Andrea has always enjoyed the challenge of solving puzzles, having completed over 100 escape rooms and puzzle hunts to date. As a dedicated member of her school's math team, she helped lead her team to victory at the INTEGIRLS all-female puzzle competition with her passion for problem-solving. From these experiences, she began to explore how puzzles foster collaboration and creativity, and why we can all benefit from embracing the problem-solving mindset puzzles encourage. Andrea is also a driven athlete on her school’s golf and lacrosse teams, and plays the viola in her school’s symphony orchestra. When not solving puzzles, you can find Andrea immersed in a good book or playing the guitar. 

Growing up with three siblings, Ella has always been close to her family—but her world was flipped upside down when her sister was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer while Ella was just four years old. This powerful experience has helped Ella grow as a person and understand the complex balance between supporting the needs of people you love while also maintaining support for yourself. Apart from this, Ella is actively involved in sports management initiatives, working towards her goal of becoming a sports agent. In her free time, you can catch her outside playing sports or on the boat with her family and friends.

An avid speech and debater and lacrosse player, Chloe’s competitive spirit has led her to engage in a lot of debates about politics. Growing up, Chloe was known for never shying away from conflict. Her sophomore year internship at a United States representative’s office solidified her growing love for politics and current events. As a GenZ female and second-generation Cuban immigrant, Chloe has grown up surrounded by and affected by political discussion. Chloe has experienced having a love for politics in the age of increasing political polarization. Her dream of being a United States senator is grounded in the belief that legislation is the most powerful tool to ignite change.

Tess thrives on building meaningful connections through her time spent with friends and family, volunteering at her local Jewish Community Center (JCC), and participating in her school’s tennis team. Tess has a love for music and going to concerts. After experiencing the sudden loss of a close friend, she found herself reflecting on how society often lacks the space for connection when it comes to grief and the importance of embracing vulnerability. This transformative experience has inspired Tess to explore how we can create lasting, supportive communities where people can openly share their grief and heal together.

Addie’s love of creative writing bloomed out of a fascination with figurative language: as a child, her favorite book was an idiom dictionary and she wrote series of comics with bad puns as punchlines. Her passion followed her through college in the University of Virginia’s Area Program in Poetry Writing, a Fulbright Fellowship teaching English and creative writing in Brazil, and graduate school on an Inprint C. Glenn Cambor Fellowship at the University of Houston. Her Master’s thesis and manuscript of experimental poems explore contemporary poetics as a means of radical self-expression. She teaches English at Ransom Everglades School.

Growing up around different cities in the four corners of the United States gave Erela Yashiv an ability to find common ground with a wide range of people and sparked a passion for connection. Her experiences solidified her belief in the power of empathy and led her to wonder how the world could become more empathetic. She began to find an answer to this question when she discovered the field of urban planning. If she’s not walking around and talking to strangers, you can find Erela acting or reading a book.