Student Leaders
Cupertino team co-leads
Joyce is a student at Lynbrook High School. She served as the Cupertino Teen Commission Vice Chair in 2023 and worked on policy directly with the city council. Now she serves as the SVYCA Cupertino Co-Lead as well as the FUHSD Climate Collective Commissioner, working with other student leaders to advocate for climate-related policy and expand environmental literacy district-wide.
Joyce Cheung
Jeremy li
Elaine is a student at The Harker School and a co-lead of the Cupertino and Saratoga | Los Gatos | Campbell teams at SVYCA. Outside of the organization, she enjoys playing tennis, learning new languages, going on rollercoasters, and travelling! She is also the president of the Garden Club and VP of the Green Team at her school. She joined the organization in hopes to influence youth to join the climate movement while learning new approaches to sustainability herself!
Elaine Zou
San Jose team co-leads
Mani Bekele is a homeschooled freshman in highschool and a co-lead of the San Jose Youth Climate Action Team. He has always been aware of and passionate about climate action, but got more involved after working with his older sister to give climate literacy presentations to students at their former elementary school. He joined the San Jose Team after attending SVYCA’s 2022 Youth Leadership Summit and has been an active member since, with a particular interest in nature-based and food systems solutions like wildland conservation, community food forests and regenerative agriculture. In his free time, he loves vegetable gardening, vegan cooking, hiking with family, and playing board games, especially chess. (manimandm0@gmail.com)
Mani Bekele
Diya Prasanth is a senior at ACCEL Middle College and serves as SVYCA’s Operations Officer and a San Jose Action Team Co-Lead. She became involved with climate advocacy after being impacted by the SCU wildfires in 2020. She has worked on a range of local policy initiatives, including electrification and EV charging reach codes, banning artificial turf, and preserving funding for San Jose’s Climate Smart program. Outside of policy, Diya combines her love for computer science and environmental advocacy by creating climate-focused apps. As a aspiring researcher and computer science enthusiast, she aims to pursue research in sustainable AI systems, with a focus on reducing computing’s environmental footprint while advancing climate resilience
Diya Prasanth
Kanika is a student at Notre Dame High School in San Jose and a co-lead in the San Jose youth action team. She works to increase awareness of climate action through community outreach projects and advocates for climate-friendly policies. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and running in nature and trying new foods.
Kanika Rawat
Calvin Sridhara is a class of 2028 student at Leland High School with a strong passion for climate action, astrophysics, and STEM education. He is a co-lead for Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action’s San Jose team, where he helps organize youth-led civic engagement initiatives. He is especially interested in sustainable energy resources and advancing solutions that move away from fossil fuels toward renewable, environmentally responsible alternatives. Calvin continues to explore the intersection of science, communication, and community impact. He is also a varsity athlete in water polo and swimming, and he is a vegetarian.
Calvin Sridhara
Saratoga | Los Gatos | Team Co-leads
Nova Jayaraj is a junior at Los Gatos High School and the co-lead of the Los Gatos/Saratoga subteam within SVYCA. Nova is deeply committed to empowering young people to take initiative in their communities—regardless of age, gender, race, or sexuality. She believes that her ability to speak out on critical issues comes with a moral responsibility to advocate for those who cannot. At school, Nova is actively involved in a wide range of activities: she is a cross country runner, the Treasurer of Interact (a student service club), a hardware specialist on the Robotics team, and the President of Vocalis, a mentorship club that helps middle school students explore and develop their passions. With a deep love for her community, Nova is driven by a desire to constantly work to improve it, creating positive change that benefits the future of others.
Nova Jayaraj
Rithik Gupta is a high school Junior at Los Gatos High School and serves as a Climate Action Leader for the Los Gatos/Saratoga region with Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action. He is passionate about advancing local sustainability efforts, engaging peers in climate advocacy, and developing community projects that promote environmental resilience and youth leadership across the South Bay.
Rithik Gupta
Campbell Team Co-leads
Kaileigh is in the Prospect High School class of 2028 and is co-lead of the SLGC chapter. She is passionate about teaching climate literacy to youth and sustainable waste management. Kaileigh leads her high school environmental protection club and received a grant to start a school-wide composting program. She spends most of her spare time training and competing internationally with her synchronized swimming team, volunteering at the SF Aquarium, and hanging out with her friends. Email: k.hobbs.usa@gmail.com
Kaileigh Hobbs
Nolan is an 11th-grade student at Prospect High School passionate about raising awareness of climate change and its impact on human health. I’m especially interested in exploring the connection between climate and health and hope to bring that perspective to SVYCA. Outside of SVYCA, I enjoy playing soccer and serve as President of my school’s Nutrition & Health Club. Email: nolankazcha@gmail.com
Nolan Cha
Sunnyvale team co-leads
SUFee Kathane
Cynthia Li (she/her) is SVYCA’s Sunnyvale Action Team Co-lead and Social Media Director (if that last part is necessary to put in). She has worked with the Sunnyvale Environmental Services Department to make sustainable polices a reality, and Sunnyvale Safe Streets to make her city a more walkable and bikeable place! Cynthia is hopeful about spreading climate literacy amongst others and sparking crucial conversations about sustainability. Email:
cynthia.li.email@gmail.com
Cynthia Li
Santa Clara Team co-leads
Nandana is a student at Santa Clara High School and a co-lead of the Santa Clara City Team. As an advocate for environmental issues, she is committed to mitigating the effects of climate change through spreading awareness. She is also involved in spreading environmental awareness through educating young minds. Driven by a passion to address food insecurity caused by climate change, she is dedicated to finding technological solutions to this critical global challenge. She is currently the co-president of her school’s environmental club. Nandana enjoys playing the violin and drawing. You can also find Nandana volunteering at nature preserves in her free time. (nandanamahesk@gmail.com)
Nandana Maheskumar
Abhi Manickavasagan
Morgan hill | Gilroy team co-leads
Ishq Kandhra is a student at Ann Sobrato High School. She is the founder and president of her school’s Investment Club and has also launched a pop-up restaurant - blending her passions for entrepreneurship, sustainability, and the culinary arts. Ishq aspires to own a sustainable fine-dining restaurant chain that combats food waste while giving back to the community.
Ishq Kandhra
Diya Chauhan
Tri-city Team Co-leads
Sarah Adkar
Padma is a student at Mission San Jose High School and a co-lead of the Fremont Action Team, where she advocates for environment and urban development. She's also involved in youth-focused climate justice organizing as a member of the Bay Area Youth Climate Summit and as the Vice President of her school's Youth4Climate club. In her free time, she enjoys spending way too much money on iced coffees, watching sitcoms, and going thrifting.
Padma Balaji
Mountain View | Los Altos Team Co-Leads
Zoe is a student at The Nueva School. From a young age, she loved to visit aquariums and go on hikes, which led to her love of nature and passion for environmental activism. She is part of two environmental-related clubs at her school and has enjoyed leading/participating in events, including fundraisers, eco action raisers, etc. In her free time, she loves to play volleyball, listen to true crime podcasts, and eat tasty food. She also loves to travel the world and experience different cultures.
Zoe Chien
Sahana Srinivasan is a student at Los Altos High School and a Co-Lead of the Mountain View Los Altos team. Her lifelong enthusiasm for nature quickly evolved into a deep commitment to sustainability and addressing climate change. Sahana has collaborated with local organizations such as GreenTown Los Altos and Grassroots Ecology, actively volunteering and promoting environmental initiatives. She joined SVYCA to connect with peers passionate about making impactful environmental change and has greatly valued the supportive and dedicated community of fellow youth advocates she has found through the organization.
Sahana Srinivasan
Chloe Chiang is a student at Castilleja School. She focuses on advocating for more accessible, sustainable transportation options through educational content, founding a public transit club at Castilleja, and working on projects within her city. She loves basketball, volleyball, biking, and performing in her school's rock band
Chloe Chiang
San Mateo County team co-leads
Audra Loh is a student at The Nueva School and Co-Lead of San Mateo Youth Climate Action. She is passionate about advancing climate solutions, from clean energy initiatives to sustainable policy advocacy, and wants to empower communities to take action against the climate crisis. (audloh@nuevaschool.org)
Audra Loh
Emily Ma is a student at Aragon High School in San Mateo. She hopes to combine her interests in art and STEM to generate positive environmental change. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, reading, and making low-quality memes with Imgflip.
Emily Ma
State Advocacy team Lead
Katherine Park
Aahaan is a freshman at Lynbrook High School and a co-lead of the state advocacy team. He is passionate about the interdisciplinary aspects of climate change and is interested in environmental economics and climate policy. In his free time, he enjoys typing competitively and sleeping! Email: aahaanjn@gmail.com
AAhaan Jain
Nature-Based Solutions Team Co-Leads
Hi, I'm Aanya Gautam, a Junior at Washington High School and a Co-Lead for the Nature Based Solutions team, as well as a member of the Tri-City team. I love learning more about math in my free time and messing around with my electric guitar. aanyagautam140@gmail.com
Aanya Gautam
Rosalía Bacon-Flores
Health & Climate Collaborative Team Co-Leads
Charlotte Liang is a junior at Mills High School and a co-lead for the Health and Climate Collaborative as well as the Education Officer at SVYCA. I’m passionate about helping more people understand how climate connects to everyday life and how youth can make a real difference. This year, I’m excited to work with others to spread climate awareness and build stronger, more sustainable communities! My email is Kikili0717@gmail.com if you’d like to get in touch