OUR MISSION
To empower students as changemakers for an anti-racist future through education.
Executive Operations
Marketing and Branding
Anusha Nadkarni
Executive Director
Anusha Nadkarni (she/hers) is the proud daughter of two Indian immigrants. Anusha represented the State of Illinois in the 2023 United States Senate Youth Program, and believes that equitable education is integral to fostering empathetic, justice-driven communities. Now, Anusha studies Public Policy, South Asian Studies, and Human Rights at Stanford University, where she is continuing her advocacy work in education equity, community-building, and public service.
anadkarni@diversifyournarrative.com
Charlize Ko
Executive Director of Brand and Strategy
Charlize Ko is a lover of books and films, and a firm believer in inspiring diversity and narrative-change. Alongside working at DON, Charlize explores her passion of anti-displacement advocacy, racial justice and human rights issues in Amnesty International USA, serving as a member of their youth governmental body as well as on national several working groups. In her free time, you can catch her writing, reading or drawing!
cko@diversifyournarrative.com
Maggie Xie
Chief Marketing Officer
Maggie Xie is the Chief Marketing Officer at Diversify Our Narrative. A junior at Castro Valley High School, Maggie works within her community and nationally to motivate students into intersectional activism and provide equitable education to all.
mxie@diversifyournarrative.com
Livs Sun
Graphic Designer
Livs Sun is a Graphic Designer for DON and a second-year at the University of Virginia studying Commerce and American Studies. She is drawn to the intersections between art and advocacy, and how design and communications can be used to foster social change. In her free time, you can catch Livs watching Formula 1 or drawing.
lsun@diversifyournarrative.com
Tycho Larsen
Emergency Writer
Tycho Larsen is a senior from Houston, Texas. He is passionate about music, languages, and social justice, and is an emergency writer in DON's Marketing and Branding department.
tlarsen@diversifyournarrative.com
Yujen Lin
Content Creator
Yujen Lin is a current undergraduate at Stanford and is on the Marketing and Branding team working on social media marketing. She is passionate about the work DON does and is excited about the future campaigns she will work on. She also enjoys to dance in her free time.
ylin@diversifyournarrative.com
Leanne Ko
Graphic Designer
Leanne Ko is a freshman in high school and is a graphic designer for DON.
lko@diversifyournarrative.com
Adithi Kadle
Outreach Marketing Coordinator
Adithi Kadle is the Outreach Marketing Director at Diversify Our Narrative. A current senior at the Texas Academy of Math & Science, Adithi is passionate about educational justice and community-based organizing. Outside of DON, she is an avid coffee-drinker and hiker!
akadle@diversifyournarrative.com
Marketing and Branding
Lily Caldwell
Chair of Curriculum Council
lcaledwell@diversifyournarrative.com
Charlotte Cao
Vice Chair of Curriculum Council
Livs Sun is a Graphic Designer for DON and a second-year at the University of Virginia studying Commerce and American Studies. She is drawn to the intersections between art and advocacy, and how design and communications can be used to foster social change. In her free time, you can catch Livs watching Formula 1 or drawing.
lsun@diversifyournarrative.com
Tycho Larsen
Emergency Writer
Tycho Larsen is a senior from Houston, Texas. He is passionate about music, languages, and social justice, and is an emergency writer in DON's Marketing and Branding department.
tlarsen@diversifyournarrative.com
Yujen Lin
Content Creator
Yujen Lin is a current undergraduate at Stanford and is on the Marketing and Branding team working on social media marketing. She is passionate about the work DON does and is excited about the future campaigns she will work on. She also enjoys to dance in her free time.
ylin@diversifyournarrative.com
Leanne Ko
Graphic Designer
Leanne Ko is a freshman in high school and is a graphic designer for DON.
lko@diversifyournarrative.com
Adithi Kadle
Outreach Marketing Coordinator
Adithi Kadle is the Outreach Marketing Director at Diversify Our Narrative. A current senior at the Texas Academy of Math & Science, Adithi is passionate about educational justice and community-based organizing. Outside of DON, she is an avid coffee-drinker and hiker!
akadle@diversifyournarrative.com
Yujen Lin
Content Creator
Yujen Lin is a current undergraduate at Stanford and is on the Marketing and Branding team working on social media marketing. She is passionate about the work DON does and is excited about the future campaigns she will work on. She also enjoys to dance in her free time.
ylin@diversifyournarrative.com
Leanne Ko
Graphic Designer
Leanne Ko is a freshman in high school and is a graphic designer for DON.
lko@diversifyournarrative.com
Adithi Kadle
Outreach Marketing Coordinator
Adithi Kadle is the Outreach Marketing Director at Diversify Our Narrative. A current senior at the Texas Academy of Math & Science, Adithi is passionate about educational justice and community-based organizing. Outside of DON, she is an avid coffee-drinker and hiker!
akadle@diversifyournarrative.com
How We Began
Founded in June of 2020 by two Stanford students, DON initially began with one goal: change our high school English classrooms to include diverse texts. Since then, we’ve extended our vision to our four core values in the fight to build antiracist policy: accessibility, curriculum advocacy, centering students and stories and community building .
This campaign, now led by one thousand high school and college students internationally, believes that schools have not only the capacity, but also the obligation to educate its students about race, racism, and anti-racism in America through the right books and curriculum. Currently, the texts we teach in school do not adequately address these prominent issues— and that is precisely what our organization will change.
Our Organizers
Manhattan Beach Unified School District
“Diverse books help people gain a new perspective on social issues. “School is a time where you develop a sense of identity and personality, so learning about other people’s experiences helps us become global citizens who understand that other cultures exist and that it is important to respect them.”
— Hannah Gideon, District Lead of MBUSD.
Placentia Yorba Linda Unified District
“Growing up in America as a young student of color, there were certain negative experiences I had that I had no clue were due to my racial and ethnic identity. When I became older, I started to realize that I was passionate for advocating for diversity, equity, and racial justice, even more so because I started to learn about the deep rooted systemic injustices in our society. I’m currently a DON organizer because I don’t want future generalizations of marginalized students to ever feel the way I did — an outsider in their own country — and help expose others to the beauty of various cultures and identities that aren’t their own.”
— Abigail Lee, District Lead
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools District
“Working with Diversify Our Narrative both as a district lead and a national member has offered me opportunities to engage in my local and national community. While gaining experience with political processes, I have been able to reflect upon my educational experiences and actively work to disparage barriers. I am so proud of my DON family and the progress that we have made together!”
— Catherine Tiddy, District Lead
DON Tokyo: Discussions on Race
"The first international chapter of DON, DON Tokyo-- The American School of Japan, spent last summer creating a compiled interview of how our school has tried to combat racism, and what else we could do in the future.” — @efukumoto
“10 Florida activists fighting for a brighter, queerer future”
From creating safe spaces at their schools to filing high-profile lawsuits, young people are rallying against the homophobic 'Don't Say Gay' law.
“Frisco teen Athena Tseng looks to next chapter after pushing for more diverse classes”
The Liberty High School junior formed the Frisco branch of Diversify Our Narrative and pushed for more ethnically diverse classes in the district.
Chapter Highlights
