IFE’s Future Frontiers to host Youth STEM salon at Embassy of Kazakhstan

The Insitute for Education (IFE) and IFE Future Frontiers program founder Naya Chopra will host the third event in its series on April 24. The salon, Igniting the Future, will celebrate Youth STEM achievement at a reception and fireside chat hosted by H.E. Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States. Special guests GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan and Schmidt Futures VP Kumar Garg will make remarks. Naya Chopra will moderate a fireside chat with Suhana Kumar and Priya Patel (bios below). By invitation only.

ABOUT: Future Frontiers aims to bridge the gap in high school students’ understanding of future career paths by assembling diverse speakers. Aligned with the IFE mission to partner with various leaders and foster a culture of bipartisanship and civic engagement, Future Frontiers seeks to empower students by offering firsthand insights into various career and life paths. This program strives to equip students with the knowledge and inspiration to navigate their futures confidently.

Fireside chat Speaker Bios:

Suhana Kumar is a junior at Stuyvesant High School, NYC, a studied programmer, a published sociology and business researcher, and an advocate for global reform in elder care. As founder and executive director of MentorMeGlobal, Suhana works to diminish the isolation of the world’s burgeoning elderly population and foster bonds between generations. Through her MentorMeGlobal website, she organizes student groups in the U.S. and abroad to pair with senior citizens in a mutual-mentoring relationship, whereby seniors advise students on pre-professional and social concerns, and students provide company and reminders to our seniors that they are respected, relevant, and treasured. MentorMeGlobal presently serves senior centers in the U.S., Thailand, and India. As an app developer, Suhana has coded the original app, GigThis, which connects conservatory students in vocal and instrumental music, film, playwriting, and dance for performance collaborations. Suhana is also a USCF-rated Girls Top 100 Age17 player and founded Stuyvesant’s Girls Chess Club, which won first place in All Girls Nationals in 2023.

Priya Patel is a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania and founder and executive director of the international award-winning program Peer Responders, which trains teens as the first line of defense in peer mental health crises. Aspiring to become a specialist in neuroscience and child psychiatry, Priya seeks to help teens struggling with anxiety, depression, and discomfort in their own skin by training the people closest to them on how to notice, respond, and guide their peers to the right resources. Priya has expanded her work to examine the mental health of trapped sex workers in India, combat sex trafficking, and promote educational dignity. Priya also founded the neurology-based app MyPainManager, through which the support of graphical pain data visualization strengthens the clinician-patient relationship.