Leadership Team
Alice Feng
Co-President
Alice is a junior at The Harker School. She is very passionate about computer science, biology, and medicine. She was a Broadcom MASTERS Top 30 Finalist. Alice figure skates competitively, enjoys playing the piano, and loves reading all types of books. In her free time, she often upcycles waste materials such as plastic water bottle caps and soda pop tabs into creative and practical projects. Alice organizes and leads the River Glen program as well as library workshops.
Sidra Xu
Co-President
Sidra is a senior at The Harker School. She loves math, computer science, and research and is eager to share her enthusiasm for the sciences with others. She is especially interested in bioinformatics and has attended multiple science fairs. She also teaches programming classes at local libraries and plays violin in the school orchestra. In her spare time, she reads historical books and wonders about the ethical implications of technology. Sidra currently co-leads the ACE Esperanza program.
Bowen Yin
Vice President of Operations
Bowen is a senior at The Harker School. He loves computer science and has built several web apps used by students in his school's community. He is also a part of Harker's student software development organization and the robotics team. His hobbies include playing competitive golf and programming. Bowen currently leads the Morrill program.
Andrew Lu
Vice President of Volunteering
Andrew is a senior at The Harker School. He is particularly interested in computer science, with its endless applications to STEM fields such as astrophysics and bioinformatics. In addition, Andrew does competitive programming and helps to organize HarkerHacks. Aside from STEM, he enjoys debating and playing water polo for his school team. In his free time, Andrew likes stargazing, reading thrillers, and hiking.
Pujita Tangirala
Vice President of Events
Pujita is a junior at Saint Francis High School. She loves chemistry and physics. She is particularly interested in astrophysics. She has been active in the Synopsys Science Fair for the past few years and was a Broadcom MASTERS Semifinalist in 2016 and Finalist in 2017. Outside of science, she plays many instruments and is part of her school’s Marching Band, Concert Band, and Jazz Band. She also performs the classical Indian dance called Kuchipudi. Pujita currently leads the Voices Franklin McKinley program and was previously a KIPP Heartwood Co-lead.
Nathaniel Johnson
Director of Tech
Nathan is a junior at KIPP San Jose Collegiate. As an alumnus of the KIPP Heartwood 2017-18 school program, he is interested and passionate about technology, video game creation, and bioengineering. He enjoys creating new tech projects, and has participated in multiple game jams, and swims competitively. Nathan currently leads for the KIPP Heartwood program.
Jia Desai
Director of Curriculum
Jia Desai is currently a junior at Monta Vista High School. She is passionate about biology and chemistry, particularly neuroscience. She has lived in America and India for many years at a time, thus being exposed to diverse cultures. Apart from studies, she is a movie fanatic and loves listening to new music. Jia leads the Renaissance Academy program.
Brian Chen
Director of Outreach
Brian is a sophomore at The Harker School. He is interested in all types of analytical research, particularly in the fields of geophysics and astrophysics. Outside of science, he enjoys tennis or any sport in general, and in the winter, skiing. Brian leads the Morrill middle school program.
Sabrina Zhu
Director of Publicity
Sabrina is a sophomore at The Harker School. She is interested in both medicine and computer science, and she is passionate about fostering a more diverse and inclusive community within the STEM fields. Besides volunteering at Opportunity X, Sabrina plays the piano competitively, watches movies, snowboards, and contributes to her school’s newspaper.
Ethan Zuo
Director of Fundraising
Ethan is a junior at Saratoga High School. He's passionate in engineering, computers, and device servicing and repairs. He is a 2016 Broadcom MASTERS Semifinalist and 2020 MIT THINK Scholars Finalist, and the founder of The IT Club, which provides devices to students in need for online learning. Outside of OpportunityX, Ethan tinkers with and repairs electronics, anchors and produces segments for his school news team, and continues his science research.
Lucy Gong
East Bay Branch Lead
Lucy is a sophomore at James Logan High School. She’s very passionate in medicine, nutrition, chemistry, and sustainable energy. She was a BROADCOM MASTERS Semifinalist and INSPO Research & Innovation Competition Top Finalist. She likes to spend her free time researching new topics, oil painting, and doing Speech and Debate. She’s currently leading the Itliong-Vera Cruz program.
Renee Ng
East Bay Branch Co-Lead
Renee is currently a freshman at El Cerrito High School, and is interested in engineering and chemistry, with chemical engineering being a prospective major for her. She has participated in multiple science fairs, including GGSF. She enjoys cooking, graphic design, reading, and music. She is also a member of her school's volleyball team, and a flutist of her school's band. She hopes to work with children in the future, introducing them to many types of science early on in their lives to inspire them to reach for a STEM career.
State Branch Directors
Maya Chandar
Director of Florida Branch
Maya is a junior at Canterbury School in Fort Myers, Florida. She's passionate about STEM, particularly genetic and biomedical engineering, and has created several projects that look into the acceleration of cellular and molecular processes. She loves to play many instruments and play tennis. In her free time, she likes to read, give back to the community, and listen to music.
Gary Zhan
Director of Utah (Logan High) Branch
Gary is a junior at Logan High School in Logan, Utah. He is passionate about microbiology, mathematics, and engineering, and is currently studying the interactions between plants and their microbiome. He was a Broadcom MASTERS semifinalist in 2016 and a finalist in 2018. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, playing piano, and playing tennis.
Marianne Liu
Director of Utah (West High) Branch
Marianne is a sophomore at West High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is especially interested in environmental science, materials science, and computer science. She was a 2019 Broadcom MASTERS semifinalist for her research on how sunscreen affects marine aquatic life. Marianne is particularly passionate about STEM empowerment in her community and volunteers as a math instructor on her school's middle competition math team. Outside of academics, she plays violin for the Utah Youth Symphony, is on her school's Ultimate Frisbee team, and loves to hike and ski with her family.
Alice Huang
Director of Texas Branch
Alice Huang is a junior at St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas. She loves all things biology and is a USA Biology Olympiad Semifinalist and the co-president of the Minorities in Science club at her school. Alice is also passionate about serving her community: in her free time, she runs a cookie delivery business to raise money for her city's COVID-19 relief fund. She also enjoys Chinese dance, piano, and fashion
Sonal Alla
Co-Director of Texas Branch
Sonal Alla is a sophomore at St. Stephen's Episcopal School in Austin, Texas. She participated in multiple science fairs and has won the US Navy SEAL and Marine Corps award at the Austin Energy Science Festival in 2018. She is interested in pursuing a career in health sciences and has taken classes in cancer-biology and bioinformatics. In her spare time, Sonal mentors refugee children. She is an alumni of Lonestar Leadership Academy. She also loves dance and baking,
School Program Leaders
Ashley Ruan
Anika Bhatia
Eric Xie
Carol Winniger
Stephen Xia
Sneha Revanur
Jeffrey Wang
Emily D'Angelo
Anushka Kesavan
Swathi Badrinarayanan
Rhea Nanavati
Nikhil Jagota
The Harker School
Leland High School
Irvington High School
The Harker School
The Harker School
Evergreen Valley High School
Palo Alto High School
Canterbury High School
Monta Vista High School
Saint Francis High School
The Harker School
Fremont High School
Board of Directors
Cynthia Chen
Co-Founder
Cynthia Chen is a freshman at Harvard University. She graduated from the Harker School. She loves science and research, and she has conducted computational biology research projects for the past four years. Cynthia is involved with the Research Club, AI Club, and Horizon science magazine at her school. In her free time, she plays volleyball and enjoys drawing and baking.
Adishree Ghatare
Co-founder
Adishree is a freshman at Caltech. She graduated from Saint Francis High School. She loves service, science, and technology. She has an especially strong affinity for machine learning with which she has completed several research projects. She leads her school's programming and Girls Who Code clubs. She loves to spread her interest of programming through LancerHacks, the hackathon that she organizes. Outside of STEM, Adishree performs violin, is captain of her school's Bollywood team, and runs half marathons.
Rashi Ranjan
Rashi is a freshman at University of Pittsburg. She graduated from Leland High School. Passionate about biomedical research, she has completed projects about various issues, from vehicular heatstroke to lung cancer, and loves to travel to speak about her research at conferences and competitions. When she's not delving into scientific breakthroughs, Rashi is usually baking desserts or creating foods inspired by international cuisines.
Thomas Carroll
Principal of Morrill Middle School
Nathan Laing
Science Teacher
Mr. Laing has been teaching for 10 years after spending almost 25 years in high technology as an engineer. He views teaching as a way to interest children in subjects they might not otherwise enjoy, and loves to experience the "lightbulb moment" when a child first understands a difficult concept. In his free time, Mr. Laing enjoys hanging out with friends and family, playing with his dog Stella and his cat Fitty, and following local sports teams. He also enjoys watching movies and golfing.