REIMAGINING OUR COLLECTIVE FUTURE
Encode Justice is building a global, youth-powered movement for human-centered artificial intelligence.
FUNDERS
The Omidyar Network, the We Are Family Foundation, the Princeton Prize in Race Relations, and individual donors like you!
CHAPTER NETWORK
Use the map above to access volunteer form links for individual chapters by clicking on the pins.
Don’t see your state or country represented? ↓
IN THE NEWS
Feature article in CNN (Click to view):
the latest advocates for ethical AI aren't even old enough to vote: they're part of a group called @encodejustice, and they're mostly in high school. it was such an honor to speak with these inspiring teenagers, and i can't wait to see what they do next.https://t.co/WHJ1GtuYSY
— Rachel Metz (@rachelmetz) September 29, 2021
16-year-old Sneha Revanur started Encode Justice to point out the dangers of AI-based applications. “We’re fighting for a future in which technology can be used to uplift, and not to oppress.” https://t.co/4C8pCOk537
— Algorithmic Justice League (@AJLUnited) October 12, 2021
"We're fighting for a future in which technology can be used to uplift, and not to oppress..." -Sneha Revanur @encodejustice
— ACLU Massachusetts (@ACLU_Mass) October 4, 2021
Lifting up @CNN news story about young activists leading fight against unjust #FaceSurveillance tech use. #StudentWeekofAction https://t.co/ZThOXJ3z1B
Op-ed written by founder, Sneha Revanur, in Teen Vogue (Click to view):
"Without intervention, the promise of AI may be quickly eclipsed by its perils. This isn’t an abstract technical phenomenon; it’s a 21st-century civil rights issue." https://t.co/oSAV2ZR1hL
— Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) February 4, 2021
Feature article in Mic (Click to view):
“‘As the most interconnected generation, we should be taking a more active stance on [algorithms], but we’ve been previously left out.’”
— vanessa taylor (@BaconTribe) December 23, 2021
most of my organizing was done as a & with youth. so, thrilled to profile @encodejustice, a youth-led org, for @michttps://t.co/Zhnqdx0WsH
Feature article in Reuters (Click to view):
"We are the next generation of technologists, regulators, activists - it's impacting our lives on a daily basis, and in the future, we have the most to lose"
— Thomson Reuters Foundation News (@TRF_Stories) June 20, 2021
Youth group @encodejustice is taking up the fight for US digital rightshttps://t.co/XkSeITMIji
Op-ed co-written by Deputy Director of Policy, Conan Lu, and Erica Darragh of Fight for the Future in Teen Vogue (Click to view):
#OpEd: "Sacrificing the safety and security of millions of students to catch a handful of cheaters is reckless and immoral. Educators who use eproctoring are trading convenience for students’ rights." https://t.co/vxMJwJszsc
— Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) November 5, 2021
Univision interview featuring Co-Director of Advocacy, Adrian Klaits (Click to watch):
RTVi interview featuring Co-Director of Advocacy, Adrian Klaits — 1:36:15 - 1:42:04 (Click to watch):
Interviewed for SiriusXM talk show The Feed and the podcast The Good Robot, produced by researchers at the University of Cambridge.Also mentioned/covered in The Guardian, The Boston Globe, Wired, The Hill, ABC 17 News, The Patriot Ledger, Business Day, The National Post, Oman Daily Observer, and more.
LEADERSHIP
Our community spans
40+ U.S. states
25+ countries
FOUNDER/PRESIDENT
San Jose, California
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Seattle, Washington
DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY
Mission Viejo, California
CHAPTER COORDINATOR
Hawthorn Woods, Illinois
U.S. NETWORK LEAD
Suwanee, Georgia
INTERNATIONAL NETWORK LEAD
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Woodbridge, Virginia
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE/TECHNOLOGY
Frisco, Texas
DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH/RECRUITMENT
San Antonio, Texas
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH
Centreville, Virginia
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH
Easton, Pennsylvania
CO-DIRECTOR OF POLICY
Morristown, New Jersey
CO-DIRECTOR OF POLICY
Redmond, Washington
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, CO-DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY
Santa Monica, California
CO-DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY
Madison, Alabama
CO-DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Buffalo Grove, Illinois
CO-DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Union City, New Jersey
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Wellesley, Massachusetts
© 2022 Encode Justice. Cover illustration credit: Marta Monteiro. All rights reserved.
WHAT WE DO
Encode Justice is mobilizing communities for fairer, more ethical AI.

Image credit: NBC News.
Algorithms have left no part of our world untouched, revolutionizing cancer diagnosis in one context and assisting pretrial release decisions for criminal defendants in another. However, the bias that plagues human decision-making can reach even the seemingly impenetrable, objective mathematical formulae that define artificial intelligence.For example, algorithms used in the U.S. criminal justice system are trained on historical datasets that reflect the disproportionate policing and incarceration of communities of color. They’re taught to make independent decisions by analyzing countless instances of real-world data in search of patterns that explain certain results.This process forces them to unconsciously digest the bias that has historically victimized marginalized groups. As some have put it, the devil is in the data.That’s where Encode Justice comes in.
WE’RE A COALITION OF YOUTH ACTIVISTS AND CHANGEMAKERS FIGHTING FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND JUSTICE UNDER AI. HARNESSING A GLOBAL NETWORK OF VOLUNTEERS FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES AND WORLD, WE CHAMPION INFORMED AI POLICY AND ENCOURAGE YOUTH TO CONFRONT THE CHALLENGES OF THE AGE OF AUTOMATION THROUGH POLITICAL ADVOCACY, COMMUNITY ORGANIZING, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING, AND CONTENT CREATION.
CAMPAIGNS
The Deepfake Accountability Campaign (March 2021—)

The Stand Up to Surveillance Campaign (November 2020—)

Image credit: Perpetual Lineup.
The same software used to surveil Uyghur Muslims in China has contributed to the wrongful arrests of Black men in Detroit: facial recognition technology. It has also enabled unchecked privacy abuses at the hands of ICE and has been used to monitor Black Lives Matter protestors exercising their constitutional rights, disproportionately misidentifying Black, Brown, and Asian Americans; women; and LGBTQ+ individuals. With our Stand Up to Surveillance campaign, we’re lobbying for a federal ban on government use of facial recognition and have already partnered with multiple city councils to push for local action. We’re hosting workshops and events; coordinating organizational partnerships; operating our very own Students Against Facial Recognition committee, which unites representatives from various student-led organizations; and compiling original research reports and policy proposals, through which we’ve collaborated with officials on every level, from local legislators to the White House.
Encode Justice joins a coalition of 40+ civil rights groups in calling on the Biden administration to support a federal moratorium on government use of facial recognition technology. Read our demands here: https://t.co/lJSi4iajCg
— Encode Justice (@encodejustice) February 17, 2021
We spoke at the Minneapolis public hearing, phone banked, and email banked endlessly to help make this a reality—and it finally is! 🥳 https://t.co/ognn2HVhYf
— Encode Justice (@encodejustice) February 12, 2021
The Say No to SB 10 Campaign (July-November 2020)

Pretrial risk assessment simulation via detainrelease.com.
California Senate Bill 10 (which was on the November 2020 ballot for voters in the form of Proposition 25) would have replaced the evil of cash bail with the combined evil of pretrial risk assessment tools and reduced judicial accountability. It would have expanded a system of automated racial profiling that only fuels pretrial incarceration while empowering judges and probation with funding and discretion. As a member organization of the Committee Against Pretrial Racism and the JusticeLA Coalition, Encode Justice recognized that a Yes vote on Proposition 25 would only further erode the California criminal legal system.As part of this campaign, we collaborated with other community-based groups, phone banking, text banking, email banking, organizing social media advocacy, creating informational content like articles and videos, and hosting events. The campaign ended with a resounding victory; California voters ended up rejecting the measure by a 13% margin. Click here to learn more.
© 2021 Encode Justice. All rights reserved.
WORKSHOPS
5,000+ students reached
98% satisfaction
(measured via post-workshop survey filled out by students)
Click here to request a workshop
© 2021 Encode Justice. All rights reserved.
SNEHA REVANUR
FOUNDER/PRESIDENT
sneha@encodejustice.org

Sneha Revanur (she/her) is a 17-year-old leader from San Jose, California committed to asking critical, big-picture questions about the future of innovation. In July 2020, she founded Encode Justice, an international, youth-powered organization building a movement for human-centered artificial intelligence. As a 2022 Cameron Impact Scholar, one of California’s two delegates to the 2022 U.S. Senate Youth Program, a 2021 Princeton Prize in Race Relations Recipient, and a 2021 Youth to the Front Fund Frontliner, her work, centered on reshaping her generation's collective AI future, has been extensively recognized. She has had the honor of presenting to audiences at the U.S. Department of Education, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Museum of Science, NASA Ames, and the University of Cambridge’s Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. Outside of Encode Justice, Sneha loves to write about progressive politics, aid electoral campaigns, read investigative journalism, learn languages, and travel.
ALEXANDRA RAPHLING
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, CO-DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY [LEGISLATIVE STRATEGY FOCUS]
comms@encodejustice.org;
advocacy@encodejustice.org; alexandraraphling@gmail.com

Alexandra Raphling (she/her) is a senior at Santa Monica High School in Santa Monica, California. She serves as the Co-Director of Advocacy and Editor-in-Chief at Encode Justice, as well as a policy and advocacy fellow. Outside of Encode Justice, Alexandra leads her school’s Student Task Force and participates in Mock Trial. She loves to play tennis, read, and surf.
STEPHANIE HU
DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY
stephaniehu4123@gmail.com

Stephanie Hu (she/her) is a senior at Tesoro High School in Mission Viejo, California. She is the Director of Strategy at Encode Justice. Stephanie is involved in several advocacy efforts, serving as the Executive Director of Dear Asian Youth, the Co-Founder of CUSD Against Racism, and the Education Policy Director at the California Association of Student Councils. In her free time, she loves to write poetry, discover aesthetic cafes, binge-watch Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and travel!
KASHYAP RAJESH
CHAPTER COORDINATOR
krvsgg@gmail.com

Kashyap Rajesh (he/him) is a sophomore at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He currently serves at the Illinois state director as well as the Chapter Coordinator at Encode Justice. Kashyap is part of his school’s congressional debate team and works on campaigns to ban flavored tobacco as part of the youth-led coalition Catalyst. Aside from his work at Encode Justice and Catalyst, he enjoys singing and going on biking adventures with friends.
RAKSHA GOVIND
U.S. CHAPTER NETWORK LEAD
rakshagovind@gmail.com

Raksha Govind (she/her) is a senior at Lambert High School in Suwanee, Georgia passionate about utilizing research to push for progressive policy change. She currently serves as the U.S. Chapters Communications/Onboarding Lead and directs the Georgia chapter. Outside of EJ, she competes in Varsity Debate and conducts research at the Center for Science and Law. ln her free time, she loves dancing, teaching debate to youth in her community, and supporting civic engagement initiatives.
EZRA FORD
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
ezraford44@gmail.com

Ezra Ford (he/him) is a freshman at Pomona College from Seattle. He serves as the Director of Operations at Encode Justice, focusing on optimizing growth, productivity, and impact. You can learn more about his work outside of Encode Justice at ezraford.com. He loves to produce and listen to music, drool over shoes, and play tennis or pickup basketball.
KRISTEN CRAWFORD
DIRECTOR OF OUTREACH/RECRUITMENT
krist.crawford@icloud.com

Kristen Crawford (she/her) is a freshman at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She currently works as the Director of Outreach and Recruitment. Outside of Encode Justice, Kristen is an active builder on the Sims 4 and an avid movie enthusiast.
DAMILOLA AWOFISAYO
DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
partnerships@encodejustice.org; comms@encodejustice.org; damiawofisayo@gmail.com

Damilola Awofisayo (she/her) is a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Virginia. She currently serves as the Director of External Affairs. Outside of EJ, she is executive director of TecHacks and is president of her school’s Black Student Union. In her free time, Dami enjoys going to hackathons, playing basketball, and Muay Thai boxing.
SUMANTH RATNA
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH
sumanthratna@gmail.com

Sumanth Ratna (he/him) is a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia, where he is Co-Captain of Ethics Bowl, among other activities. As Director of Research, he plans to use his experiences in civic technology and deep learning research to lead various projects on algorithmic bias at Encode Justice. Passionate about using tech to impact people, he also works on computational biology research at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. In his free time, you'll often find Sumanth playing basketball and chess with his friends.
OKEZUE BELL
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH
okezuebell@gmail.com

Okezue Bell (he/him) is a junior at Moravian Academy High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania who is passionate about youth empowerment, social/environmental justice, and technology. He currently conducts research at Harvard Medical School and the MIT Media Lab, working on various neurology and machine learning projects. In 2022, Okezue was 1 of 81 students worldwide named an MIT-Research Science Institute (RSI) Scholar, which is considered the most prestigious research program for high school students worldwide. His work has also been recognized at international science fairs and conferences globally, having spoken at Web Summit, the world’s largest technology conference, Accenture, the national symposium in humanities and sciences (NJSHS), and more.In addition to his research, Okezue is an ardent advocate for both musical art and justice. He has advised sustainability brands such as Perfect Day, alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, evolvetogether, Shiok Meats, and more. Okezue’s student workshops/meet-ups have also reached an estimated 50,000+ youth. When he’s not at a computer or the lab (or drinking boba and/or catching up on Stranger Things), Okezue enjoys playing his violin, and performed at Carnegie Hall in February 2022, performing a solo piece in front of the audience. He joined Encode Justice as Deputy Director of Research with the hopes of both empowering youth and helping to develop effective artificial intelligence that is as equitable as it is useful.
ADRIAN KLAITS
INTERNATIONAL NETWORK LEAD
advocacy@encodejustice.org; adrianklaits@gmail.com

Adrian Klaits (he/him) is a junior at the International School Of Tanganyika in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He currently serves as the Director of International Affairs at Encode Justice. Outside of Encode Justice, he has served as vice chair of the Virginia Democratic Teen Caucus and as an intern for his state delegate. Adrian also plays for his varsity baseball team, enjoys learning languages, and listens to all kinds of music.
AUSTEN WYCHE
CO-DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY [LOBBYING FOCUS]
advocacy@encodejustice.org; mawyche0303@gmail.com

Austen Wyche (he/him) is a junior at James Clemens High School in Madison, Alabama. He serves as the Co-Director of Advocacy and Alabama state co-lead at Encode Justice. Outside of Encode Justice, Austen serves as Student Government Class President and is the President of his school’s Young Advocates for Equality. He loves to listen to music, travel, art, and learn more about advocacy around the world.
VIDYA BHARADWAJ
CO-DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
education@encodejustice.org; findvidyaonline@gmail.com

Vidya Bharadwaj (she/her) is a senior at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois and is passionate about STEM and social justice. She currently serves as the Co-Director of Education at Encode Justice. At school, she is the president of the Girls In STEAM club, and is a part of both Model UN and peer tutoring. She is extremely dedicated to bridging the gender gap in STEM and runs GirlCon, an international tech conference that aims to empower women in STEM. In her free time, she enjoys dancing, singing, and playing water polo!
NATALYAH CADICHE
CO-DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
education@encodejustice.org; ncadiche04@gmail.com

Natalyah Cadiche (she/her) is a senior at Jonathan Dayton High School in Union City, New Jersey. She’s passionate about working with technology and expanding its possibilities but also hopes to prioritize people’s rights and equality in her work. Encode Justice has given her the opportunity to explore the legal aspects of technology while educating herself and others on the extent of AI’s influence.
ANDREW NG
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
education@encodejustice.org; ngandrew28@gmail.com

Andrew Ng (he/him) is a senior at Wellesley High School in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where he leads the WHS National Honor Society chapter; serves as Senior Contributing Editor for Red Ink, WHS’ literary magazine; and competes on the Science Olympiad team. At Encode Justice, he serves as Deputy Director of Education. Andrew has also organized and run phone banks for Michelle Wu’s campaign for mayor of Boston. In his free time, he enjoys reading, hiking, and eating spicy food with friends.
MAYA DUMMETT
CO-DIRECTOR OF POLICY
policy@encodejustice.org; mayandummett@gmail.com

Maya Dummett (she/her) is a senior at Morristown High School in Morristown, New Jersey. She serves as the Co-Director of Policy at Encode Justice. Maya is passionate about using the intersection of government and computer science for social good. Outside of Encode Justice, Maya is active in the spheres of political organizing, youth activism, computer science education, and academic research.
CONAN LU
CO-DIRECTOR OF POLICY
policy@encodejustice.org; conanlu4@gmail.com

Conan Lu (he/him) is a senior at Redmond High School in Redmond, Washington. His work as a researcher centers on improving data privacy with image protections. As Co-Director of Policy, he centers the perspectives of marginalized communities and examines technology critically to mitigate algorithmic harms.
© 2022 Encode Justice. All rights reserved.