Student Leaders
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
Kelly Liu is a student at Valley Christian High School passionate about climate advocacy and environmental sustainability, serving as a co-lead for SVYCA's San Jose Action Team. Through her work with environmental nonprofits, she has focused on projects related to air quality monitoring, climate literacy, and policy advocacy. She is particularly interested in using technology and data to better understand environmental challenges and support local climate action. In her free time, you might find her listening to music, taking walks, or indulging in a sweet treat!
Kelly Liu
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 & Transit team. 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.
Calvin Sridhara
Saratoga | Los Gatos | Team Co-leads
Eric Liang is a rising senior at Saratoga High School and a co-lead of the Los Gatos/Saratoga Action Team at SVYCA. Outside of SVYCA, he serves as an ASB officer at his school and enjoys playing the clarinet. He is passionate about climate advocacy, civic engagement, and bridging the gap between science and policy.
Eric Liang
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
Ahaana Goel is a sophomore at The Harker School and serves as a co-lead of the Saratoga-LG Action Team. She is passionate about taking an initiative in her community through a desire to contribute to others, and in her free time enjoys photography, long walks, and listening to music with her headphones on.
Ahaana Goel
Campbell Team Co-leads
Kaileigh is in the Prospect High School class of 2028 and is co-lead of the Campbell 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.
Kaileigh Hobbs
Molly is in the Prospect High School class of 2028. She is passionate about the environmental sciences and promoting climate literacy among youth and the general public. She has supported local climate policy work, including the Make Polluters Pay resolution and Campbell’s Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. Outside of SVYCA, she volunteers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a guide and leads her high school’s Ecology Club, hoping to connect ocean conservation with climate advocacy. In her free time, she enjoys indoor rock climbing, painting, and learning new jump rope tricks!
Molly Liu
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
Sruthi is a high school sophomore at BASIS Independent Silicon Valley, a co-lead of the Santa Clara Action Team, as well as a member of the San Jose Action Team. She’s dedicated to fighting climate change, whether it be through developing new technologies or advocating for climate policies. She’s particularly passionate about water conservation and renewable energy. In her free time, she loves reading, playing the violin, and biking with her family.
Sruthi Manoj
Abhi is a sophomore in high school and the co-lead of SVYCA’s Santa Clara team. After learning about the climate crisis through her research on factors affecting bird migration, she was inspired to take action and join SVYCA. In her free time, she enjoys birdwatching, playing badminton with friends, rollerblading, reading, and spending time with her dog.
Abhi Manickavasagan
Morgan hill | Gilroy team co-leads
Siya Chauhan is a junior at Ann Sobrato High School and a Co-Lead of the Morgan Hill-Gilroy Team. She is passionate about environmental advocacy, public health, and learning more about psychology and how environmental factors can affect our health and overall well-being. In her free time, she loves collecting trinkets and stickers, sleeping, and spending time with friends and family.
Siya Chauhan
Hana Chohan is a Co-Lead for the Morgan Hill-Gilroy Team and a junior at Christopher High School. Her interests include environmental advocacy, wildlife conservation, and learning more about how human activity affects our ecosystem and the future of our planet. She loves to bake, go thrifting and spending time with her family.
Hana Chohan
Tri-city Team Co-leadS
Aahana Ruparelia
Audrey is a student at Mission San Jose High School and a co-lead of the SVYCA Tri-City Action Team, as well as a member of the Climate and Health Collaborative. She is passionate about environmental literacy and exploring the climate's impact on public health. In her free time, she loves reading, playing guitar, and spending time with friends.
Audrey Tseng
Sayana is a senior at Washington High School and a co-lead of SVYCA's Tri-City Action Team, as well as SVYCA's Operations Officer! Interested in education and climate literacy, Sayana has been involved in various initiatives pertaining to community outreach and building sustainable advocacy in her area. She specifically enjoys learning about the cross section between environmentalism, literature, and politics. Outside of zoom meeting and tabling opportunities, she loves writing poetry, creating graphic designs, and watching iconic movies.
Sayana Settipalli
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
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
Jesika Sapkota is a student at Mills High School located in Millbrae. In her free time, she loves to combine her interests in music, technology, and environmental activism together. She also loves watching dramas and listening to her favorite band groups! She hopes to continue achieving things that make her and her family proud!
Jesika Sapkota
Natalie Dias is co-lead of the SMYCA team. Her passion lies in advocacy and climate tech, where she passed the most progressive reach codes in California and protected local bike lanes through public policy. Natalie is also co-chair of BAYCS, an active member in 350 Silicon Valley, and is a junior at San Mateo High School. For fun, she plays drums in a rock band!
Natalie Dias
State Advocacy team Lead
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
Aidan Le is a class of 2027 student at Evergreen Valley High School who is passionate about environmental engineering and building a more sustainable future through renewable energy and climate-focused innovation. He serves as a co-lead for the state advocacy team at Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action, where he works to support youth involvement in environmental policy and climate action. Aidan is interested in finding practical solutions to environmental challenges and exploring how engineering can create long-term positive impact. In his free time, he enjoys hiking, reading manga, and wrestling.
Aidan Le
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 rising senior at Mills High School and Co-Chair of SVYCA’s Climate × Health Collaborative. She also serves as SVYCA’s Education Officer, leading climate literacy through student programming, curriculum development, school presentations, the Summer Leadership Academy, and regional outreach.
Since joining SVYCA in 2024, she has developed and delivered clean energy and sustainability presentations through the Peninsula Clean Energy Grant cycle and co-led internal operations for the 2025 IMPACT Summit, supporting a 500+ attendee regional event.
Charlotte is especially interested in using education to bridge awareness and policy, helping young people turn knowledge into action in climate, health, and civic decision-making.
Charlotte Liang
Aditi Skandan is a junior at Lynbrook High School and serves as a Co-Lead for the Climate Health Collaborative at SVYCA. She is the founder and President of her school's nutrition club and is passionate about the intersection of climate change, public health, and equity. Through her work, she aims to make complex topics more accessible and empower other students to take initiative in their own communities. Outside of SVYCA, she enjoys creative expression, leadership, and building spaces that connect people across different backgrounds. She is excited to continue growing the collaborative and working alongside passionate youth.
Aditi Skandan
Transit Team
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 & Transit team. 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.
Calvin Sridhara
Amaira Gupta is a student at The Nueva School and Co-Lead of the Transit Action Team. She is passionate about climate and transit advocacy, working to advance sustainable policy and expand access to safe, reliable public transportation. Amaira believes in empowering communities to take meaningful action around transit and climate crises.