Our Team
Co-founder and Executive Director
Annie Xu
Hey everyone! I’m Annie, and I’m the co-founder and executive director of the Cherishing Youth Leadership team. As the executive director, I guide and coordinate the many programs Cherishing Youth offers. Through my role, I help ensure that Cherishing Youth will fulfill its mission of promoting mental health well-being for adolescents.
Operations Manager
Grace Ma
Hi, I'm Grace, and I am the operations manager for Cherishing Youth 2025-2026. My role is to ensure that our program runs smoothly, safely, and with compassion at its center. I am extremely grateful for this unique opportunity, and I am excited to work with everyone!
Instagram Manager
Alyssa Pendon
Hi, I'm Alyssa the instagram manager. I'm passionate about mental health and empowering others!
Penpal Manager and Instagram Manager
Helen Phung
Hello everyone! My name is Helen and I am a part of the Cherishing Youth 2025-2026 team! I'm the penpal manager to help match individuals to be penpals and communicate with them. I am also the isntagram manager to post research articles and tips. I am excited to be apart of this team this year, change other's lives, and see this community grow every second!
Penpal Manager
Katarina Amelia Yustine Meolalu
Hi everyone! My name's Katarina, and I'm one of the penpal managers representing Cherishing Youth. My responsibility here is to help connect anyone who is looking for a friend to write to; not just according to their interests or passions, but similar challenges that they face in life, in hopes that these interactions could uplift one another!
Article Writer
Gabriela Segura
Hello! My name is Gabriela Segura; one of the article writers at Cherishing Youth. I’m currently a student from Dallas, Texas who loves studying biology, literature, and neuroscience! A fun fact about me is that most things I own are pink, and I really love listening to Laufey! I’m excited for everyone to read the mental health-based articles we create at Cherishing Youth!
Article Writer
Zhixuan Yang
Hi, I’m Zhixuan! I’ll be joining the Cherishing Youth team as an article writer, combining my background in science and my passion for promoting youth mental health to practice my writing skills.