About Us - TeensVolunteer.org

Our team

Emiko Rohn, Founder

Emiko Rohn launched TeensVolunteer.org in May 2018 during her freshman year at Berkeley High School. Since its founding, TeensVolunteer has connected more than 25,000 teens to volunteer opportunities throughout California. The site was a winner in the 2020 Changemaker Contest. In September 2021, Emi left for Dartmouth College, where she is studying computer science and geography. The site was subsequently switched from a self-serve posting site to a static-listing site. If you’d like your organization’s opportunity listed on the home page, please send an email to: teensvolunteersite@gmail.com. Listings are free.

Ananya Pinnamaneni, Director of Operations

As Director of Operations, Ananya runs the day-to-day operations of TeensVolunteer.org and oversees the functionality of the team. She also kickstarted our Ambassador Program in November of 2020, and played a key role in producing our monthly newsletter, which now has over 500 subscribers.

Ananya is a sophomore at Dougherty Valley High School, where she is on the varsity public forum debate team and is part of the school newspaper (The Wildcat Tribune) as an Arts & Graphics Editor.

Outside of school, Ananya is an avid activist for gender equality. She started a non-profit organization called Gender ShEquality to educate youth about feminism, and her organization has reached over 800 people from 14 countries across the world. Additionally, she wrote and published a book, Feminism 101: A Guide to Gender Equality, on Amazon.

Sofia Shin, Director of Social Media

Sofia began working with TeensVolunteer.org in 2020. As the Director of Social Media, she works with the Social Media Coordinators to manage TeensVolunteer’s social media accounts, aiming to promote TeensVolunteer’s service to teens all over the country.

As a senior in high school, Sofia helps produce her school’s news channel as an Assistant Producer. Outside of school, she works a part-time job at a culinary event kitchen.

Sofia developed an interest in volunteering after she began working with Victory Ranch in 2018, where she served disadvantaged youth through a non-profit equine educational program. Through her efforts at TeensVolunteer.org, Sofia hopes to encourage other students to participate in volunteer opportunities that make them feel fulfilled and eager to give back to the community.

Nicolas Ngo, Director of Communications

Nicolas began working with TeensVolunteer.org in September 2020. He is currently a senior attending Temple City High School. He is part of the school’s newspaper and participates with the school’s peer counseling program, the Peer Listeners. He is interested in STEM and competes in the USA Biology Olympiad and the SkillsUSA medical terminology competition.

Allison Vang, Director of Volunteer Opportunities

Allison began working with TeensVolunteer as a member of the Ambassador program and eventually as a Director of Volunteer Opportunities. She, alongside the Volunteer Opportunities Coordinators, work together to ensure that the volunteer opportunities provided by TeensVolunteer are up to date.

Allison is a senior at University High School where she is a peer mentor as well as the Vice President of her school’s Cooking Club. She also finds much joy in singing and hopes to continue singing even after high school!

Nethra Dhamodaran, Director of the Ambassador Program

Nethra is currently a sophomore at Dougherty Valley High School, where she is a part of her school varsity debate team. She has been helping out the community since the start of middle school through mentoring low-income youth, where she realized her passion for volunteering, and has volunteered for non-profit organizations such as The Crayon Initiative.

Outside of school, Nethra is enthusiastic about writing and has won several writing and speech contests, including winning the district speech contest for three consecutive years, and she also published a book at the age of eight. Additionally, she loves piano, and has been playing for 8 years. “Outside of school, Nethra is enthusiastic about writing and has won several writing and speech contests, including winning the district speech contest for three consecutive years, and she also published a book at the age of eight. Additionally, she loves piano, and has been playing for 8 years.

Elle Simonsen, Social Media Coordinator

As social media coordinator, Elle develops and creates engaging content for TeensVolunteer’s social media platforms. Elle will be helping to develop TeensVolunteer’s presence on TikTok, with fun and informative content to inspire teens and partners to get involved.

A sophomore at Saint Francis High School, Elle brings more than 10 years of experience in performing direct and indirect service with numerous non-profit organizations in the Bay Area including St. Vincent de Paul, Second Harvest Food Bank. H.O.P.E. Services, Animal Assisted Happiness, Project Honor, Saint Simon Parish, Panthers Sports Camp, Catholic Charities’ Kinship Center and many others.

Elle plays club soccer for the Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club and is an assistant coach for the Kindergarten soccer program, as well as a Bay Area soccer referee. At Saint Francis, she is a member of the Student Council. Elle loves educating teens about how fun and easy volunteering can be using TeensVolunteer.

Eleanor Hsu, Social Media Coordinator

Eleanor is a junior at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, where she is part of the dance and MUN teams.

In her free time, she enjoys singing, dancing, and reading.She developed an interest in volunteering after working with IgniteMinds, an organization dedicated to tutoring other students. She hopes that she will be able to help other students gain more volunteering opportunities through this organization, and realize the importance of volunteering.

Olesya Gorbunova, Communications Coordinator

Olesya is responsible for contacting high schools in order to connect ambitious students with potential volunteer positions. She is currently working on expanding TeensVolunteer.org to her home state of New York.

Olesya is a junior at Bronxville High School and started volunteering with TeensVolunteer in February 2021. In her community of Bronxville, she is working on educating young children about the dangers of climate change. In 2020, her National History Day group placed first in the state of New York.

Olesya is enthusiastic about art and creative writing. She hopes to someday pursue a career in environmental science.

Ankita Biswas, Communications Coordinator

Ankita began working with TeensVolunteer.org as an ambassador towards the end of 2020. Now she is one of the Commutations Coordinators, who contacts schools and other organizations to help spread news of TeensVolunteer.org.

Ankita is currently a sophomore at Dougherty Valley High School. When being a part of CJSF at her middle school, she found her interest in volunteering while helping her teachers. This encouraged her to join TeensVolunteer.org to help other teens find their passion for volunteering.

Outside of school, Ankita is a part of various organizations to help make a better world for future generations. She has also been taking dance classes for 10 years, and finds herself dancing and reading in her free time.

Lynn Tanisaka, Communications Coordinator

Lynn is a junior at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. Lynn has been on the lacrosse team since freshman year and is planning to play all 4 years. Lynn is also an active member of her school’s Mobile App Development club and is also starting her very own club this year.

Outside of school, Lynn is also part of a nonprofit organization run by high schoolers that works to raise money and resources to help poverty in LA and insufficient water access in African nation. “

Sarah Ayub, Communications Coordinator

Sarah is a junior at Wilcox High-school. She’s passionate about basketball and helping our others, particularly through volunteering. Beyond that, she’s part of her school’s speech and debate team and the Santa Clara Teen Volunteers.

Michelle Tang, Communications Coordinator

As a Communications Coordinator, Michelle contacts schools across California and New York about the plentiful volunteer opportunities that TeensVolunteer offers in hopes of connecting teens to volunteering.

Michelle is currently a senior at Temple City High School, where she is the Public Relations of her school’s Art Club. Michelle was motivated to join TeensVolunteer after her volunteering experiences in at her school’s Red Cross Club, which taught her the value of volunteer work. She hopes that she can connect teens to volunteer opportunities, and show them the importance that volunteer work plays in building a person’s character.

In her free time, Michelle enjoys learning more about graphic design and environmental science, in which she hopes to pursue a career in one of them someday.

Phaelle Corrielus, Volunteer Opportunities Coordinator

Phaelle posts and updates volunteer listings, and contacts local organizations about new opportunities.

Phaelle is a junior at Osbourn Park High School, where she is a member of the school’s volleyball team and the editor for her school’s Key Club. Her interest in volunteering sparked when she worked on a project with a group of friends helping those who were homeless. Since then, she has volunteered at many nonprofit organizations in her community.

In her spare time, Phaelle is a pianist and has won multiple awards through the National Federation of Music Clubs.

Ashna Patel, Volunteer Opportunities Coordinator

Ashna is a sophomore at Dougherty Valley High School, where she is a member of her the soccer team and leadership class. Soccer and leadership are big parts of her life, so she finds ways to incorporate both into her volunteer work.

In her free time, Ashna enjoys baking and decorating sugar cookies with her mom for events like birthdays and weddings. An avid skier, Ashna has skied since she could walk. Lastly, she loves playing games and hanging out with friends and family.