About

I am a senior at Castilleja in Palo Alto. I am really excited to be the president of the Palo Alto Youth Council for 2024-2025 year! I can't wait to collaborate with my peers to plan numerous events and initiatives to address issues that teenagers in my community face. In my free time, I love watching professional tennis, embroidering, and spending time with friends and family

I am a senior at Castilleja. I am serving as Palo Alto Youth Council's Vice President. I am thrilled to work with peers and the City Council to focus on issues that matter to youth. In my free time, I love solving crosswords, playing volleyball, eating ramen, and going to Great America.

I'm a sophomore at Castilleja School, and I’m excited to be a part of PAYC this year! As a member, I hope to address youth mental health concerns in the Palo Alto teen community by building off of previous initiatives and creating easy-to-access resources for teens. In my free time, I enjoy playing tennis, reading, and sampling Asian desserts across the Bay Area.

I am a junior at Palo Alto High School. I am excited to help raise awareness about issues teens face in Palo Alto. In my free time, I enjoy to playing sports, reading books, and playing with my dog.

Hi, I'm Camille! I am so excited to work with Palo Alto Youth Council members to address youth issues such as mental health and civic engagement. I am especially passionate about advocacy and policy work regarding social inequity. I look forward to serving you on the council and making a positive impact in the community.

Hello! I'm a senior at Palo Alto High School and I am excited to be serving as an Outreach Specialist this year. In my role, I hope to expand PAYC to become a resource hub for teens in our community. Outside of school and PAYC, I spend most of my time rowing, writing, hanging out with friends, and reading with my cats. I am looking forward to being a part of everything we create this year!

I’m extremely excited to once again be a part of the Palo Alto Youth Council. I look forward to serving youth and teens throughout the Palo Alto.

Hi! I'm Lara Dumanli, a senior at Palo Alto High School. I'm beyond excited to be a part of PAYC and make a meaningful impact in our Palo Alto community. In my spare time, I love to play the electric guitar, read and run.

Hi! I'm Siyona Dhingra, a senior at Gunn! This year, I'm so excited and grateful to be back on the youth council! I hope to focus on increasing civil engagement and reducing political polarization among the youth in our community! During my free time, I love playing catch with my dog and reading crime novels!

I’m a senior at Castilleja in Palo Alto. I am thrilled about my third term on the Palo Alto Youth Council this year! I hope to be able to make opportunities for civic engagement more widely available for teenagers, and am excited to host some great events.

I'm a member of Palo Alto Youth Council.

I am a Senior at Gunn High School. I am super excited to continue with PAYC this year and am looking forward to making a difference in our community. I am very passionate about mental health, especially in teens and I love advocating for using music to help teens overcome stress and other mental health disorders. Some of my favorite things to do in my free time are singing, hanging out with my friends, and playing with my puppy: Dobby.

Hi, I'm Joshua Kao, a Senior at Palo Alto High School. This is my third year on PAYC. I'm most excited to lead "Brain Oh Magic", a youth mental health series through Instagram reels this year.

I'm currently a senior at Palo Alto High School. I love being a part of PAYC to serve my community and lead change with the initiatives we work on. In my free time I enjoy playing field hockey, baking sweet treats, driving around, and hanging out with my friends.

I'm a senior at Palo Alto High School. I'm so excited to be part of PAYC this year and I especially look forward to creating more civic engagement initiatives. In my free time, I enjoy doing photography, drawing, and traveling

Hi, my name is Michael Matta and this is my second year on the council. I am a junior at Gunn and I can’t wait to continue work on the council this year!

I'm currently a senior at Gunn High School. I'm so excited to be a part of PAYC again this year. I'm really looking forward to trying to bridge the social gap between teenagers and combat isolation in our community. I also hope to publicly speak out more about meaningful issues and encourage youth advocacy. Some things I love to do in my free time include eating acai bowls, taking digital camera photos, and attending concerts.

Hello! I'm Keerath Pujji, a senior at Palo Alto High School. I'm thrilled to be serving our community this year as a member of PAYC! In my free time, I love programming, filmmaking, and baking.

I'm a junior at Gunn High. I'm very excited to be a part of PAYC this year and look forward to working with the City Council to address key issues the youth in our community is facing right now, especially the topics of civic engagement and mental health. Besides this, I am also very passionate about music, philosophy, and MUN.

Hi, my name is Anjali Ambati, and I am a freshman at Castilleja. I am beyond thrilled to collaborate with a dedicated teen group that focuses on real issues that matter to the Palo Alto youth and improves teen recognition in our community. I am also passionate about violin, science (especially biology!), playing volleyball, and writing poetry.

Hi I'm a sophomore at Gunn High School. I’m looking forward to my first experience on the council and engaging with the Palo Alto community. In my free time, I enjoy writing, dancing ballet, playing tennis, and spending time with my cat!

I’m currently a freshman at Nueva High School. This is my first year on PAYC, and I’m so excited to work with my fellow council members to serve our community. I love to row, dance, spend time with friends and family, and play with my dog Coco.

I am a Sophomore at Palo Alto High School. I'm so excited to be part of PAYC this year and I can't wait to work on mental health and environmental programs. In my free time, I love to hangout with friends, play with my dog, and cook!

I am a sophomore at Gunn High School. I am so excited to be part of the Palo Alto Youth Council this year and am looking forward to making a positive impact in our community, especially in mental health and civic engagement. In my free time, I enjoy reading, solving crosswords, and drinking absurd amounts of coffee.

I am a Junior at Gunn High School. I am very excited to work with PAYC this year and help make our community better for all teens. In my free time, I enjoy listening to music, watching cricket, and spending time with my family and friends!

I'm currently a Junior at Palo Alto High School. I'm very excited to be a part of PAYC this year, and I look forward to making a positive impact on the Palo Alto community through events, newsletters, and more! In my free time I like to play lacrosse and spend time with my dog.

Hi I'm a Junior at Palo Alto High School and this is my first year serving on the Palo Alto Youth Council. I am absolutely thrilled to have the chance to make a real impact on my peers and on the city I was born and raised in. In my free time, I like to read sci-fi, spend time with my cat, drink tea, play violin, and knit.

Hi! My name is Dani Massarweh. I’m a sophomore at Gunn High School, and I joined PAYC in hopes of bettering my community and the lives of my peers.

I’m a freshman at Gunn High School. This is my first year as a member of PAYC, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to better the lives of teens in our community through this impactful organization. In my free time, I love to sing, dance, and perform in musical theater productions!

I am so thrilled to be a part of the Palo Alto Youth Council this year! We get to serve our community and help our fellow teens, which I think is a really nice way to build relationships and support each other. In my free time, I love to sing, and I also play guitar and piano!

Charlie Zeitlin hosts the “Straight To It” podcast, where he has interviewed more than 60 leaders in business, entertainment and sports, including an Emmy-Winning film producer Ross Greenburg, NBA Champion Shane Battier and FBI Hostage Negotiator, Chris Voss. Charlie is a 9th grader at Crystal Springs Uplands School and enjoys reading, tennis, watching football and F1 races and training and playing with his two dogs. Charlie is also a TED organizer and hosted TEDx Baylands Park Youth in April 2024.