Meet the team
Annika Lilja
Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Annika Lilja is a rising senior in high school who lives in Minnesota and goes to boarding school in North Carolina. She is deeply passionate about civic engagement and founded this website to encourage teens to become informed and involved in current events and politics. She hopes to study political science in college and have a career in politics in the future.
Anoushka Patel
Blog Writer
Anoushka Patel is a high school student from England, United Kingdom. She is passionate about foreign policy and international relations, hoping to pursue those further in the future. In her spare time, she enjoys crime fiction, writing poems and playing mahjong.
Andrew Hermann
Editor
Andrew Hermann is a driven high school student from the bustling city of New York. With a true passion for history, politics, and government, Andrew hopes to pursue these fields in college one day. When he's not studying, you can find Andrew on the basketball court, hanging out with friends, or volunteering at his local food pantry.
Nico Fodor
Blog Writer and Editor
Nico Fodor is a high school student at Riverdale Country School in New York City with an interest in government, history, and sports. He plans on studying East Asian Studies or Government in college. In his free time Nico enjoys playing tennis, baking, and being with friends and family.
Queenie Lin
Blog Editor
Queenie is a senior in high school in Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. She is captain of her school’s Mock Trial team and serves as the Vice President of Growth and Logistics at the Institute for Youth in Policy. In her free time, Queenie enjoys walking around the city and exploring pop music from different countries.
Eliza Dorton
Blog Writer and Editor
Eliza Dorton is a senior in high school and lives just outside of Washington, D.C.. She has a strong passion for public policy, journalism, and history and hopes to pursue these passions in the future. At school, she is the president of Young Democrats and is the editor-in-chief of her school’s student-run newspaper. When she is not at school, she enjoys reading, spending time with friends and family, playing tennis, and swimming.
Akshar Patel
Blog Writer and Editor
Akshar Patel is a sophomore living in the town of Cary, North Carolina who is passionate about the field of law, current events, and history. He is the president of his school’s debate club, an active member of the Model UN club, and an ambassador for the Harvard Undergraduate International Relations Scholars Program. He enjoys hanging out with friends and family, exploring new cities, and photography and photo editing in his free time
Peter Beys
Blog Writer
Peter Beys is a high school student at Middlesex School, a boarding school in Concord, Massachusetts, yet he lives in New York. He is interested in fields of government such as law and public policy as well as history and current events. He has taken initiatives to solve issues related to mental health and wellness; social and socioeconomic diversity, equity, and inclusion; and climate change. In his free time, he plays sports and spends time with family and friends.
Carla Elalam
Blog Writer
Carla Elalam is a motivated junior in high school from Los Angeles, California. She is driven and passionate about politics, specifically international politics. She finds immense joy in reading articles about global issues and watching politician debates on YouTube. She channels her love of politics into activism within her community. She is a fellow at the Grassroots Democrats HQ, president of her Pre-Law club, and is the vice president of the Maronite Youth Organization.
Anaka Malalgoda Weerakoon
Blog Writer
Anaka Malalgoda Weerakoon is a sixth form student from the UK. She has always been interested in politics, especially political theory, and hopes to go on to study history and politics in the future. She is also extremely passionate about political education, especially for younger children, running debate clubs for younger years, coaching World Scholars Cup teams, and leading Model UN to help everyone access politics from any age. In her spare time, you can find her reading, drawing, or learning random new things that pique her interest.
Rebecca Oxtot
Blog Writer and Editor
Rebecca Oxtot is a high schooler from the Bay Area who’s interested in international relations, public policy, and history. She hopes to pursue journalism and policy analysis in the future. In her free time she enjoys running, writing prose, studying philosophy, and watching sitcoms.
MAXIMUS HANSEN
Blog Writer and Editor
Maximus Hansen is a Junior in high school and lives in New York City. He is particularly passionate about Eastern European history, World geography, and diplomacy. Maximus writes for multiple school papers, is on the Student Advisory Council at the Gilder Lehrman Institute, and volunteers for Team Frank Africa. He is also an avid ice hockey player and competes in various cities across the country.
adoni sopshire
Blog Writer
Adoni is a high school senior from Northwest Arkansas. She is passionate about civic engagement and she plans to pursue a career in International Affairs. She's president of her school's Arkansas Global Changemakers club, as well as being a part of the Student Presidential Leadership Series and Model United Nations. In her free time, Adoni likes to thrift, watch local music performances, and paint.
Riya Chevuru
Blog Writer
Riya Chevuru is a junior at Centennial High School in Frisco, Texas, with a strong passion for civic engagement, social justice, and public service. Aspiring to become an attorney, she currently serves as a teen attorney in Plano's Teen Court program, where she presents cases as either prosecution or defense in real-life juvenile Class C misdemeanor cases during the punishment phase.
