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 junior 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 senior 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.
Aarit Parekh
Vice President and Webmaster
Aarit Parekh is a sophomore at Lynbrook High School. He joined BAYouth to improve his journalism and writing skills. He likes to breakdance, read, and study theater outside of school. He's a part of many different organizations, most of them related to tutoring younger students.
Anish Krishnan
Officer at Large
Anish Krishnan is a senior at Cupertino High School. He joined BAYOUTH in order to take a more active role in helping his community as well as learn more about current events and share that knowledge through journalism. He also takes part in other clubs and organizations, such as his school's Mock Trial team and tutoring services for younger kids. In his free time, he enjoys listening to music, playing tennis, and going to the gym.
Harish Krishnan
Officer at large
Harish is a senior in high school.
Kavya Kumar
Officer at large
Kavya is a senior in high school.
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.
