Meet Our Team

Rhythm Chaudhary

Rhythm Chaudhary is currently a student at Rutgers University (‘26) and serves as Chair of NJSCA. She has been involved with climate efforts since middle school and is hoping to raise awareness to environmental justice issues this year, especially in her university community.

Shirin Sood

Shirin Sood is a Junior at West Windsor Plainsboro Highschool North and serves as the Co-Chair of NJSCA, previously serving as the Publicity Team lead. She is passionate about the intersections between EJ and the environment where she is most interested in air quality. She looks forward to all the initiatives NJSCA takes on this year.

Divya Bharadwaj

Divya is a Junior at Montgomery High School, and is currently working with her school to get certified with the nonprofit Sustainable Jersey Schools. Divya currently serves as a Policy Engagement co-lead at NJSCA.

Niskriti Boopalam

Niskriti Boopalam is a current junior at South Brunswick High School, where she serves as NJSCA's Publicity Co-Lead. She also loves baking and gardening with her family. Niskriti is excited to spread awareness about Environmental Justice and to be one of publicity leads this year!

Eva Fea

Eva is currently a sophomore at WWP High School North. She is really excited to be a NJSCA Publicity lead and contribute to combating environmental justice. She also love eating Korean BBQ and reading for fun!

Emily Tae

Emily is a current sophomore at Tenafly High School. In NJSCA, she actively works to raise awareness and get involved in environmental issues within her community to amplify her impact. Emily currently serves as a Community Action Lead.

Previous Leadership

Jonathan Lu

Jonathan is a 2019 graduate of Princeton University, originally from Fremont, California. A co-founder of the New Jersey Student Climate Advocates, Jonathan helped lead the organization from 2017-2019. He currently attends Stanford Medical School.

"I hope to pass effective climate policy that invests in New Jersey workers, businesses, and communities and makes New Jersey more resilient to the effects of climate change."

Shelley Zhao

Shelley is a 2018 Princeton University graduate, majoring in computer science. She conducted research for political strategy and served as a carbon policy liaison for NJSCA. A lifelong environmentalist, she joined NJSCA after meeting co-founder Jonathan Lu at Princeton.

Originally from Philadelphia, she currently works in Denver as a business analyst.

Joseph Abbate

Joe is a graduate student in physics at Princeton University. In 2019, he helped form the Political Strategy team and served as its lead. He currently conducts research at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.

"I hope to develop the ability to thoughtfully listen to all perspectives and ideas as the NJSCA brainstorms and implements personal mindsets, technology, and public policy to reduce pollution while stimulating the economy."

Yaw Asante

Yaw is a 2021 graduate of Princeton University. Starting as a member of the outreach teams in 2019, he later helped lead the organization from 2019 - 2020. He currently is a graduate student studying cancer epigenetics and bioinformatics at Case Western Reserve University, back in his home state of Ohio.