Board of Directors
Liliana Katz-Hollander
Co-Chair
(she/her)
Liliana Katz-Hollander is a dedicated youth
advocate who is passionate about fighting for
women's rights and amplifying youth voices. She
is a senior at Richard Montgomery High School,
and also works with the Young Feminist Party
and SafeBae to advance women's rights in other
spaces. She is excited to be in her third year at
EmpowHER and to continue creating spaces for
girls in MCPS.
Ramya Chokkalingam
Co-Chair
(she/her)
Ramya Chokkalingam is an eleventh grader at Poolesville High School. Her favorite flower is jasmine and her favorite song is Paris, Texas by Lana del Rey.
Ginger Speer
Media Director
(they/them)
Ginger is a senior at Richard Montgomery High School and they're so happy to be working with the MoCo EmpowHER Media Team for a second year! They are also the Publicity Chief of Black Maskers (RM's theatre troupe), the Co-President of the RM Film Society, and the Advocacy Director of RM's My Neuro Corner. They love making art, rollerblading, and spending time with their cat, Sneakers.
Molly McAlvanah
Communications Director
(she/her)
Molly McAlvanah is a junior at Walter Johnson
High School. This is her second year working
with EmpowHER after previously serving as a
Junior Director, and she is currently MCR-SGA's
Community Relations Director. This year, Molly
looks forward to connecting with other young
women in the county who are passionate about
female empowerment, as well as providing
students with a close-knit community of events
and leadership opportunities. In her free time,
she enjoys reading, baking, true crime podcast
listening, and late-night walks with friends.
Esther Atolaiye
Communications Director
(she/her)
Esther Atolaiye is a current junior attending Paint
Branch High School, where she is a part of the
Academy of Health Professions and serves as
the schoolwide SGA Secretary. One of her driving
passions is that of enacting positive change
wherever it is due and supporting those from
underrepresented and marginalized
backgrounds, and she's done this in a number of
groups including the MCPS Special Elections
Committee and serving as her school's Black and
African Student Union Co-President. Some of her
hobbies include playing basketball, reading, and
photography.
Olivia Suh
Community Relations Director
(she/her)
Olivia Suh is a junior at Poolesville High School and one of the Community Relations Directors for MoCo EmpowHER. Outside of EmpowHER, she is the Co-President of MoCo Students for Change and a part of the MCPS Special Elections Committee. Through her advocacy efforts, Olivia has connected with various communities focused on female empowerment and is excited to work with people from diverse backgrounds to create change. In her free time, she enjoys hanging out with friends, binge-watching TV shows, and growing plants.
Natalie Rivera
Community Relations Director
(she/her)
Natalie is a senior at Gaithersburg High School
and has been involved in Moco EmpowHER for 3
years now. Outside of EmpowHER she serves as
the school-wide President for her school’s SGA
and runs the GHS Philosophy Club. Natalie is
passionate about educating others on how to get
more involved with advocacy, and hopes to work
with the rest of the leadership team to connect
with student voices.
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Ria Rajesh
Leadership Institute Director
(she/her)
Ria is a sophomore at Clarksburg High School. She is currently a MoCo EmpowHER Leadership Institute Director. She is passionate about the fine arts, whether it be music or drawing. She plays volleyball and is also a dancer. In her spare time, Ria likes to volunteer, listen to music, and read books.
Nhu-May Buynak
Leadership Institute Director
(she/her)
Nhu-May Buynak is a junior at Paint Branch High
School in Montgomery County. She first learned
about advocacy during her sophomore year by
joining MoCo EmpowHER's Leadership Institute.
After a great experience, she applied for MoCo
EmpowHER's Leadership Board and now serves
as one of three Leadership Institute Directors.
Through her positions, Nhu-May advocates for
and gets involved in things she's passionate
about such as women's rights and spreading
awareness about human trafficking.
Hannah Solomon
Leadership Institute Director
(she/her)
Hannah is a junior at Richard Montgomery High
School. She first joined MoCo EmpowHER two
school years ago, during which she participated
in the Fall Leadership Institute. After partaking in
the program, she decided that the uplifting and
powerful community was something that she
wanted to continue building and contributing to.
This will be Hannah’s second year serving as
Leadership Institute Director alongside her
commitments to her school and county
newspapers. Through MoCo EmpowHER,
Hannah hopes to educate and empower more
young female advocates to become strong
leaders that actively pursue change in their
communities.
Ananya (Ash) Govind
Finance Director
(they/she)
Ash is a junior at Richard Montgomery who had
been involved in advocacy since her freshman
year. She is passionate about mental health,
creative writing, and feminism as well as climate
justice. In her free time, she loves binge-watching
tv and baking as well as finding new cafes to
explore!
Abby Mizan
Advocacy Director
(she/her)
Abby is an 11th grader from Montgomery Blair HS
in the Takoma Park-Silver Spring area. Fueled by
a passion for activism, she serves as
EmpowHer's Advocacy Director for this year.
Abby loves lobbying and legislative advocacy;
she sits on the Youth Advisory Council of
PERIOD. (global nonprofit) and also works with
the MCR-SGA GESM Taskforce. As Vice
President of MBHS, she hopes to amplify
downcounty perspectives and promote the
scope of student voice through advocacy. Aside
from her MoCoEmpowHER duties, Abby loves all
things artsy; music, fashion, and design (she's
listening to Chromakopia currently). Abby can't
wait to spread her love for feminism and expand
EmpowHER alongside this year's Exec Board!
Hana Sor
Spanish Language Coordinator
(she/her)
Hana is currently a 10th grader attending
Montgomery Blair High school and is
participating in her first year in Moco EmpowHER.
Her passions include writing, reading, and film.
She is currently gathering advocacy experience
through school organizations and leadership
teams.
Jessica Taylor
Junior Director
(she/her)
Jess is a sophomore at Rockville High School and
serves as one of our Junior Directors in MoCo
EmpowHER. She also coordinates a task force to
combat drug abuse through Montgomery County
Regional SGA (MCR). She enjoys going to the
gym and loves sunflowers! (She even has a
tattoo of one!)​
Riya Gupta
Junior Director
(she/her)
Riya is a sophomore at Wootton High School. She
is a part of DECA, Debate, and also helped
co-found a Women’s Club at her school to
facilitate community and teach young women in
her school about how they can either give back
to the community and/or advocate for what they
believe in. In her free time, she loves to make
string bracelets and help volunteer with dogs and
cats through her school!
