Seeing the struggles my grandma faced in her battle against breast cancer inspired me to get involved with ACS. In particular, my interest in public health and advocacy as well as my desire to make a more widespread impact with ACS beyond fundraising led me to the CELC. I’m passionate about advocating for health equity, especially in terms of women’s health, which has a history of being under prioritized, so I’m excited to see how I can bring that passion into cancer advocacy. As a member of the AAPI community, I’m also interested in destigmatizing the topic of cancer for AAPI individuals and spreading more awareness about cancer screening and prevention within this group.

I’m currently a senior at Dougherty Valley High School. In college, I plan to study Public Health and later attend medical school. Outside of CELC, I’m part of the ACS National Campus & Youth Engagement Team as the Community Liaison Co-Chair. Furthermore, I’m a Features Editor for my school’s newspaper, The Wildcat Tribune, and I wrote an opinion piece titled “Banning of flavored tobacco products in California with Proposition 31 is a step towards protecting youth”, which won second place in the Youth Journalism International competition and the Best of Student News Online distinction. I also founded a 501(c)(3) and PVSA-certified non-profit called Gender ShEquality for educating youth about feminism, and I wrote a children’s book (Feminism 101: A Guide to Gender Equality) for the same purpose. Additionally, I’m part of the San Ramon Teen Council and am part of a committee that is focusing on revising my city’s tobacco ordinance.

I have been part of the CELC since July 2022. My contributions since then include speaking at three Concord City Council meetings to urge revision of their tobacco retail license to implement a minimum price and pack size among other changes, writing a Letter to the Editor about voting Yes on Prop 31 that was published in East Bay Times, and speaking at a Youth Vaping Webinar hosted by Kansas City Kansas Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

As the Recruitment & Onboarding Chair, my job is to recruit volunteers from new schools and expand our volunteer base in existing schools, while also onboarding new members to the Society of Emerging Leaders and helping them find where they fit in the team.

Email: Ananya.Pinnamaneni@volunteer.cancer.org or ananyap2410@gmail.com