Board Of Directors
Co-Founder Charlotte Cao
My name is Charlotte Cao and I’m a junior at Portola High. Ever since I was young, I have been fascinated with stories; I have distinct memories of staying up way too late to finish reading just one more chapter or obsessively searching through IMDB sites after watching a stunning movie (basically anything directed by Christopher Nolan). However, as I grew up, it became startlingly apparent to me that there was little to no Asian representation in the art forms that I loved so much. It’s because of this that I became so passionate about working on Stories Empowered with my friend Claudia. But outside of Stories Empowered, I enjoy finding new music for my playlists, dashing to 7Leaves for a Thai tea with boba, and losing in board games against my cousins.
Co-Founder Claudia Lin
My name is Claudia Lin and I am a junior at Portola High. Growing up as a young Chinese American girl, I never really knew what it meant to be Asian American. I fell in love with stories and my idols often originated from them, but I was never exposed to one book about the experiences of someone like me. Because of this, I recognized the power that telling diverse stories holds in child development. Stories Empowered strives to bridge divides by offering a platform where people can tell their own stories about their cultural experiences through different mediums. It fosters a place where all perspectives are told, heard, and understood, thereby bringing diversity in storytelling. In my free time, I enjoy listening to 80’s music, watching baseball, reading books, and rewatching Gilmore Girls for the sixth time.
Finance Director Puneet Singh
My name is Puneet Singh and I’m a junior at Portola High. Being a Sikh American, I’ve grown up with little to no exposure to Indian culture in the media. Growing up, this was weird for me as I never saw anyone in the media that looked like me and came from a background like I did. This was really important to me because I wanted to see someone that reminded me of myself. Not just personality wise, but ethnicity, race, and religion. This is why the mission of Stories Empowered really stuck out to me. Now I can be that person that I so wanted to see in the media. I can be a role model to young Sikh American girls so that they know that their lives and the stories they share with others are important. In my free time, I love to sing, play basketball, and binge Netflix for what seems like an eternity.
Operations Director Ali Dada
Hi, I’m Ali Dada and I’m a senior at Portola High. I never realized how important representation was as my culture teaches us to “man up and deal with” any problems that come our way. So I never saw the lack of diversity in media as a problem at all. Recently, as I’ve come to educate myself more, I find myself passionate about making sure everyone feels represented in popular culture and has a chance to learn seeing people that look like them, and that’s why I decided to join Stories Empowered. I love music and languages and people. Some of my favorite things to do are play basketball, play guitar, and watch shows/movies/anime.
Public Relations Director Pantea
Khanipourkakroudi
My name’s Pantea Khanipourkakroudi and I’m a junior at Woodbridge high school. As a middle easterners growing up, I saw how villainized the people of the Middle East were. I myself was always confused because growing up as a Persian middle easterner, I grew up with the beautiful culture and the rich history that I absolutely love. It made me confused on why were my people not liked and seen as dangerous. This early on set thought of mine always made me want to change people’s mind about the Middle East and it’s something that made me want to work on stories empowered, also to change people prejudice about different cultures and races. Aside from stories empowered, I grew up in Canada and just recently moved to California. I love love love how I met your mother 100% my favourite show and I’m in love with pasta!
Creativity Director Emme Song
My name is Emme Song and I am a junior at Irvine High School who joined Stories Empowered because of my mutual friendship with Claudia! Stories Empowered is special to me because I’ve always wanted to share another side of our community with the world. The less pretty, more messy side of our community is sometimes more beautiful than its perfect side. I love to play water polo, do photography, and design graphics! In my free time I walk my dog or can be found watching youtube videos.
Uplift All Voices Project Director
Claire Chien
My name is Claire Chien, and I’m a junior at Northwood High. Stories Empowered aims to increase diversity in storytelling, and that’s a message that hits close to home for me. Seeing Asian Americans represented on screen for the first time through movies and shows such as Crazy Rich Asians and Fresh Off the Boat was endlessly refreshing and reassuring. But there’s still work to be done ensure that all BIPOC are represented in the media—that’s why I joined Stories Empowered, to help this world take a step toward a more diverse and inclusive future. Beyond this initiative, I’m extremely passionate about the Birds Aren’t Real Campaign, as well as Cha For Tea’s honey green milk tea with boba. I also like fruit loops and spend my free time pirating movies. Arrr! (For legal reasons, this is a joke.)
Visual Perspectives Project Director Elena Kim
My name is Elena Kim and I am a junior at Portola High School. I joined Stories Empowered with the hopes to share authentic stories in digital media and art. With an interest in broadcast journalism, I am currently a part of my school’s broadcast show, Portola News Network. I truly believe that everyone has stories that can make an impact on the world. In my free time, I love gardening and looking for new foodie spots.
Website Director Leena Elmashat
My name is Leena Elmashat and I am a junior at Portola High School. As a Muslim and a Middle Eastern-American kid growing up, I always felt that I had a disadvantage if I were ever to try and pursue my classic childhood dreams of being a tv or movie star. That is why I joined Stories Empowered and its quest towards media representation. In my free time, I love to read fantasy books and hang out with friends! I also love to travel!
Co-Operations Director Sanjana
Nitturkar
My name is Sanjana Nitturkar, and I'm the co-operations officer at Irvine High! I joined Stories Empowered because it combines two of my passions: art and activism. I truly believe the only way to change people’s opinions is through art - its the only thing that allows you to feel empathy for a group of people you may have zero interaction with. Within art, I love graphic design, sewing, and animation! I hope that through this nonprofit, we can tell people’s stories and change the world in small, positive ways.