe Biden in Michigan, worked as a communications assistant for Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart, and interned with the Executive Department at FairVote, an electoral reform advocacy organization. He currently works as a research assistant for the Rose Institute for State and Local Government and as an intern in Congressman Jamie Raskin's DC Office. In his spare time, George loves arguing about tax policy, backpacking, skiing, and otherwise enjoying the outdoors. He is excited to join GENup in making higher education more equitable and accessible for students of all races and income backgrounds!
Ashlyn Bautista (she/her) is a freshman at UC San Diego from Yorba Linda, California who is majoring in Literature and English. As someone who grew up in a family of educators, she was exposed early to conversations around the disparities and hurdles that many students face within the education spectrum. After seeing the ways that her hometown's Board of Education has been actively trying to ban and condemn inclusive and important aspects of the school curriculum, she wanted to be a part of a group of like-minded people that have the chance to advocate for equitable, racially inclusive policies that have the ability to shape a student's life. Although she is new to the educational advocacy scene, Ashlyn wants to use her passion and talents to be a voice for previously marginalized groups and saw GENup as the perfect way to do so. She is currently a member of the GENup chapter at UC San Diego and the GENup Higher Education Director of Communications. In her free time, she enjoys doing anything artistic, writing poetry, reading a good book, and baking sweets for friends and family.
Deputy Chief of Policy and Programs
Alison Chiu (she/her) is a junior at Heritage High School in Brentwood, California. She is extremely passionate about making a change ever since she was young. She is a strong advocate for gender equality, student engagement, and mental health. Alison got involved with GenUP originally at a local level, joining her district's chapter. Then, she became a Director of Organizing, gaining much experience in how to communicate with members and learning a lot about local education systems. She loved learning about the different processes her chapter went through and the extensive advocacy her chapter did locally. She is currently the co-president of her district's chapter. Alison also has a lot of interest in environmental activism, having been Vice Chair and current Co-Chair for Sustainable Leaders in Action (the youth branch of Sustainable Contra Costa). There she is extensively working on the No Oil and Gas Drilling campaign with the rest of her team and is currently working on implementing an education program on water for young students with nearby water districts, along with many other initiatives. Additionally, another passion of Alison's is speech and debate. She has been on the board for her school's speech and debate club and is the current president of the club. Alison is proud of what GenUP, both locally and on a larger scale, has done, and she is absolutely excited to see what holds for the future!
Operations Committee
The Operations Committee oversees all other executive committees. They work closely with the Executive Director to make decisions on action plans for nationwide campaigns.
Executive
Director
Executive Chief of Policy and Programs
Alvin Lee (he/him) is the founder and Executive Director of GENup. In this capacity, he oversees day-to-day operations of the organization as well as strategic development and expansion of the organization as a whole. He is a current Sophomore at Stanford University studying public policy and education. A proud graduate of California public schools and a Bay Area native, he has been deeply involved in California education policy since 9th grade and envisions an interconnected education system where student voice and leadership help drive policy creation.In the fall of 2019, he organized youth-led marches for education in three cities (Oakland, SF, San Jose) for the Schools and Communities First Ballot Initiative. After getting involved in local school district issues and noticing the lack of youth participation in education, he founded GENup: a national, youth-led advocacy organization that strives to advocate for education reform through the power of youth voices. Alvin believes that grassroots, community-oriented organizing is at the core of every successful movement.
Alvin is the founding member of the California Department of Education’s first Youth Advisory council, where students utilize youth voice to shape education-policy affecting all of California’s 6.3 million public school students. Alvin is also a co-founder of the California Student Board Member Association.
In his free time, Alvin enjoys music, hiking, and tennis.
Email: alee@generationup.net
Genavieve Koenigshofer (she/her) is a sophomore at University of California: San Diego. She is a pre-med student pursuing a double major in Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience and Political Science: Public Policy. As Chief of Staff, she oversees all Directors on the Executive Team and coordinates GENup’s operations. Genavieve developed an interest in education policy as the 2019-2020 Student Advisor to the Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees, representing almost 50,000 students. She is a founding member of the California Student Board Member Association and now sits on their Board of Directors. Genavieve has also served as the Operations VP for Congresswoman Katie Porter's Youth Advisory Board, as a UCSD campus leader for the UC Advocacy Network, and as the President of GENup higher education at UCSD.
Email: genavieve@generationup.net
Chief Operations Officer
George Ashford (he/him) is a sophomore at Claremont McKenna College and a prospective Politics, Philosophy, and Economics major. Before joining GENup's Higher Education policy team, George pursued his passion for youth advocacy and local government as the Chair of the Takoma Park Youth City Council and a Cohort Captain and Roundtable Facilitator with the YMCA Changemakers Institute. He has volunteered and organized campaigns including that of Senator Gary Peters and President Joe Biden in Michigan, worked as a communications assistant for Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart, and interned with the Executive Department at FairVote, an electoral reform advocacy organization. He currently works as a research assistant for the Rose Institute for State and Local Government and as an intern in Congressman Jamie Raskin's DC Office. In his spare time, George loves arguing about tax policy, backpacking, skiing, and otherwise enjoying the outdoors. He is excited to join GENup in making higher education more equitable and accessible for students of all races and income backgrounds!
Executive Chief of
Communications
Ashlyn Bautista (she/her) is a freshman at UC San Diego from Yorba Linda, California who is majoring in Literature and English. As someone who grew up in a family of educators, she was exposed early to conversations around the disparities and hurdles that many students face within the education spectrum. After seeing the ways that her hometown's Board of Education has been actively trying to ban and condemn inclusive and important aspects of the school curriculum, she wanted to be a part of a group of like-minded people that have the chance to advocate for equitable, racially inclusive policies that have the ability to shape a student's life. Although she is new to the educational advocacy scene, Ashlyn wants to use her passion and talents to be a voice for previously marginalized groups and saw GENup as the perfect way to do so. She is currently a member of the GENup chapter at UC San Diego and the GENup Higher Education Director of Communications. In her free time, she enjoys doing anything artistic, writing poetry, reading a good book, and baking sweets for friends and family.
Deputy Chief of Policy and Programs
Alison Chiu (she/her) is a junior at Heritage High School in Brentwood, California. She is extremely passionate about making a change ever since she was young. She is a strong advocate for gender equality, student engagement, and mental health. Alison got involved with GenUP originally at a local level, joining her district's chapter. Then, she became a Director of Organizing, gaining much experience in how to communicate with members and learning a lot about local education systems. She loved learning about the different processes her chapter went through and the extensive advocacy her chapter did locally. She is currently the co-president of her district's chapter. Alison also has a lot of interest in environmental activism, having been Vice Chair and current Co-Chair for Sustainable Leaders in Action (the youth branch of Sustainable Contra Costa). There she is extensively working on the No Oil and Gas Drilling campaign with the rest of her team and is currently working on implementing an education program on water for young students with nearby water districts, along with many other initiatives. Additionally, another passion of Alison's is speech and debate. She has been on the board for her school's speech and debate club and is the current president of the club. Alison is proud of what GenUP, both locally and on a larger scale, has done, and she is absolutely excited to see what holds for the future!