Organizing Committee
The Organizing Committee reaches out and makes connections with all GENup chapters. They provide a one-on-one line of communication to the GENup Executive Team and are also instrumental in rolling out new campaigns.
Chief Organizing Officer
Aarna Suresh (she/her) is a junior in high school from the Central Valley of California. She has always been interested in advocacy and fighting for the status quo to be equitable to all. She is extremely excited to bring all that she has learned to an area she believes is the most important to us all: Education. We have all been both a teacher and a student in our lives, and Aarna is grateful for the opportunity to make her difference. Outside of her advocacy work, she is usually found watching a movie or hiking on the beautiful trails of her hometown.
Director of Organizing
(K-12)
Euri Kim (She/Her) is a junior at Arnold O. Beckman High School in Irvine, California. At school, Euri serves as class president, where she represents over 800 peers, as well as co-captain of the mock trial team. Beyond her campus, she is Director of Government on a Local Level for the California Association of Student Councils, where she has testified before the Assembly Committee on Education, presented before the State Board of Education, and worked on expanding financial aid access for immigrant and undocumented students. She also serves as Policy Director for both the California High School Democrats and Coalition PAC, where she designs legislative strategies, writes policy packages on labor justice and education equity, and runs several fellowships training young people to draft real legislation. As California State Lead for New Voters, she spearheads youth voter registration drives across the state. Currently, she is interning at Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris’ office, gaining direct experience in constituent services and state-level policymaking, and her experiences also include internships with IGNITE National. Through building student policy platforms, she strives to amplify marginalized voices and reimagine what young people can achieve.
Amaria Yang (she/her) is the Director of Organizing for GenUP and a senior at Diamond Bar High School in Southern California. Her goal is to empower youth voices in education policy and civic engagement. She previously founded Voices in Liberty, a storytelling and platform focused on educating and empowering youth to advocate and know their civil rights and liberties. Previously having interned at the Los Angeles Superior Court, shes deeply passionate about increasing equity in our justice system. Outside of organizing, she’s passionate about journalism and mock trial, using both to advocate for youth and inspire others to speak up.
Director of Organizing
(K-12)
Anna Ngyuen (she/her) is senior at Lincoln High School and serves as one of GENup's Director's of Organizing (K-12). Anna has always been passionate about education policy and criminal law, and hopes to be able to advocate for people from marginalized backgrounds throughout all the work she does. Growing up in her city's most underserved community in unconventional circumstances, she has seen firsthand how overlooking historically marginalized communities directly impacts students development, hence, she strives to provide equitable learning resources to foster welcoming learning environments for students. Anna currently serves as the Student Delegate to the SFUSD Board of Education, where she acts as a liason between SFUSD's 55,000+ students to the Board of Education and advocates for policies that enhance student learning and creates welcoming learning environments. Addtionally, she serves as the Executive Director of Youth for San Francisco, a youth-led organization aiming to civically educate, engage and activate youth into San Francisco government through explainers, events and internships. There, she leads event planning, grant writing and sets the general direction of the organization to promote civic engagement across San Francisco. Anna's previous experiences include working both at the San Francisco District Attorney's and Public Defender's offices, where she has seen firsthand how both offices play a key role in the criminal justice system and has seen firsthand how these systems affect the people within it. Within her school, Anna is highly involved with the arts, serving as her school's dance company President, directing choreography and leading performances inside and out of school. In her free time, you can find Anna taking public transportation across the Bay Area, getting a HeyTea Coconut Mango Boom, or cafe hopping around the city.
Director of Organizing
(K-12)
Rhania Bhalla (she/her) is a Palo Alto–based student leader, activist, and aspiring lawyer from California. A member of the Henry M. Gunn High School Class of 2027, she currently interns at Stanford Law School’s Deborah L. Rhode Center, where she researches legal innovations to expand access to justice, tracks court hiring practices, and supports advocacy for unhoused veterans facing disability discrimination. She also serves as an intern for TurnUp Activism, where she promotes youth civic engagement and develops educational content on climate action, racial equity, and gun violence prevention. Rania is the founder and president of her school’s chapter of the High School Democrats of America, and she holds leadership roles in both the HSDA Women’s Caucus and AAPI Caucus. She is actively involved in Model United Nations, Amnesty International, the South Asian Student Association, and Mock Trial, combining policy research with community organizing. She is a member of the Scholastic Teen Advisory Board, has volunteered with Buddies 4 Math to expand STEM and arts access for underserved students, and works as a certified lifeguard and camp counselor. Fluent in English and Hindi and conversational in Spanish, Punjabi, and Urdu, Rania is passionate about civic participation, legal equity, women’s rights, AAPI representation, and expanding educational opportunities. She brings a global perspective and a commitment to advocacy, leadership, and the power of youth voices.
Director of Organizing
(K-12)
Director of Organizing
Esperanza Booher (she/her) is a first-year student at American River CC pursuing a major in Physical Sciences/Mathematics in Sacramento, California. She plans to transfer to a four-year university to pursue a degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics. She became interested in student civic engagement through participation in speech and debate, being an ambassador for the CA State Seal of Civic Engagement, and being a member of her high school district’s Student Advisory Council and current college’s ASB. Through these activities, she was able to learn about the flaws in education, especially those against marginalized and underrepresented communities, and learned that students have the ability to advocate for themselves and have their voices heard despite what they have been made out to believe due to their age. She joined GENup as an avenue to gain civic and political literacy. and to be a part of a team where she knows that what she does has an impact. Outside of civic engagement, she loves music, astronomy, fashion, and community service and either leads or participates in several groups that suit her interests (such as Circle K, band, color guard, and more)! She is always excited to serve GENup by supporting and connecting chapters, and cannot wait to see what more students across the nation can do for educational reform!
Rebecca Yang (she/her) is passionate about leading community-driven change at all levels of impact. As the founder of Read to Respond, she leads an international literacy organization across 27 countries and 15 chapters. She is also the 26-27 Student Commissioner on the California Instructional Quality Commission, working to represent student voices at statewide curriculum decision-making, and she has contributed in the California Department of Education's AI model policy. In addition to volunteering in local educational iniatives, she loves taking long walks, writing poetry, and doing yoga.
Director of Organizing
(K-12)
Ruby Mathew (she/her) is a senior at Cosumnes Oaks High School in Elk Grove, CA. She has always been an advocate for education equity and creating affordable opportunities for youth to get involved in the legal field. At school, Ruby serves as the Vice President on her Student Equity Council, as founder and president of the Model UN (MUN) club, and as a Mock Trial Attorney. Outside of school, she is involved in various activities, including co-founding SVMUNC, a free MUN circuit for students to discuss foreign policy; founding Treaties and Trials, a blog and podcast that simplifies law, history, and global affairs for teens; and doing various shadowing and interning within grassroots activism and law. Through GENup, Ruby is committed to upholding the Civic Engagement Pledge and, of course, organizing education equity events/initatives. You can often find Ruby reading a dystopian novel, painting, or researching a new supreme court case for her podcast.
Director of Organizing
(K-12)
Emily Diaz (she/her) is a driven and enthusiastic advocate. Hailing from a first-generation, low-income background, she has transformed her adversity into achievement by amplifying student voices across California and nationwide. Emily is most proud of the transformative initiatives she’s fostered as the statewide Communications Director at the California High School Democrats. She’s built inaugural mentorship programs connecting high school girls to political organizing professionals whilst publicizing civic engagement events to more than 2,000 members. Her strife for change extends to her national policy platform, co-authoring a student-written bill with the American Youth Association introducing a New Jersey Seal of Civic Engagement. She continues to foster youth political engagement as the sole Orange County Mental Health Policy Fellow with the Youth Leadership Institute, conducting community research to expand the Behavioral Health Services Act whilst advocating against cuts to youth mental health programs. Emily extends her political engagement by leading both congressional and supervisorial campaigns, crafting brand identity, capturing social media content, and securing PAC endorsements for candidates. She empowers young girls in politics by interning with IGNITE National, organizing lobby days at the California capitol and running local voter registration drives. At school, Emily is the Secretary-General of Committees for her school’s Model UN program. In her community, she drives youth involvement as the sole Teen Advisory Board Volunteer Leader at her city library and the Project Management Team Lead for her district’s student film festival. She is a proud 8x Recognized Carson Scholar, Simon Scholar, Alexander Hamilton Scholar, Questbridge College Prep Scholar, and stands as the current Distinguished Young Woman of Tustin.