Humanity Rising VOICES

On the Second Episode of Behind The Screen - The Harms of Cyberbullying Webinar. Host Devin Moore, Founder of #RaceToSpeakUp and Designer of #BehindTheScreen Curriculum, and Co-Host Dr. Sundeep Randhawa, a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist are joined by Shant'a Miller White and Arlette Simmons. Shant'a Miller White is the Founder and CEO of Parents Against Bullying VA, an organization that empowers the youth, their families, and communities to stand up against bullying. Arlette Simmons is a Licensed Professional Therapist and CEO of Clinical Services LLC. Arlette’s focus is to help individuals, families and couples heal, energize, and become aware of their inner strengths.    

The theme for this Episode is "How Can Parents Teach Their Kids To Be Responsible Online?"     

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Humanity Rising:

Medha Kolhe is a Risk Management Analyst and the Co-founder and CEO of Inara. She recently graduated from Babson College (Class of '21) in Boston, Massachusetts, and is a Bay Area native. In college, she majored in finance, strategic management, and entrepreneurship, while also studying abroad opportunities in London, Dubai, Paris, and Singapore. At Babson, she was incredibly involved with her Women's Leadership Scholarship cohort, served in various leadership positions in Alpha Kappa Psi - a coed business fraternity, and was a part of the Honors Program, writing her own senior thesis on cross-border entrepreneurship. Aside from her college and career achievements, she is a huge tennis fan, loves traveling and learning about different cultures, experimenting in the kitchen with new recipes, and listening to podcasts like this one!

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Episode 20 on Professional Perspectives: Janani, Founder of By Janani LLC & The Indian Standard. Hosted by Alisha Gupta

“My name is Janani and I am a writer, content creator and mental health advocate. I started on social media to tell my story about how I was able to heal and understand the world from a personal perspective - I did not want any other person to go through college the way I did and I felt compelled to share. I feel it is my duty and responsibility to be as authentic about my mental health as possible since I believe understanding everyone’s vulnerability can open doors for so many things. The more we openly communicate, the more we can understand each other and as time progresses, hopefully conflict will subside.”

The podcast is pre-recorded and will be published on Spotify, Youtube, and Apple Music under ‘Humanity Rising VOICES.’

Syda Taylor is the new founder and executive director of a nonprofit called Organic Oneness established in 2020. Together with her 9 board members, countless volunteers, and a multitude of community partners, they promote the interconnectedness of all people and the Earth through community training, programs, and events. Organic Oneness is also building structures to help social activists prevent illness, burn-out, and compassion fatigue.  

WCIY 4/7- Episode 44: Jiya Gupta on #WhatCauseInspiresYou podcast series! Nitya will be on with them on Wednesday, April 7th, 2021 at 7PM CST. 

Jiya is currently a sophomore at Mission San Jose High School. During her free time, she loves playing badminton, researching, and watching movies. She is beyond excited to talk on the Humanity Rising podcast regarding her Personal Finance Classes for Students! 

Episode 18 on Professional Perspectives: Ravi Sharma. Hosted by Alisha Gupta  

Ravi Sharma is a repeat founder as well as an early stage venture investor through iBOS and through TiE Angels. He also is currently an operator of a mental healthcare startup called OOTify and has had two successful exits as an entrepreneur in the past. Ravi cares deeply about the environment and health & wellness and is passionate about social impact ventures that have the potential to have a significant, positive impact on humanity. Most recently, Ravi was one of the youngest portfolio managers at the award-winning investment manager, Western Asset Management Co. (Western Asset) and was personally responsible for approximately $1.3 billion in assets on behalf of sovereign wealth and institutional clients. Prior to Western Asset, he worked at PNMAC Capital Management, Arch Bay Capital, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.   

Episode 21 on Professional Perspectives: Larry Stein. Hosted by Alisha Gupta.  

Larry Stein is the founder and CEO of Disciplined Investment Management in Chicago, Illinois. He is the author of two investment books and has been the Chicago Ambassador for the national CFP Board for several years. In his spare time, he is writing a book detailing his journey with stuttering and his eventual triumph. In addition, he mentors people who stutter all over the world.  

You can contact Larry at Larry@Disciplined-Investment.com.   

Angela Ma, Katie Sze, and April Wu are high school seniors attending Fremd High School in Palatine, IL. In May 2020, they founded the volunteer organization Budding Companions with the goal of promoting optimism and providing companionship to senior citizens amid the coronavirus pandemic. Through virtual conversations, games, performances, and other interactive activities, they have been able to foster a special intergenerational connection between students and senior citizens. Budding Companions has currently reached over 30 nursing homes across America with a growing network of over 100 student volunteers.  

Anouk is a 16 year old spoken word poet and organizer. She is the founding Executive Director of the Celebrating Differences Organization, an organization focused on promoting neurodivergent awareness, allyship and inclusivity. She has spoken after prominent figures such as Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, peace activist Ela Gandhi and San Juan, Puerto Rico mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, and her work has been recognized by the Los Angeles Review of Books, the Times Herald and more.

My name is Rhea Sharma, and I am currently a freshman at Northwestern University as a part of the Honors Program in Medical Education. I am proud to have co-founded Skulls and Drills with my sister 2 years ago, and I am excited to continue to expand our efforts.   

My name is Ranya Sharma and I am currently a junior at Barrington High School in IL. I feel fortunate for the platform that Skulls and Drills has provided us to give back to the community. I am excited for all of our future endeavors!  

Ria Sharma is high school female athlete and president of a Non-Profit Organization called Limitless Lacrosse that provides opportunities and support to the future generation of female athletes through lacrosse mentorship and experiences. Girl's Lacrosse is a more recent uprising sport and girl's typically aren't introduced to it before 8th grade, where as sports such as soccer and gymnastics are introduced to kids as they begin to walk. Limitless Lacrosse allows the youth to learn from high school mentors, others to donate lacrosse equipment/funds, share lacrosse experiences on a blog portal, and inspire lacrosse interests.

Allen Ruppel is the founder of Unity in Motion and served as the organization’s Executive Director for the first 20 years. He is currently serving as the organization’s Development Director. He is also the Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Hope Christian Schools network and a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Urban Teaching. He is also the Founder of Unity in Hope elementary school in Islamabad, Pakistan which began operations in the year 2020.  

When things don't go his way, Mission Hills High School senior Andrew Diep-Tran merges economics and entrepreneurship to fight it. So, frustrated with the lack of economic classes and clubs in his community, he founded operationEconomics International (OEI), a nonprofit teaching it to 1,800+ students in 18 chapters across 7 countries and 5 U.S. states. Be it through running OEI, organizing his school district's first TEDx event, or advocating for pro-business policies, it's clear he loves nothing more than one thing: to clear and chart the terrain for others, so they don't have to.

Kevin Locke (Lakota name: Tȟokéya Inážiŋ, meaning "The First to Arise"; born 1954) is Lakota (Hunkpapa band) and Anishinaabe. He is a preeminent player of the Native American flute, a traditional storyteller, cultural ambassador, recording artist, fluent Lakota language and sign language speaker, and educator.  

Mr. Locke uses folk arts to emphasize universal themes that are integral to all peoples. Universality of human spirit, its inclination towards peace, balance, harmony, and a longing that all human beings have for the Divine Springtime are a few central themes that he displays in his hoop dance, which is essentially a prayer for the unification of all mankind. Using his folk arts as a vehicle, Locke shares this prayer with children and adult in groups ranging from 50 to 55,000 people at a time. Even though he has performed in many prestigious venues to innumerable dignitaries such as Nelson Mandela and Dalai Lama, his favorite audience continues to be children and youth.  

Jeffrey Ramos is the host of Becoming: The Podcast and is a freelance production member in the film industry. His film Heir was officially selected by the New York Latino Film Festival, Silicon Valley Asian Pacific film festival, and San Francisco Latino Film Festival. He currently works for Uptin Saiidi, a contributor to MSNBC and nonprofit healthcare clinics doing social impact work. He enjoys hobbies such as dance, reading, and drinking boba. productionjramos@gmail.com  

Joseph is a young professional who is passionate about social justice. He currently serves as the Project Director for ReachAcross, an international non-profit. He also is the Lead for an online response platform responding to COVID-19 challenges known as Solve Squad. Additionally, he is a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum. joseph.kolapudi@gmail.com  

Adarsh Gupta is a sophomore at Saint Francis High School. He is the CEO and founder of Fit4Grit Academy, a martial art and fitness non-profit for youth. He has had multiple experiences with entrepreneurship in the past, including co-founding an app called Guidey to help the homeless. He practices various martial arts as a 2nd degrees black belt and also plays competitive golf on his school team and practices and teaches dance in and out of Saint Francis.   

Anika Shah is a sophomore Government major on a Pre-Law track at the University of Texas at Austin. Anika’s passion for student-led activism first began in 2018 after witnessing the atrocities of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting which compelled her to act. More recently, she is a founding member of the Southlake Anti-Racism Coalition (SARC), a coalition dedicated to creating tangible and sustainable anti-racist changes in her local community. She is hoping to inspire generations of change-makers!  

Trisha Batra is Robotic Process Automation Analyst and the Founder/CEO of South Asian Productions. She graduated as a student athlete (on the college dance team) from the University of California Riverside and majored in Business Administration with a concentration in Information Technology. During University she won the title of Miss California Earth United States, and was able to participate in multiple modeling projects. In her spare time you can find Trisha taking a dance class, doing a photoshoot, or on a coffee date talking about brand/digital marketing strategies.

Jacob is a filmmaker who has used art therapy through illustration, animation, and filmmaking in order to process trauma. After this cathartic realization, he has set out to spread awareness on how art therapy can help youth process and ultimately confront trauma through a fun and non-invasive manner. He has given a speech at Viacom headquarters about this very topic and how it can help other youth struggling with trauma. Jacob is currently in the brainstorming process of forming an after school program that provides art therapy for K-12.  

Dhruv Pai, a student in the STEM magnet program in Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, MD, is actively engaged in public service. He is the Co-founder and President of an international non profit organization 'Teens Helping Seniors' formed during COVID-19 crisis to provide delivery of groceries and medications to seniors and vulnerable populations. As the Brand Ambassador and CTO of the non-profit organization,‘Arts-n-STEM 4 Hearts’, he enjoys sharing arts, music and STEM concepts with kids, veterans, individuals at senior living homes, and hospice centers. He is actively involved in volunteering at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD through the Red Cross program where he serves the needs of the wounded warriors and veterans in the surgical and amputee clinic, children in the cancer unit and also helps elderly veterans suffering with Alzheimer’s disease. When Dhruv is not doing his homework or serving the community, you will find him either singing in his school and community choirs or playing with his two cats.

Sachi Bajaj, the founder of Me2U Foundation (me2ufoundation.org), is a senior at the Harker School in San Jose, California, and holds an avid passion for environmentalism. After being heavily involved with her school's Green Team, she desired to expand her community impact alongside other dedicated youth through creating Me2U, an organization with both environmental and humanitarian goals. Led by hundreds of environmentalists, Me2U has redistributed thousands of excess items and meals to underserved communities and is now operating in 27+ countries across 5 continents.  

Julia Seay is a freshman at Washington and Lee University, and is looking to use her education to help the environment and the mental wellness of people of color. After experiencing the side effects of the mental health stigma in her community, Julia has co-founded The Brainy Bunch as a way to bring awareness to mental health, but to also provide mental health resources and advice to her community in new and creative ways.  

Kaitlyn Vail is a sophomore in high school in Ohio. She created her organization Supporting Smiles, a mental health organization based around the education and awareness of mental health. She hopes to spread awareness for mental health with her own experiences and knowledge and hopes to get people to understand the community.  

Samantha Feinberg and Sydney Holubow are the co-founders of Balance Boxes. Balance Boxes is a youth-led nonprofit that provides low income students with academic and enjoyable activities. Sydney Holubow is a senior at Deerfield High School who helped co-found Balance Boxes. She is passionate in giving back to her community and believes that everyone should have equal access to education.  

Mohammed Al Samawi is an interfaith activist, a refugee from Yemen and the author of best-selling autobiography The Fox Hunt: A Refugee's Memoir of Coming To America. Mohammed’s personal journey led him from harboring a deep suspicion of other faiths to becoming a peace advocate. A critical, powerful encounter with a teacher challenged him to learn about the Bible and Judaism, rerouting him from a path of likely violence. Mohammed’s journey to interfaith commitment ultimately saved his life, when four years ago four American strangers helped rescue him from extremist groups in Yemen.  

Mohammed remains committed to the exchange of core values that define our religious traditions and hopes to advance this work through his interfaith organization, the Abrahamic House, to build sustainable interfaith learning and action across Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Baha'i communities in order to foster an environment of learning, respect and social change.  Fox 2000 Pictures, La La Land producer Marc Platt and Josh Singer, Academy Award winner for best original screenplay for Spotlight, are developing the movie The Fox Hunt, based on Mohammed’s autobiography. Mohammed was covered by People Magazine, New York Times, Washington Post, MSNBC, C-SPAN among others.  

Nahtahna Cabanes is the V.P. of Strategic Partnerships at L.A. Works, building partnerships with Los Angeles’ change makers to move forward the mission of L.A.’s largest volunteer network. A history teacher for 10 years, in 2011 she shifted careers to study macro social work at UCLA. While at UCLA she was a Bohnett Fellow in the Mayor’s Office of Education. Her lifelong nonprofit career has also included work with CASA of Los Angeles and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking. She is on the Board of the Ridley Foundation, which gives thousands of dollars away each year to education centers in Santa Barbara and is former Chair of the David Ryu’s Discretionary Fund Committee, making recommendations for the use of funds in City Council District 4. While she loves her work. she will always hold a place in her heart for medieval primary source documents.

Tina is a Principal at Silverton Partners, the longest running and most active early-stage VC in Texas. In her role, she collaborates with founders to help shrink the distance between the drawing board and realizing their vision. Prior to Silverton, Tina worked in venture at First Round Capital, product at Intuit, and strategy at McKinsey & Company. Tina also cares deeply about elevating female investors and founders - she co-chairs the AllRaise Principal Cohort program to accelerate women's careers in venture capital, is a founding member of the Beam Angel Network, and angel invests with The Council. She also serve on the board of Jusoor, a nonprofit investing in educational programs for Syrian youth.

Barbara Talley has been working in diversity, conflict resolution, effective communications, leadership, and race unity for over forty years and has continuously offered programs professionally and in her community.  She is building a virtual meeting space that is now focusing on the elimination of racism, building community and elevating the station of black people designated as pupil of the eye.

Dr. Bob Henderson currently serves as Board Chair of Community Neighborhood Technologies (CNT), a nonprofit organization focused on urban sustainability and social equity that received the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” award for organizations. CNT’s work focuses on research and development of tools to create equitable and sustainable communities in climate, housing, transportation, water, energy and employment.

Episode 13 on Professional Perspectives: Yona and Diksha of The DPM Journey Hosted by Alisha Gupta

Yona is a 3rd-year podiatric medical student who dedicates time trying to educate students and individuals about the field of podiatry. There isn’t much awareness and information about what podiatry entails, but he hopes to keep shedding light about this health profession. If he isn’t focused on editing the next YouTube video and studying for classes, he loves hiking, watching movies, and exercising!

Diksha is a 3rd-year podiatric medical student who hopes to fill the gap of information out there for premeds about podiatry. She knows how hard it is to find details about it and discover this alternative way to become a physician. If she’s not trying her best to brainstorm unique ways to spread the information and study, she’s dancing, cooking plant-based foods, and working on her fitness!

Episode 10 on Professional Perspectives: Nehal Banik, Undergraduate Research assistant at UCLA, Dancer, Actor, and more! Hosted by Alisha Gupta.

Neil incorporates his experiences with filmmaking and his time spent in the dance community to produce short conceptual videos and music videos to better help creative artists in the South Asian community. By day Neil studies Psychobiology at UCLA and works as an undergraduate researcher in the department of Neurobiology and by night produces content with other creative artists and friends while hoping to apply to medical school. Neil dabbles in acting in short films, shows, and skits on YouTube and can be found in many popular Bollywood Fusion dance videos on YouTube such as BFunk. Neil hopes to be a beacon of inspiration and help others who share the same passions as him, to lead a professional life filled with creativity. Neil hopes to one day work as a doctor by day, and dance professionally during the night all while paving way for the

members of the new generation to grow as artists.

Abigail Jones is a high school senior at Sturgis West Charter School. She learned how students can get involved in the fight against human trafficking by participating in her school's Her Future Coalition Club and hopes to inspire other students to do the same through Our Future of Change.

Lauren Bridgwater is a high school senior at Sturgis West Charter School in Massachusetts. She became passionate about anti-trafficking activism when she joined the Her Future Coalition Club at her school and learned about the many ways to fight gender violence. Lauren hopes to provide youth with an opportunity to advocate for human rights as well as empower trafficking survivors through Our Future of Change.

Ashwin Rajkumar is a 18 year old Freshman at The Ohio State University, he is majoring in Aerospace Engineering and double minoring in Business and Humanitarian Engineering. Ashwin was first introduced to the idea of entrepreneurial/Social Business at the age of 14 and immediately fell in love with the notion of community service and bringing about a better lifestyle to the people who need it most. In his free time he loves to play chess and guitar, and enjoys spending time with his family and friends. Ashwin hopes to have The Be W.I.S.E Initiative impact countless little girls and he also interested in giving back to all the people that supported him on his journey so far and looks forward to not only bring about a brighter future but also making sure he touches each and every person he meets on a personal level.