GEM Team

Meet the Team!

GEM (Girls Empowerment Movement) was founded by a group of junior and senior girls at Sage Hill School in Newport Coast, California. We are passionate about building independence and self-esteem in middle school girls. We will host the fourth annual GEMfest, a day-long event with inspiring guest speakers and hands-on workshops for approximately 200 middle school girls, on Saturday, March 18th, 2022. GEMfest provides inspiration and education about tools for success in middle school, high school, and beyond!

Mikayla Tetteh-Martey
Co-President

Mikayla (she/her) is currently a senior at Sage Hill School. She attended her first GEM Fest in 8th grade and loved it so much she volunteered her freshman year. As co-president Mikayla is looking forward to overseeing the amazing event this year and is excited to play a role in empowering these young girls. She is a writer and treasurer for Sage's FLARE Magazine and enjoys meeting people and volunteering to better her community. Mikayla loves to play tennis, enjoys music, traveling, and spending time with her friends and family.

Megan Vahdat
Co-President

Megan (she/her) is currently a senior at Sage Hill School and looks forward to helping spread the message of women's empowerment as the co-president of the GEM Team this year. Over the years, she has attended GEMfest and has made some fantastic memories volunteering for the event. She feels excited to help unite young women with inspirational leaders in the community. Megan also hopes to encourage girls to pursue their dreams with confidence. Megan is the co-chair of SAME, a group that promotes multiculturalism, a Student Ambassador, and the captain of the Academic Decathlon and National History Day teams. In her free time, she enjoys playing the guitar, writing, and going to the beach.

Celine Tseng
Design Manager

Celine (she/her) is a current senior at Sage Hill School and is very excited to be a part of the GEM team. She volunteered during the 2020 GEMfest, and became interested in GEM’s amazing purpose of female empowerment. Celine believes in inspiring young girls to find their interests, hobbies, or passions that they can pursue with confidence in their everyday lives. In addition to GEM, Celine is a Student Ambassador, a Peer Counselor, and the head photographer for Sage Hill’s FLARE fashion and lifestyle magazine. In her free time, she loves drawing and painting, taking pictures, listening to music, and spending time with her little brother and dog.

Noe Lee
Design Manager

Noe (she/her) is a senior at Sage Hill School and is super excited to be part of the design team for her second year of GEM. She loves writing, fashion, and design and is super passionate about inspiring young women. Noe is the Editor in Chief of the school newspaper, Head of Writing for Flare Magazine, and Literary Editor of Struck Magazine. She spends her free time listening to music, thrifting, watching movies, and spending time with family and friends. She is also the Libero for the Sage Hill Varsity Volleyball team. Noe loves meeting new people, and hopes to make long lasting bonds through her time in the Girl's Empowerment Movement.

Michelle Tran
Website and Outreach Manager

Michelle(she/her) is currently a senior at Sage Hill School and is super excited to be able to be a part of the GEM Team this year! She volunteered for GEMfest in 2020 and was so inspired and motivated to join the team. Through GEM, she hopes to inspire young girls that they are capable of doing anything they wish to do. Outside of GEM, Michelle enjoys doing lash extensions and lash lifts on clients. She also enjoys exploring new crochet and knitting patterns and going to the gym in her free time

Anna Lin
Website and Outreach Manager

Anna (she/her) is currently a junior at Sage Hill School, and is super excited to be a part of the GEM Team! She attended GEM throughout middle school, even creating two workshops, Dance and Coding, for GEM last year! Anna is so excited to connect with the young girls, and hopes to bring an amazing experience to them, allowing them to explore their own passions and interests freely. Anna is also the president and founder of Sage Hill Art Club, a Student Ambassador, and the community captain of Synergy dance ensemble. In her free time, she likes volunteering and helping out in food banks and senior centers. She loves spending time with her friends and family, dancing, and playing the flute. Anna loves meeting new people, and can't wait for the upcoming years of GEMfest!

Anne Chen
Website and Outreach Manager

Anne (she/her) is currently a junior at Sage Hill School. As a former GEMfest attendee and ambassador herself, she is super excited to bring the same amazing experience to young girls. Anne is also the president for Sage's Girl Up club, as well as a writer for Flare Magazine and The Bolt. She enjoys traveling, writing, and spending time with her friends and family. Anne looks forward to sharing her passion for women empowerment and inspiring others to do the same.

Carisa Koh
Communications Manager

Carisa (she/her) is a junior and super excited for GEM. She attended GEM throughout middle school and loved the workshops and hopes to connect with young girls to explore their passions. Along with GEM, she is a member of the JV volleyball team, vice president of GiveBack, and treasurer of Flare Magazine. In her free time, she loves reading, traveling, and spending time with her friends and family.

Alia Sajjadian
Communications Manager

Riley Robinson
Social Media Manager

Priya Bhakta
Social Media Manager

Alia (she/her) is a junior at Sage Hill School who fondly remembers attending GEM Fest as a seventh grader. She looks forward to passing on that excitement to current middle school students with engaging speakers and impactful experiences at this year's event. Alia is passionate about mentoring younger girls and helping them appreciate their unique voices and express their diverse perspectives. Alia is a member of SAME, a group advocating multiculturalism, the opinion editor of Sage Hill's newspaper, The Bolt, and plays for the varsity volleyball team. In her free time, she enjoys going to concerts, baking, and perusing bookstores

Riley (she/her) is currently a junior at Sage Hill School. This is her first year on the GEM team, and she is so excited to contribute as the Social Media Manager. She has attended all the GEMfest events since 2018 and it is her dream to be working alongside likeminded women and empower young girls as they enter middle school and go through their high school years. Outside of GEM, Riley is a member of SAME, a leadership group that works to enhance multiculturalism, a Student Ambassador, and is a part of multiple clubs that focus in on her interests: Flare (fashion), Blue Bin Group (environmental science), and Girl Up (feminism). In her free time, she enjoys going to the theater, reading on the beach, and spending time with her family and two dogs. She is looking forward to a successful year of GEM and getting to know all the amazing people she will be working with.

Priya (she/her) is currently a junior at Sage Hill School. She attended her first GEM Fest as a volunteer in 2022 and wanted to get more involved with the cause. Priya is excited to work with fellow team members to create a fun event for everyone! She is also excited to get to help middle school girls find their voice and make new friends! Priya also volunteers with the American Association of University Women to help plan and be a counselor for their residential STEM summer camp for girls. In school, she is on the boards of Girl Up and Blue Bin Group, and also works on the school newspaper and yearbook. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her friends, playing with her dog, and listening to music.

Madeleine Dorman
GEM Team Bonding/Brand Outreach Manager

Madeleine Dorman (she/her) is currently a senior at Sage Hill School and this is her second year on the GEM team. She hopes to inspire young girls to be confident enough to do anything they want to. Along with GEM, Madeleine is captain of the JV tennis team, a photographer for FLARE Magazine, runs her own baking club, and runs her own business, The Madeleine Experience. When she has free time, she loves to watch TV, read, and craft.

Isabella Palacio
Gem Team Bonding/Brand Outreach Manager

Isabella (she/her) is a current junior at Sage Hill School. She attended the first GEMfest as a middle school student, which inspired her to come to Sage. Through GEM, she hopes that she can empower young girls to work towards their goals and find their passions. Outside of GEM, Isabella is a member of Sage Hill’s Dance Team, Speech Captain of the Speech and Debate Team, a member of SAME, and a Youth Congressional Leader in her city. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, listening to music, and writing.

Jamie Parrott
Decoration and Facilities Manager

Jamie (she/her) is currently a junior at Sage Hill School and is super excited to be a part of the GEM Team. She attended GEMFest her during her seventh and eighth grade years and had the opportunity to be a GEMbassador, then loved volunteering last year as a sophomore. Through GEM she hopes to inspire and encourage young women to find their voice, passions and individuality. Outside of GEM, Jamie loves participating in theatre and the arts department at Sage Hill school. Jamie also plays soccer, enjoys music, movies, Disney, and spending quality time with her family and friends.

Jaci Lee
Decorations and Facilities Manager

Jaci (she/her) is currently a junior at Sage Hill Highschool. As a member of the GEM team, she is looking forward to connecting with young girls and showing them all of the opportunities that they have in life. She is in a variety of clubs such as Girl Up, Art Club, FLARE Magazine and is currently a Student Ambassador as well. In her free time, she loves to paint, read, and spend time with her friends and family.