Our Leadership Team
MAYUKHA VADARI - FOUNDER & CEO
Mayukha has been into math since the fourth grade, when she joined her school's math club. She got off to a good start, winning 8th place at the Math is Cool state competition only a few months after she started. For the next few years, she continued to take part in math competitions, including in national competitions like ARML and NSF Nationals. She has won several awards at the regional, state, and national levels. Then, in 8th grade, Mayukha enrolled in Seattle Science Infinity Club. At first, she did not like science very much, but soon began to love it. She and her team excelled, getting second place in Science Bowl at the regional level, only losing once to the first place team, who also happened to be from the Seattle Science Infinity Club. She also went to Nationals for the North South Foundation's Science and Math Bees and won awards there as well. By this time, she realized a trend that girls were losing interest in math and science. She noticed this trend through direct experience with her classmates and friends, as well as observing at competitions (e.g. she was the only girl in the top ten at the 2012 NSF MathBee Nationals). In order to combat this drop in interest, she decided to form Girls Rock in Science and Math to increase interest for girls in these two subjects and make them enthusiastic participants in all areas of both academia and extracurriculars.
Nishka Hegde - GRISM President
Nishka Hegde is a junior at Issaquah High School. She’s been involved with GRISM since third grade, and thrilled to come full circle by inspiring elementary school girls through science. Some of her favorite hobbies include listening to music, paddleboarding, and reading. Nishka’s passion for science motivated her to join GRISM as an instructor, allowing her to share her enthusiasm for STEM with young learners. Beyond GRISM, Nishka is also active in robotics and runs her own cupcake business.
Maya Baciou - grass Co-director
Maya is a sophomore at Lake Washington Highschool, with a passion for STEM – especially biology, astronomy, forensics, and math. She loves GRISM’s blend of STEM with leadership and with mentoring younger kids. Maya’s school clubs include Medical Research, DECA (she’s an ICDC participant and Emerging Leader), NHS and Key Club. She also likes to dabble in math programs such as AMC, Kangaroo, and Noetic. Maya is a Martial Arts black belt and instructor.
Navya Jain - Grass Co-director
Navya is a sophomore at the University of Washington studying Applied Mathematics, Biochemistry, and Computer Science. She started GRISM when she was in third grade, and this is now her third year volunteering for GRASS! Besides GRASS, Navya teaches computer science & does research at UW, enjoys completing jigsaw puzzles, and explores her passion for equity in the STEM community.
Anika Iyer - vice president of media
Anika Iyer is a senior at Redmond High School. She is passionate about science, especially chemistry and computer science, and hopes to pursue a career in computational neuroscience. Anika has been an instructor at GRISM for three years and loves teaching the girls about STEM. Outside of GRISM, Anika makes clothes, writes, and manages her school’s newspaper!
ANIKA SHAH - Vice president OF OUTREACH
Anika Shah is currently a senior at Lake Washington High School. She loves science, especially biology, and is passionate about pursuing a career in the medical field. She first joined GRISM two years ago as an instructor with the hope to get more young girls interested in STEM. Outside of school, Anika loves to read, bake, and play volleyball!
Tanvi Varangaonkar - Instructor Manager
Tanvi Varangaonkar is a senior at Lake Washington High School who started GRISM in third grade and participated in GRASS throughout middle school. Being part of the GRISM community grew her passion for STEM and solidified her interest in pursuing computer science, inspiring her to return as an instructor. After teaching for two years, she became the Instructor Manager. Tanvi is a huge history nerd and loves sharing fun history facts! Outside of school, she enjoys dancing and writing.
ahila mugundan - Manager of Expansions and Communications
Ahila Mugundan is a junior at Eastlake High School with a passion for STEM. In her free time, she loves reading a good book and volunteering with children in her community, including working at a Montessori school over the summer. She loves working with young learners and helping them grow. This inspired her to become a GRISM instructor.
Isha Kulkarni - parent liaison
Isha Kulkarni is currently a junior at Skyline High School. She joined GRISM as a student in elementary school and came back to teach and serve on the leadership board as a high schooler! She loves STEM, learning new things, and working with children. Outside of GRISM, she enjoys going on walks, spending time with friends & family, and dancing!
Our Instructors
Riana Sujit
Riana is a senior at Lake Washington High School. She has been volunteering at GRISM for the past year, loving the opportunity to nurture kids' STEM explorations through hands-on projects. Her passion for STEM has grown in high school through her involvement in Science Olympiad and Technology Student Association (TSA), as well as by founding her school’s AI Club. She hopes to pursue a degree in Computer Science. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, baking, spending time with friends, and graphic design.
Pranavi naidu
Pranavi Naidu is a junior at Skyline High School and is a former GRISM student when she was in third and fourth grade. Through GRISM's STEM-focused curriculum, Pranavi developed an interest in science and math, and is excited to bring that enthusiasm to a new generation of students as an instructor. Outside of school and GRISM, Pranavi likes to read, play tennis, play the violin, viola, and piano, and competes in the DECA and TSA competitions.
Megha Denduluri
Megha is a 9th grader at Redmond High School. Some of her interests are badminton, robotics, and reading. She’s always loved math and science, and she became a GRISM instructor to help younger students see that STEM can be fun and really cool. She is excited to share what she’s learned and help others build confidence in these subjects!
Nella karppanen
Nella is a currently a junior at Issaquah High School. Driven by her passion for STEM topics, such as physics and computer science, she aims for a future in the engineering field. She joined GRISM in order to nurture young girls' interests and share her enthusiasm for math. In her free time, she enjoys figure skating, painting, reading, and watching movies with friends!
Aanya thaker
Aanya Thaker is a current junior at Skyline High School. She chose to become a GRISM instructor because she’s been involved in STEM for about six years, and throughout that time, she’s noticed that there aren’t as many girls involved as she’d like to see. Through this program, she hopes to get more young girls involved in STEM and show them how fun it can be!
Anuradha kandel
Anuradha is a junior at Redmond High School. She became a GRISM instructor because she took GRISM when she was younger. It was really fun, the lessons and guests speakers are the reason she still wishes to study science.
Saanvi agarwal
Saanvi is a junior at Eastlake High School and she loves learning about anything related to STEM! She became a GRISM instructor because she wants to help young girls find their passion for math and science and give them the support they need to explore these fields!
Emma Jocic
Emma is a Junior at Lake Washington High School. She attended GRISM for a long time before she became an instructor, and she almost always enjoyed the lessons. She has always had an interest in STEM, particularly astronomy and physics, and being a part of GRISM allows her to teach it to others.