About Us
WHO ARE WE?
Bay Area Youth Initiative (BAYouth) is a group of high school students who volunteer their time to bettering the community and voicing their thoughts. We organize events such as video-essay competitions, direct donations for the homeless and the creation of newsletters!
THE BAYOUTH MISSION
BAYouth is dedicated to giving opportunities to the local youth to express their voice and help the community. Our mission is to make direct and lasting impacts through the critical exploration of current events, hands-on volunteering and community-focused experiences.
OUR HISTORY
BAYouth was started over the summer of 2020 by four local high school students with the main focus being a youth newsletter for the community. While the organization have gone through many changes, it has upheld the newsletter and also added on many volunteer opportunities!
Carol Zeng
Co - President
Carol Zeng is a sophomore at Kehillah Jewish High School. She is also a vice president of SVCU Youth and helps out in the community. She enjoys hanging out with her pet chicken and quails. She also likes to dance, play piano, and read.
Alex Li
Co - President
Alex Li is a current junior at Lynbrook High School and joined Bay Youth to help support the community. Outside of school, Alex enjoys numerous hobbies such as playing with his dog, playing tennis, and art. He also enjoys volunteering activities as well as tutoring younger students who are struggling in school.
Emma Tu
Executive Vice President
Emma Tu is a current senior at Lynbrook High School and is happy to serve as a member of the Bay Area Youth Initiative. If she's not contributing to the community, you can find her engaging in a few hobbies. She loves reading, cooking, and watching dramas and takes every chance she can get to go out and see the world. She also loves meeting new people!
Joseph Shan
Officer at Large
Joseph Shan is a senior at Lynbrook High School. Before that, he attended Miller Middle School, John Muir, Meyerholz, and McAuliffe Elementary School. He has 3 brothers (one of whom is his twin), a pet turtle, dog, and 4 chickens. In his free time, he enjoys playing basketball, reading, and playing League of Legends with his friends.
Jason Shan
Webmaster Extraordinaire
Jason Shan is a senior at Lynbrook High School and a founder and president of Bay Area Youth Initiative. Outside of school, he likes to participate in a variety of volunteer and service organizations to help his local community. His pastimes include programming, reading, listening to musicals and solving escape rooms.
Aarit Parekh
Officer-at-Large
Aarit Parekh is a freshman at Lynbrook High School. An active community member, he tutors other Lynbrook students. He also co-owns RocketSci and HICROR Organization, two organizations that push for reform to Science and History curricula respectively. He owns a hackathon called Tank-A-Thon, focusing on teamwork and graphic design skills as well. When he's not working, he likes to breakdance, listen to music, write books, and learn languages.
Dennis Han
Editor
Dennis Han is a student in high school.
Judy Zeng
Ex-Officio
Judy Zeng is a freshman at Northwestern University. She is highly involved in her community; she is an Ambassador Girl Scout, a journalist for the student newsletter BAYouth Initiative, and a math tutor for 5th graders. She is also a former co-President of the Silicon Valley Community United Youth Committee. In her free time, she enjoys food, music, dance, and learning about the world.
Liyan Zhao
Adult Supervisor
Liyan Zhao is a retired software engineer in government agency. She is a mom of 4. Her community service involvement including serving on boards of Fremont Union High School Foundation, Asian American Parents Association, and Silicon Valley Community United. She is also an active writer and the founder of the popular Wechat blog account “Raising kids in North America”. She has written more than 100 articles and is the co-author of two books which have been published by Tsinghua University.
