Current Fellows

Sofia Borin

Los Angeles, CA

Sofia Borin is a Junior at Windward School in Los Angeles. In 2018, she began volunteering with March For Our Lives, and in 2019, she began volunteering for Women Against Gun Violence. She became a fellow with Grassroots Democrats HQ in the fall of 2019. She chose to become a fellow because she wants to encourage those who can to vote and because she wants to be part of the Blue Wave. Sofia is is a feminist who believes in equality for all and is passionate about gun reform. Sofia loves spending her weekends baking with her family and making phone calls for different campaigns. 

Vibha Chemangunta

Plano, TX

Vibha is a junior at Plano East Senior High School in Texas. She has been a fellow at the GDHQ since December 2020. She’s eager to work towards achieving true, lasting change through policy and handing political responsibility to the correct elected officials. She is most interested in expanding healthcare, reforming the immigration system and naturalization process, as well as ensuring that voters are educated and able to vote. She has been a public speaker for six years and is captain of her school’s debate team. She loves connecting to and speaking with new voters, and looks forward to continuing her work with the fellowship.

Naomi Eguavoen

Lancaster, CA

Naomi Eguavoen is a high school junior at SOAR High School located in Lancaster, California. In 2018, when a club in her school called Social Student Movement Club (SSMC) was created, she decided to involve herself with the politics of her own community. SSMC had a connection to Grassroots Dems and experiencing her first phonebank, she thought she can make a great impact in our world. Naomi decided to become a Grassroots fellow because she believed that she can learn more and be exposed to the boarder world of politics. She did not want to be blind to the political world that regulates what everyone else is doing. Naomi is especially driving for change toward the African American community to amplify their voices in this environment. When Naomi is not registering voters or phone banking, she is in school tackle her assignments, and when she is not doing that, she is spending quality time with her family.

Aneisha Gupta

Plano, TX

Aneisha Gupta (She/Her/Hers) is a proud Plano, Texas native studying at Plano Senior High School. As a feminist, Hindu, and proud POC, she allocates her time into advocating for women’s rights and the under-served. She took up the opportunity to become a Grassroots fellow, as she showcases a deep interest for advocacy, and increasing the influence of the Blue Wave. She is a passionate advocate for intersectional feminism, creating a fair immigration system, women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, education and more. Aneisha serves as a product manager for the GrassrootsGov initiative, aimed towards providing a platform for virtual activism to take hold. As PM, she works on making sure the platform meets consumer needs, and that consumers are just not “yelling into the void.” Additionally, she holds the position as being a part of the Girl Up Coalition in North Texas as a Public Relations Director. She upholds Girl Up’s mission internally, and has conducted many successful projects on behalf of the organization like conducting a Period Product Drive in her city on behalf of her high school. The drive turned out to be extremely successful, collecting over 100 products, allowed her to be publicized on local news media. Aneisha is an active advocate for women’s rights and education as well. In fact, she started a student-led organization called Tutoring 360°, in which they provide free one-on-one tutoring and informational webinars to youth K-8 nationally during the midst of the pandemic. She aims to level the educational playing field for those who were affected by COVID-19. In her free time, Aneisha enjoys public speaking and the Martial Arts.

Joshua Jones

Louisiana

Joshua Jones is a GDHQ Fellow from Louisiana that joined in April of 2021. He has worked on phone baking for the Georgia Senate Runoffs, worked with My School Votes which is a program runner by Michelle Obama for high schoolers to remind people to vote, and text with NextGen America and People’s Actions. He is an upcoming high school junior at Airline High School. He chose to be a Grassroots fellow because he wants to make sure we elect more Democrats so we can hold them accountable while fighting for issues that matter. He’s passionate about Voting Rights, Racial Justice, and Mental Health. A fun fact you should know about him is he loves to volunteer as an act of kindness. He also wants to know that is to work hard for the things you believe in that matter.

Liam Kenny

Fresno, CA

Liam Kenny (he/him) is currently a freshman at University High School, in Fresno, California. Liam is a New Hampshire native and moved to California in 2020, and upon arrival became a member of the High School Democrats of America and a volunteer with Grassroots Democrats HQ. Liam is the son of an Irish immigrant and an Orange County native, and his family has always enjoyed traveling and exploring different cultures, which he believes has given him a more worldly view and has directed his political compass. Growing up Liam spent a lot of his time with his mother, and her International Women’s group, which cultivated within him a respect for strong, passionate women, as well as hardworking immigrants. He is passionate about advocating for social justice through the education system, and dismantling the school to prison pipeline, as well as fighting for LGBTQ+ representation. He joined the Diversify Our Narrative movement in January of 2021 where he serves as the Freshman Representative for his local Diversify Our Narrative (DON) chapter. Liam also participates in his school’s Diplomatic Coalition, Black Student Union, Gender and Sexuality Awareness Club, and Speech & Debate team. Aside from politics, he enjoys traveling around the country and around Europe with his family, journalism, art, and music.

Faith Lanham

Hagerstown, Maryland

Faith Lanham is currently a Sophomore at Saint Maria Goretti Catholic High School in Hagerstown, Maryland. She chose to be a Grassroots fellow because, she thought that the mission of the organization was interesting and something that would fit her perfectly. She is passionate about Immigration and the importance of integrated STEM and Liberal Arts education. A fun fact about Faith is that her family owns an RV, allowing them to travel around the country year-round.

Nikka Makhani

Los Angeles, CA

Nikka Makhani is a junior at Brentwood School in Los Angeles, California. She is passionate about increasing voter turnout and making sure all American voices have an input in elections. Similarly, she feels we should elect candidates that will end mass incarceration as well as make criminal justice reforms. In addition, she strongly believes that immigrants and DACA recipients should be protected under the law and that they should not be separated from their families. She feels that one’s age should not be a deterrent to their participation in the public sphere, as the youth are this country’s future; this is why she is a Fellow at the Grassroots Democrats HQ. Although she is not eligible to vote, she wants to do everything in her power to flip the Senate and put politicians who will make a change in power. Nikka is a member of her school’s dance team, a piano player, and a tutor and mentor for younger students at her school.

Graham Miller

Los Angeles, CA

Graham Miller is a Junior at Palisades Charter High School. Over the course of the 2020 election cycle, Graham developed an interest in learning about the various candidates and what they stood for, and who would best serve the country, if elected President. He also knew that he wanted to help Democrats get elected up and down the ballot. Issues that Graham is most concerned about include, reforming our healthcare system, addressing climate change, and securing voting rights and protections for all voters. When he discovered the Grassroots Democrats HQ, he learned that he could turn his passion into action. Graham began volunteering with the Grassroots Democrats HQ in September of 2020. He started off by making phone calls to voters across swing states, to help Joe Biden and various other Democrats get elected. In October of 2020, he decided that he wanted to make his goal of helping to elect Democrats across the country, a long term commitment, and became a fellow. When Graham has free time, he loves to play with his adorable chihuahua/terrier mix, “Laslo,” go for walks and runs, and keep up to date with current events. Fun Fact: He watches The Rachel Maddow Show every night at dinner with his family.

Aspara Mitra

College Station, TX

Aspara is currently studying Computer Science at Texas A&M University. Having lived in many places around the world, she found her experiences with different cultures and the environment to be incredibly impactful in her upbringing. Her love for conservation, ecology, and diversity has led to her becoming more politically involved so that she can help bring awareness to disciplines that affect our global environmental and medical health and cause experiential disparities between socioeconomic classes. Her ambition to become more involved in her community and learn about how to make a greater impact on our political process has led her here, to becoming a Grassroots fellow. Fun fact: she’s a huge film-making/performance/drama enthusiast!

Eliana Reiter

Los Angeles, CA

Eliana Reiter is 15, and a sophomore in high school. After signing up and participating in many GDHQ events, Eliana joined as a fellow in the summer of 2021. Some political issues she’s passionate about are women’s rights, environmental justice, and abolishing capital punishment. Eliana first got into political organizing after joining a phone banking group for Biden in preparation for the 2020 election, and over the past year, Eliana has spent her time making calls for different Democratic candidates’ campaigns. Outside of making phone calls, Eliana plays softball and volleyball on her school teams and loves to bake.

Lily Richman

Santa Monica, CA

Lily Richman is passionate about service and social justice. As the youngest organizer on Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign, she organized volunteers, coordinated events, and won her region in New Hampshire. She has also worked at the startup Repustar to combat COVID-19 misinformation and with USC Annenberg’s Center on Communication Leadership & Policy, researching the intersection of journalism and politics. Previously, she worked at the LA Times’ HS Insider and as a freelance writer with the Santa Monica Daily Press. Lily is an avid reader and writer who will matriculate to Harvard in the fall and is excited to join the Grassroots Democrats HQ’s efforts to elect just leaders up and down the 2020 ballot.

Kaaviya Shenbaharaman

Plano, TX

Kaaviya is a rising sophomore from Jasper High School. She is passionate about economic equity and youth participation in politics, because she believes the only way to fully enact the changes needed to achieve true equality lies in the future of our communities. This is exactly why she chose to join the GDHQ, where she now has the opportunity to advocate for people and policies that support these changes. During the 2020 cycle, she was involved in local efforts to elect President Biden and Lulu Seikaly for Congress, fueling her understanding that youth participation can help elect the people they believe in, even if they aren’t of voting age. She is also involved with the Junior State of America (JSA), where she is serving on the state cabinet and working to bring political participation closer to youth in Texas.

Charlotte Siegel

Los Angeles, CA

Charlotte Siegel is a junior at Windward School in Los Angeles. She began Volunteering with the Grassroots Democrats HQ in early Summer 2020 and officially became a fellow in October of that year. She chose to become a fellow because she was frustrated by the lack of youth representation in politics, despite the fact their future is being determined. She joined the fellowship because she felt that it was a great opportunity her to make a difference and make her voice heard, even while being under the voting age. She believes that the best way to make change is to enable young people to get to the polls and get involved in politics in any way they can. In her spare time, Charlotte enjoys making homemade ice cream, training in aerial arts, and hanging out with her two cats.

Kaliyah Thompson

Lancaster, CA

Kaliyah Thompson is a junior at SOAR High School who is passionate about social injustice, LGBTQ+, BIPOC rights, and getting other youth involved in making positive changes in their communities. She became involved in politics and social activism in her freshman year of high school after joining the Student Social Movement club and has been working to help educate and inform others on how to create an inviting and more just social climate. As a person of color, Kaliyah has learned by watching others in her community struggle to be treated with equal justice under the law. These lessons have made her determined to assist in reversing the effect of inequity and injustice. Kaliyah works to be part of her of the solution and hopes to help restore her community’s hope and trust with the American legal system. Kaliyah chose to join the fellowship because she saw an opportunity to help make change and learn more about the social and political processes within the United States system. She was recently made Social Media Outreach Coordinator in the Democratic Club of the High Desert. She is also initiating a Mental Health Awareness Club at her high school. She worked on Christy Smith’s campaign in 2020. She is also a regular volunteer for the Regional Community Alliance in her home community since 2018. Kaliyah has been a member of the March for Our Lives chapter at her high school since 2017. In her spare time, Kaliyah has a passion for all things beauty and dreams of having her own beauty line.

Jacob Vargas

San Jose, CA

Jacob Vargas is a senior at Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose, California. He became a fellow in November of 2020; however, he began volunteering for Grassroots Democrats HQ in September of 2020. He can vividly recall the night Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election in 2016. This night sparked a new sense of passion for politics within him and revealed the importance of getting Democrats to the voting booth. Moreover, Jacob aims to use his voice to fight for equality and justice for everyone. The fellowship program has provided him the opportunity to campaign for Democratic candidates across America who share his ideals. Jacob is beyond excited to attend the University of Southern California this fall!

Sophia Yuditsky

New York City, New York

Sophia is a sophomore at Stuyvesant High School in New York City. After the 2016 election of Donald Trump she became aware of his damaging policies and began attending marches for women’s rights and climate change. In 2020 she decided to become a fellow with Grassroots to help encourage voter turnout and get people to the polls. In her free time she enjoys painting and photographing the world around her.