Joan Hu, President
Contact: [email protected] or [email protected]
Year: Junior
Major: Intended Business/Economics
Hobbies: Cooking, Tennis, Hiking, Movies, Working Out, Finding Aesthetic Things
Service passions: Youth Empowerment, Equal Access to Education
About Me: I’m that girl that can’t stop smiling, is easily distracted and will stop to point out cute dogs, loves cooking but is terrible at baking, and plays a decent amount of tennis. I also love exploring new areas, especially if it has anything to do with hiking, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, or just plain old beaching (gave up on this after a year of living in the Bay Area). Don’t be afraid to reach out on social media or in person!
Why Rotaract: Rotaract is a group of like-minded people with the mentality of devoting “service above self.” Like many other members, the main reason I continued on with Rotaract was because of the “home away from home” feeling that just felt right. I made some of my closest friends here—people that are good-hearted, people that I personally want to be friends with.
Priya Natarajan, Internal Vice President
Contact: [email protected] or [email protected]
Year: Senior
Major: Intended Public Health
Hobbies: Listening to Bollywood music, hanging out with friends, watching Netflix, cooking, and of course taking pictures
Service Passions: Any fields where I can make a direct impact
Why Rotaract: Because in high school I participated in Interact, District 5170 forever!! (Except now I’m District 5160 :)) I really enjoyed the feel of a close knit family within Interact and loved the fact that we could make such a direct impact in our own communities as well as worldwide. I wanted to continue my service throughout college too and decided to join Rotaract because of the amazing people and the club’s spirit!
About Me: My name is Priya, yes like the Toyota Prius. I am from Fremont, CA, which is about 45 minutes south of Berkeley. I love short walks with friends (because I don’t have the stamina for long walks), adoring other people’s photography on Instagram, spending time with my family, and when I get a chance sleeping. I am absolutely stoked to meet tons of new people this year! Ohhh and if you ever need some advertising, a special post dedicated to you on Instagram or Facebook, LinkedIn head shots, or a new profile picture let me know cause I could totally make that happen! 🙂
Michelle Lui, External Vice President
Contact: [email protected] or [email protected]
Year: Junior
Major: MCB
Hobbies: Hiking, morning runs, cafe-hopping, practicing the piano/saxophone, Netflix binge-watching, playing with my dog, and baking.
Service Passions: Equal access to health care, education, animal welfare, and poverty relief
About Me: Hi everyone! My name is Michelle and I am very excited to be a part of the officer board for this upcoming semester! I am from San Carlos, California, so I am native to the Bay Area. I absolutely love the outdoors and exploring, so if you ever want to go hiking, definitely hit me up! I am always down to try new foods and cook new recipes; it’s one of my goals to try all the restaurants in Berkeley by the time I graduate. I love meeting and talking to new people, and bonding over tv shows and food! If any of you out there need a study buddy, I am always down to study in a cafe; I have found that my favorite cafe to go to in Berkeley is Cafe Milano-you’ll most likely find me there before a midterm or final. Anyways, I am very excited to be your new HR chair, and let me know if you have any questions! Can’t wait for a great year of service and family fun:)
Why Rotaract: I did a lot of volunteer work in high school, and coming into college I wanted to continue volunteering and some friends told me about Rotaract so I decided to join to try it out. I found that I was welcomed with open arms, and found a community of people that I could be myself around who also had the same passion about service that I did. I always had such a blast doing service projects and participating in the family events and competitions. I realized that members and officers of Rotaract truly did embody the motto of “Service above Self”, and in my first year at Cal I felt very lucky to have found a home away from home through the people I have met in Rotaract.
Austin Li, Historian
Contact: [email protected]
Year: Sophomore
Major: Intended Business
Hobbies: Photography, videography (video editing), music, reading, writing (novels, short stories, poetry, etc.), exploring the outdoors, playing tennis, karate, playing piano, playing sax, playing clarinet, origami
Service Passions: Equal opportunity for education, disaster services, and really anything that we can do to improve resource efficiency and security for future generations.
About Me: If someone ever mentions someone from New Jersey, chances are they are either talking about me or Andrew Tham. Aside from that, I can guarantee you that I am one of the dorkiest people you will meet and I can back that up with some of the “best” jokes you will ever hear (although my fellow officers may disagree). While I try to keep busy with tennis, marching band, karate, playing piano, playing clarinet, playing sax, origami, reading, writing, FOOD (not an acronym, just an emphasis), and the occasional outdoors hiking trip, I also enjoy just taking the time to enjoy the world around me, both with a camera and without. I look forward to better getting to know y’all throughout the semester and those to come ^_^
Why Rotaract: While I have always heard about Interact club back in high school, I could never join it due to marching band obligations. As fate would have it, coming in freshman year, I was not planning on joining Cal Band and my roommate was a Rotaract officer who dragged me to the first meeting. From there, I found myself surrounded by a bunch of kind-hearted people who did nothing but welcome me into the club. Luckily, I also wished to continue service beyond those high school years so Cal Rotaract provided me the clichéd, but always good, family to serve as my home away from home but also the opportunity to continue giving back to local communities. I then found myself more and more involved as I became a historian intern and the rest is history-an (historian) 😛
Sandra Chang, Webmaster
Contact: [email protected]
Year: Junior
Major: Public Health
Hobbies: Reading, listening to music, traveling, learning new languages, sleeping, trying new foods
Service Passions: Equal access to healthcare, information, and education, specifically literacy and multilingual access; increasing mental health awareness
About Me: Born and raised in SoCal, I’m a sucker for cute and fluffy things and great pens. I used to practice martial arts, and I enjoy watching videos of dance choreographies (even though I can’t dance for my life). I really enjoy learning new languages and music, so feel free to send me song suggestions from artists all around the globe. I also get way too excited over stories told in different mediums and overthinking them. Want to try out a new game or see a movie or a new food place? Tell me about it and I’ll be down to check it out with you. The bottom line is: feel free to talk about anything with me. I look forward to getting to know all of you this semester!
Why Rotaract: Cal Rotaract does an outstanding job of involving its members in service on multiple levels, regardless of where your interest focus lies. Through this, Rotaract has really helped expand my understanding of issues affecting communities close to home and on a global scale. Rotaract also combines service with a sense of family and belonging, which really helped me during my first year at Berkeley.
Taylor Lee, Treasurer
Contact: [email protected] 
Year: Senior
Major: Economics
Hobbies: Drinking Peet’s ice Chai Latte 24/7!
Service Passions: Increasing healthcare and education accessibility across the globe.
About Me: Hey there! My name is Taylor and I’m proud to be serving as your 2017 Treasurer! I’m a junior studying economics and GIS, pursuing a career in accounting. In addition to Cal Rotaract, you can catch me at Parks & Waterfront Commission meetings engaging with constituents, selecting grants to fund as Vice Chair of the Green Initiative Fund Committee, organizing professional events for my business fraternity Pi Sigma Epsilon, or running my friend’s Samoyed dogs around Berkeley and Oakland. I love guitar, ice skating, distance running, and dogs. If there’s anything I can do for you as a Treasurer or a friend, I’m always happy to lend a helping hand.
Why Rotaract: Cal Rotaract is filled with genuine, hardworking officers and members. Their dedication to service inspires me to serve the club. I enjoy handling the financial, logistical, and administrative challenges that come with running a large club, and there is no group of people I am more proud to lend my skills to than my fellow officers and members. Furthermore, what makes Cal Rotaract so awesome is that the club is merely one piece in a global network of Rotary, Rotaract, and Interact Clubs. Our District alone is home to many amazing Rotaractors, and I greatly enjoyed working with all of them.
Cindy Lim, Human Relations Chair
Contact: [email protected]
Year: Junior
Major: English, minor in Creative Writing
Hobbies: Traveling to new places (SF, LA, anywhere with a cool view, good photo spots), reading, writing (fiction or poetry), singing karaoke with friends, watching shows/movies (thank you Netflix), making people laugh, telling weird/moderately funny stories, taking photos, going to art museums, and sleeping!
Service Passions:Youth Empowerment, literacy/reading programs for youths, mental health awareness
About Me: Hi! I’m Cindy, your slightly awkward, Corgi-loving, boba-drinking, sleep-deprived college student here to be your friend! I’m from Garden Grove, CA, a tiny town in Orange County about 15 minutes from Disneyland (but I haven’t been there in 10 years). Some of my favorite things to do are to watch shows/movies on Netflix (hit me up if you wanna talk about Stranger Things, HIMYM, or the Office!), go to art museums, scroll through memes, tell bad jokes, and, if inspired, write fiction or poetry. Writing is one of my passions, and I hope to one day be published as an author or write something that hopefully inspires others to pursue their passions. Anyway, I’m really excited to be part of the officer team this year as your Human Relations Chair! If you ever run into me (probably in a coffee shop or in a library), feel free to say hi or chat. I’d love to get to know you!
Why Rotaract: I used to be in Interact, and I wanted to continue doing service in college and heard that there was a Rotaract here. So I picked up a flyer, went to the first social, GM, and Family Night as this ambitious freshman trying to find a place to call home. Soon enough, showing up to meetings became being a group leader for Interact Stayover, getting to network with amazing Rotarians, going on a sailing trip to Angel Island, and meeting so many wonderful individuals that are dedicated to making a difference in the world. The welcoming vibe you feel, the people to meet, the opportunities you get—needless to say, I love it here. And I hope you do too!
Alexa Tisopulos, Family Chair
Contact: [email protected]
Year: Sophomore
Major: Intended Public Health or Integrative Biology
Hobbies: Hanging out with friends and family, working out, volunteering, watching multiple seasons straight of Netflix, cooking gourmet microwavable mac and cheese, spending time on the beach, scrapbooking and listening to music from at least 5 years ago (I can make a fire 2010 mixtape)
Service Passions: Benefit medical accessibility in developing nations and STEM education for women, Rotaract, animal rights, UC Berkeley, the medical field, meeting new people, Greece, memes, UC Rally Committee, sports, and most importantly, serving as the 2017 Rotaract Family Chair! Look forward to getting to know you!
About Me: I hail from the lit (until 8 pm and then the town shuts down) town of Claremont, California in Los Angeles. I live the Greek life, but the actually cool version from Greece. I love my friends and family and the best memories I have revolve around the amazing times I have had with them over the years. I love playing and watching almost any sport and I enjoying working out. I am obsessed with dogs, UC Berkeley Memes for Edgy Teens, Disney, White Collar the TV show, sweet cream ice cream from Coldstone, going to the beach as often as possible, skiing, binge watching movies and Netflix and irritating my family and friends. You will always know I am in a room because I am extremely loud, pretty savage and high energy. With all that being said though, I love meeting new people and I will be the first person to strike up a conversation and talk about life, so never be a stranger!
Why Rotaract: I was extremely involved with Interact all throughout high school (shoutout to the Claremont High School Interact Club!) and I knew when I got to Cal, it wasn’t something I was willing to give up. I was so involved in Interact in high school that I was named as one of the two 2016-2017 District 5300 Scholars! I have always supported everything Rotary stands for and there is no better college-level service organization that is able to do so much to help so many different people.
Justin Lee, Design Chair
Contact: [email protected]
Year: Sophomore
Major: Intended MCB
Hobbies: Listening to music, falling asleep, Netflix/YouTube, playing cards, hand lettering, trying new foods (esp. pastries, sweet things, baked goods, desserts!), sometimes going to the gym, religiously watching and following TV shows, like Survivor, etc… Come find me and let’s talk!
Service Passions: Global medical accessibility, youth empowerment, health education, making the world a better place!
About Me: Hi everyone! A little bit about myself: I like to spend most of my time thinking about what I want to eat next or where and when I need my next boba fix. I have a huge sweet tooth, meaning I love all things sweet, especially baked goods and desserts! Cookies (guilty pleasure: oatmeal raisin), chewy brownies, cheesecake, baklava, warm chocolate lava cake, fruit tarts, crepes, fried bananas, apple pie, etc. I’ve been born and raised in the Bay Area, in a suburb about 40 minutes from Berkeley. During my frequent breaks in studying, I enjoy watching TV/Netflix and particularly enjoy superhero fiction shows and reality TV competition game shows. I’m super Facebook friendly, so don’t be afraid to send over a friend request or start a chat! I’d love to hang out and chill with y’all! (Also, let me know if you ever need a boba or chubby cup date; the answer is probably, “YES!”.)
Why Rotaract: After participating in Interact for four years in high school, I knew I wanted to continue with Rotaract in college. Rotaract is all about improving human quality of life for not only others, but for ourselves too. If people see a need in our school, community, or the world, Rotaract gives people the leadership, opportunity, and support to address the problem. Although helping others is at the heart of the club, Rotaract is also a place to learn about yourself and build amazing, lifelong friendships all within service! Rotaract is just an awesome place! Check us out! There is something here for everyone!
Jenna Tan, Interact Co-Chair
Contact: [email protected]
Year: Sophomore
Major: Intended MCB
Hobbies: Baking, cooking, going to the beach, exploring the city
Service Passions: Anything that has to do with making a difference in the lives of the youth
About Me: I’m someone who laughs a lot and at almost everything. I love to go to the beach, swim, explore, and play in the snow. I also love to bake/cook and also eat desserts (love love love coffee ice cream). I have a cute golden doodle puppy that I just love so much and have tons of adorable videos of her for any who would like to see her cuteness. I also watch Grey’s Anatomy, Quantico, and the Bachelor!!! I can’t wait to meet all of you and feel free to reach out to me!
Why Rotaract: I chose to join Rotaract because I liked the family aspect of the club and also that it was a service club. Throughout high school, I was involved in doing community service work and it was something I wanted to continue going into college. Rotaract has gotten me involved in many service opportunities that I have not been involved in and every new experience has been amazing. I love being able to make a difference in the community, locally and internationally, working with high school students, college students, and Rotarians. This is my first year in Rotaract but I have already found my family and can’t wait to make more memories in the future!
Nishi Juthani, Interact Co-Chair
Contact: [email protected]
Year: Sophomore
Major: Intended MCB
Hobbies: Drinking Peet’s ice Chai Latte 24/7!
Service Passions: Increasing healthcare and education accessibility across the globe.
About Me: Hey everyone! My name is Nishi, and I’m from Cupertino, California. I moved around a bunch when I was a kid, from India to New York to Maryland, but we settled in Cupertino when I started pre-school, so I’ve been in the Bay practically my whole life. I’m super excited to serve as the Interact Committee co-chair this year. Interact has a special place in my heart, because as a high schooler, I was in Interact for all four years. My second semester senior year, I attended Cal Berkeley Rotaract Stayover. My first semester in college, I was a group leader for CBRS, so serving as the committee co-chair now is especially exciting for me. I love dogs, Netflix, traveling, exploring new places, and am a huge foodie/love boba. I am super excited to meet and get to know everyone this year!
Why Rotaract: Rotaract, to me, is a club on campus like no other. It provides everyone with an opportunity to make a difference in so many ways, from little things in the community to large scale international projects. The club promotes humanitarian aid not just on our campus, but all across the globe, making every single member feel like they have become a part of something larger than themselves, truly making a difference in the world. However, beyond the service component, Rotaract makes every single member feel like they have become part of a family; Rotaract has given me the opportunity to meet some many wonderful, talented individuals, and has truly become my home away from home.
Vani Topkar, Rotary Co-Chair
Contact: rotary@calrotaract.org
Year: Junior
Major: MCB
Hobbies: I am also involved in lab work and tap dancing on campus. My favorite TV shows include Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Jane the Virgin, The Mindy Project, The Office, Sherlock, and Friends. I am so excited to be a Rotaract officer this year so feel free to talk to me anytime. Please be my friend!
Service Passions:Education for all, women’s health, sustainable sources of food and water in impoverished areas
About Me: Jordin Sparks asked how she’s supposed to breathe with no air, but I’ve been doing it my whole life! Hailing from the beautiful and mountainous city of Boulder, Colorado, I have grown up loving being outdoors. Whether it be hiking, biking, camping, or snowboarding, I am always up for an adventure. I am a mean baker, like free writing, and enjoy playing with my bichon, Gypsy. Ice cream is my favorite food and yellow is my favorite color.
Why Rotaract: After leaving the dorms after my freshman year, I felt like I had lost the community I was a part of at Berkeley. As I searched for clubs and organizations to join, I was struck by the altruism and genuineness of Cal Rotaract. Living with kindness, love, and empathy has always been the priority for me and being a part of Rotaract has given me both a family on campus and new sense of purpose.
Kylee Mebust, Rotary Co-Chair
Contact: rotary@calrotaract.org
Year: Sophomore
Major: Global Studies
Hobbies: Hiking, singing, theatre, playing ukulele, gardening, trying to learn new languages, baking and exploring new restaurants and places!
Service Passions: Learning about different cultures, helping others, meeting new people and traveling! (oh and also low-key German musicals)
About Me: I am a high school theater nerd turned world traveler through my exchange to Austria. So basically if you ever talk to me I will most definitely make some sort of reference to Austria and/or say something in German. My exchange year made such a big impact on me because I had lived in the same house in the same suburb of Sacramento my whole life and it finally gave me the chance to see there was more in the world!
Why Rotaract: I have had a long history with Rotary, through my involvement in RYLA, Interact, Rotary Youth Exchange and the Rotary Club of Roseville. I was inspired by how organized and how much our club got done in a semester, with all the sustainable service events and fun socials. I feel like Rotaract truly embodies its pillars of leadership, service, fellowship and Rotary.
Felicia Hung, Fellowship Co-Chair
Contact: fellowship@calrotaract.org
Year: Sophomore
Major: Public Health and Nutritional Sciences: Physiology and Metabolism
Hobbies: Eating, napping, drinking boba, going to the gym, singing Disney songs, dancing.
Service Passions: Relieving poverty, equal access to education and healthcare, and doing anything that will make an impact
About Me: I’m Felicia and yes I’ve heard the phrase “bye Felicia” way too many times. I was born in the Bay Area (Saratoga to be exact) and haven’t left the bay since then. I have a huge obsession with memes so if you friend me on Facebook, prepare yourself for numerous memes on your news feed. I love hiking in nature where there is no service and I love exploring the city. Whenever I’m not napping, studying or doing Rotaract, I actually do a lot of dancing. I’ve done AFX and Ballet Company at Berkeley so if you need company going to a workshop, I will almost always be there! I’m also a big foodie so if you need someone to get food with, I will always be down. I have this huge obsession with boba so if you ask me to get boba with you, I will drop everything I am doing and get it with you because that is how much I adore it 🙂 Feel free to say hi to me whenever you see me or hit me up for boba!
Why Rotaract: Ever since I was in elementary school, I spent the majority of my free time doing service. I basically grew up on it. I was heavily involved in Interact back in high school and I was actually an attendee at Stayover back in Spring 2016. I initially didn’t want to come to UC Berkeley, but after attending Stayover, I was determined to come here and be a part of Rotaract. Here, I was able to make amazing friends, continue growing my passion for service, and find a place I could call home.
Eric Steven Sevilla, Fellowship Co-Chair
Contact: [email protected]
Year: Junior
Major: Bioengineering
Hobbies: I have many, come talk to me and you will come to know!
Service Passions: I enjoy working on environmental issues and hands-on projects to bring joy to others.
About Me: Hello! I am Eric, excited to serve as one of yourfellowship co-chairs. Los Angeles is my hometown, so naturally, I am a huge Laker fan. My favorite TV shows include Agents of SHIELD and Hawaii Five-O. I enjoy the major mainstream fandoms – the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. I own two turtles, Spicy and Scooter, who stay with me in my apartment here in Berkeley. Hit me up if you wanna eat, play basketball, or have a rap written about you. ༼つ ◕_◕ ༽つ
Why Rotaract: I was always involved in Interact in highschool (shoutout to 5280!), so I joined to continue the manifestation of my passion for service and because I knew Rotaractors would be a good group to be around. These are some of my favorite people, and that’s all I wanted from a club.
Ragini Ghosh, International Co-Chair
Contact: [email protected]
Year: Junior
Major: Political Science
Hobbies: Picking up on new languages once in a while, reading books, listening to music and exploring new genres, going to museums and art galleries, and trying new cuisines.
Service Passions: Among the broad areas of service, education and empowerment are two causes that I like to engage in. Within these categories, I am passionate about mentoring the youth, conflict resolution in small communities, and working towards empowering low-income or disadvantaged communities.
About Me: I love collecting stationery and office supplies (my age is less than the diaries I have), playing with dogs, eating ice cream/chocolate (slowly accepting the existence of dark chocolate). I can study well only if I’m listening to music, which is either classical music or songs from a show called Coke Studio. I’m a Potterhead and if I was a witch I’d be in Hufflepuff. I’m a huge fan of Benedict Cumberbatch and love the TV show ‘Sherlock’. I appreciate bad/good puns and try to make some once in a while.
Why Rotaract: When I came to Cal, I was searching for a community that would inspire and support me, and Rotaract exceeded my expectations from the first day I joined it. The people I’ve met here have taught me to always challenge my limits, and strive to make a positive difference in the world not only through service but also through my thoughts and behaviour. As an international student, this is my home away from home, and I am glad I can associate most of my memorable experiences at Cal with Rotaract.
Tracy Chen, International Co-Chair
Contact: [email protected]
Year: Junior
Major: MCB
Hobbies: Listening to music, hiding candy so I don’t have to share, cooking, browsing the internet for cute things like animals, dancing, taking RSF classes, reading, martial arts, making bad puns
Service Passions: Community service has always been a part of my life, especially in high school. But service shouldn’t stop after college because we can all still continue to make the world a better place. If I could do anything that I can to make the people around me smile, then I would.
About Me: I love music, especially k-pop and dance music. Food is a great motivator for me, so I’m always looking for great restaurants and good recipes for healthy food. I have a bad temperature tolerance so anything under 70 is way too cold for me. If I could have a superpower it would be making people laugh with my good/bad puns or the power to fill things up (hungry: fill your stomach, bank account: fill it up with money, evil person: fill the bladder up).
Why Rotaract: I’ve met so many new friends and had so much fun the moment I first stepped into a Cal Rotaract meeting. I’ve found a new family that supports each other so that we can all experience academic and personal growth. In addition, Rotaract has really broadened my perspective of the world and the global issues that we can affect. I definitely recommend joining Rotaract. You’ll have so much to gain and little to lose!
Kendal Asprec, Local Co-Chair
Contact: [email protected]
Year: Sophomore
Major: Computer Science
Hobbies: Meme Lord!
Service Passions:Food Security and Education.
About Me: If you wanted to find me outside of Rotaract, you would have to look indoors, where I will be playing video games. A lot. If I’m not sitting near my computer or on the couch, I am probably at the tennis courts or fencing at the RSF. If I’m not there either, you’ll probably never find me, as I’m hanging out with my friends in some random location. And sometimes, you’ll see my name on UC Berkeley Memes for Edgy Teens. If you wanted to ask me a question, be friends, etc, please don’t hesitate (cause I need more friends).
Andrew Tham, Local Co-Chair
Contact: [email protected]
Year: Junior
Major: Economics
Hobbies: There are too many!
Service Passions:Education and economic development.
About Me: Outside of Rotaract, I love making and listening to music. I’ve played clarinet for ten years and have spent the past year and a half teaching myself ukulele. I also enjoy playing soccer, journeying in search of food, watching movies and musicals (anyone who can get me a ticket to Hamilton will be rewarded with my eternal, undying gratitude), cooking, and having late-night talks. Feel free to come talk to me if you ever see me around!
Why Rotaract: While service is the main focus, Rotaract is also a uniquely warm, welcoming, and supportive family, even for new members! You’ll find yourself joining for the service and sticking around for the people.