PRESIDENT

Sophie Zeng is a senior at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, California. As a long-time programmer, she is fascinated with computer science and especially artificial intelligence. She also loves learning about all the cool quirks of our ecosystems, and has most recently been obsessed with bees. From combining her interests and putting her head together with Grace, out came Project ARISE! In her free time, Sophie enjoys filmmaking, technical theater, and studying constitutional law. She aspires to see the world as it is, as it was, and as it can be.

VICE PRESIDENT

Malaika Khanna is a junior at The Bishop’s School. She has always had a passion for the environment and species survival, adventuring on countless trips with her family all across the globe. STEM subjects have always been her favorite to do in school, with special emphasis on ideas of genetics and species restoration. This led to her join the team for Project ARISE, which she is excited to be a part of, and combat these issues on our planet. In her free time, she can be found either on the theatrical stage or playing with her dog!

DIRECTOR OF BISHOP’S CHAPTER

Grace Yao is co-founder of Project ARISE and a senior at The Bishop’s School. From hiking to surfing, she has always been an avid enjoyer of the outdoors, especially the local wildlife and beaches of San Diego. In addition to using AI to protect the environment, she is exploring applications of programming and AI in biotechnology, especially healthcare. In her downtime, Grace can often be found reading, playing piano or violin, and (always) listening to Taylor Swift.

DIRECTOR OF BISHOP’S CHAPTER

Sydney Whitman is currently a junior at the Bishops School. She’s taken many courses surrounding environmental research, most recently enrolling in a marine biology class. There, she was first introduced to invasive species and their impact on wildlife and natural ecosystems. After hearing about ARISE, Sydney was drawn to the aspect of learning more about controlling invasive species. She’s collaborated with the other ARISE team members to supply a better understanding of the impact of invasive species on both our lives and the lives of other living creatures. Apart from school, she likes to spend her free time drawing/painting, listening to music, and playing with her cats.

DIRECTOR OF TUNISIA CHAPTER

Razen Naoui is a senior at Gabès's Pioneer High School, Tunisia. She's passionate about technology, STEM, human rights, and the environment. Since early childhood she dreamt of creating a world where human comfort does not come at the cost of Mother Earth. She thinks technology was never the issues and innovation doesn't have to mean destruction or pollution, but it's our perspective and priorities that make the difference. Seeing her city suffer from environmental issues and biodiversity threats, Razen decided she wants to do something to educate the community and take action. She loves all kinds of art from music to cinema, so she dedicates a lot of her time painting, singing and crafting.

DIRECTOR OF TORREY PINES CHAPTER

Betty Xie is a sophomore at Torrey Pines High School. She enjoys hiking in nature and learning new things about the plants and animals she sees. She joined Project ARISE to help raise awareness of environmental issues in the community. In her free time, she loves spending time to bake, making wooden projects, and fencing.

DIRECTOR OF APP DEVELOPMENT

Michael Sun is a sophomore at The Bishop's School. His passion for computer science, alongside an appreciation for the complexities of nature, motivated him to join the development team of Project ARISE; hence following the opportunity to work with software and grow with other developers. In his free time, he enjoys competitive programming, doing math, and playing tennis.

DIRECTOR OF WESTVIEW CHAPTER

Jade Peters is a senior at Westview High School. She's been amazed San Diego's wildlife and nature during camping and backpacking trips with her family, and mountain biking since childhood. Recently, mobile app and game development have become her main interests. She joined Project ARISE to help protect the beautiful environment through designing and programming the app.

DIRECTOR OF WESTVIEW CHAPTER

Tanya Mandyam is a senior at Westview High School. She loves coding and basically anything to do with computer science, and recently creating apps has become one of her hobbies. She also enjoys graphic design. She joined Project ARISE to help our society as invasive species was something she took interest in.