Board of Directors
Aves Hasrat​​
Co-Chair
(she/her)
Aves Hasrat is a senior at Gaithersburg High School. Going on her fifth year as a part of EmpowHER, Aves hopes to grow to organization in order to provide more inclusive and engaging guidance to young girls across the county. Aside from EmpowHER, Aves serves as a chief of staff on the Montgomery County Regional Student Council and as her school’s senior class president. Her love for leadership was fostered by having an outside perspective on advocacy issues in the county. Her goal is to create a loving and uplifting community where women can freely advocate on behalf of themselves and their beliefs.
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 junior at Richard Montgomery High School, and also works with the National Organization for Women and Generation Ratify to advance women's rights in other spaces. She is excited to be in her second year at EmpowHER and continue creating spaces for girls in MCPS.
Gloria Liang
Media Director
(she/her)
Gloria Liang is a junior at Richard Montgomery High School. She joined MoCo EmpowHER in 2022 as a Junior Director to combine her interest in women's empowerment and design. She has also worked as a graphic designer for many other advocacy organizations, clubs, and school government. In addition to advocacy, Gloria enjoys digital art and creative writing. This year, she hopes to help increase the reach of EmpowHER to as many students around the county as possible.
Lily Mosisa
Communications Director
(she/her)
Lily Mosisa is a senior at Sherwood High School. She joined MocoEmpowHer as a fellow of the leadership institute in her junior year. Aside from MocoEmpowHer, she founded her school Girls Who Code where she strives to make STEM more accessible to young women. In her free time, Lily enjoys reading, watching shows, and crocheting. She hopes to encourage young women to advocate for issues they are passionate about through MocoEmpowher.
Aneela Shemsu
Community Relations Director
(she/her)
Aneela Shemsu is a senior at Wootton High School. She joined MoCo EmpowHER as a sophomore in high school as a part of the leadership institute before she went on to become the director in 2022. Aneela loves how MoCo EmpowHER is specifically targeted to the county, ensuring a close-knit community for women. Aside from EmpowHER, Aneela serves as the Montgomery County Public Schools Special Elections Committee Administrator and her senior class president. She is a strong advocate for equity and bridging the inequality gap. She hopes to ensure that MoCo EmpowHER is an inclusive and safe space for all women in the county.
Natalie Rivera
Community Relations Director
(she/her)
Natalie Rivera is a junior at Gaithersburg High School and has been involved with Empowher for a year now. She previously served as the school liaison for GHS and wanted to be more involved in advancing Empowher’s involvement in the community. Outside of Empowher she serves as the school-wide Secretary for her school’s SGA and is President of 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.
Chinatu Achor
Leadership Institute Director
(she/her)
Chinatu Achor is a Senior at Thomas Wootton High School. She joined Moco EmpowHER as a Junior through the leadership Institute. Chinatu enjoys Women's advocacy, which is what drew her to MoCo EmpowHer initially. Outside of MoCo EmpowHer, Chinatu enjoys volunteering with local nonprofits, and learning more about law. She hopes to share her love of advocacy with others through the leadership Institute.
Divya Subramanian
Leadership Institute Director
(she/her)
Divya Subramanian is a senior at Wootton High School. She became involved with EmpowHER in her junior year through the leadership institute before becoming one of the Directors this year. Aside from Moco EmpowHER, Divya explores her passions in women's health through her work as president of a women's health nonprofit (Bravely Ending Anemia Together). She also advocates for women's rights and gender equality through organizations such as Generation Ratify and The Feminist Front. Through running the Leadership Institute, Divya hopes to inspire a new generation of young women to become strong leaders and strive to change issues they see in our community.
Hannah Solomon
Leadership Institute Director
(she/her)
Hannah is a sophomore at Richard Montgomery High School. She first joined MoCo EmpowHER last school year, 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. Hannah now serves as the liaison for Maryland’s Association of Student Councils, or MASC, for MCR and an environmental education director for Eco MoCo. Through MoCo EmpowHER this year Hannah hopes to educate and empower more young female advocates.
Margot Kaye
Literary Magazine Editor
(she/her)
Margot is a sophomore at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. This is her 2nd year being involved with EmpowHER. She spends her time listening to music (mostly by female artists), watching movies (mostly by female directors), and reading books (mostly by female authors). She finds herself most expressive and at peace when writing poetry and creative essays. This year, Margot is most excited to read submissions from students for the MocoEmpowHER Literary Magazine.
Daniela Martinez
Literary Magazine Editor
(she/her)
Daniela Martinez is a senior at Poolesville High School. She is currently working with the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center to showcase the frontier women crossed in the punk music industry. This school year, she is working on the Department Aid for the SMOB Advisory Council. She enjoys reading and writing, crocheting and performing in theatre productions. She is passionate about female writers and wants to uplift women’s voices through the EmpowHER literary magazine.
Molly McAlvanah
Junior Director
(she/her)
​Molly McAlvanah is a sophomore at Walter Johnson High School. This is her first year involved with EmpowHER and she is excited to connect with other young women in the county who are passionate about female empowerment. Outside of EmpowHER, she enjoys helping in her community with her Girl Scout troop, biking, reading, and baking many more desserts than she can eat. This year, she looks forward to spotlighting creative media that focuses on topics related to feminism and gender equality.
Juliana Fay C. Thompson
Junior Director
(she/her)
Juliana Fay C. Thompson is a Freshman at Montgomery Blair High School in the Communication Arts Program (CAP). This is her first year involved with EmpowHER and is excited to help connect, inspire and uplift the next generation of strong, confident young women. Aside from EmpowHER, Juliana Fay does Public Forum Debate, Dance Company, K. O. Crew and Bollywood at her school as well as being a Co-President for her Freshman Class Council, and an intern for MCPS BoE At-Large Member Lynne Harris. Juliana Fay also enjoys spending time with her friends and family! This year she hopes to help foster an environment that educates and empowers the next generation of young women, ensuring they feel confident and supported in their personal and leadership journeys through EmpowHER."