
Emily Peng
Aragon High School in San Mateo, California
Emily Peng is a junior at Aragon High School in San Mateo, California, and the founder of DyeversityInUs, a youth-led nonprofit dedicated to educating communities on the harms of stereotypes and empowering youth to pursue underrepresented careers. Through speaker series events in middle and high schools, she combines lesson plans, interactive activities and panels featuring minority professionals in government, STEM and leadership roles. With more than 50 chapter leaders in California and 20 chapters nationwide, DyeversityInUs has reached 10,000 people and continues to grow. Beyond her nonprofit, Emily leads the Racial Equity Committee of Aragon's Student Equity Council, where she spearheaded the campus climate survey, gathering data from 2,000 students on dehumanizing language. The findings led the principal to implement mandatory anti-discrimination education. For her dedication to equity, Emily received the National Society of High School Scholars "Notorious RBG Women of Tomorrow" award and the Dedication to Community Work award from the Daly City mayor. She is now expanding the Day4Diversity Pledge to inspire systemic change and youth activism in schools nationwide.