ABOUT
WriteCause is dedicated to inspiring teens to reflect on issues our world faces so they can be part of the solutions.
WriteCause is a volunteer-run organization that runs free quarterly writing contests with prompts centered around major world topics. Through writing, we encourage education about subjects of global importance to spur ideas for solutions. By submitting an entry you are making yourself more aware of these issues while developing your writing skills. Learn more about entering the competition on our Submit page!
Aanya Kolli
Co-founder
​Aanya is a student at the University of Washington, St Louis. She is the founder of WriteCause. From a young age, Aanya has enjoyed giving back to the community. When she was 7, she sold crafts and raised over 1,400 dollars for various charities through an initiative called Little Caring Arts. Additionally, Aanya loves competing at Math Meets and Science Olympiad competitions. In her spare time, she writes poetry. Spreading her point of view through writing has always been extremely important to her.
Anoushka Mitra
Co-founder
Anoushka is an engineering student at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She is the co-founder of WriteCause. She loves to play soccer and volleyball and watches tennis tournaments in her free time. When founding WriteCause, Anoushka’s goal was to help bring a younger voice into bigger conversations in our world during a time when much of what is happening affects our futures. Having traveled to over 30 countries, she knows the value of having a variety of perspectives and wants to share that value with as many people as possible.
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Jaiya is a student at BASIS Scottsdale High School with a passion for writing, engineering, and community service. She is a STEM Spotlight Coordinator with WriteCause. In her free time, Jaiya enjoys reading, writing, and playing volleyball. Additionally, she is the technical director of her school's musical theater program and spends her free time reading up on classical history and learning about the latest developments in architecture. With WriteCause, Jaiya hopes to promote STEM to teenagers everywhere and raise awareness of global dilemmas and conflicts.
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Gargi is a student at Staples High School. She is a part of the Marketing team at WriteCause. Through WriteCause, Gargi hopes to make a difference by providing teens with information about current events and problems around the world so that they can generate solutions. Gargi is a part of her schools Jazz ensemble, robotics club, and squash team. In her free time, she loves playing her trumpet, writing and talking to her friends!
Addison Edelstein is a student at Highland Park High School. She is a part of the podcast team at WriteCause. Beyond this, she is an editor of her school’s newspaper, an active member of the Model UN team, and publishes her own writing pieces on her blog. When she's not busy investing time into global politics and international affairs, Addison indulges her musical creativity with Viola and DJ Club! Addison strives to encourage other young teens to utilize the power behind words and their voice, and aims to expand adolescents knowledge on recent issues and global communities. With whatever time she has left over, Addison also enjoys playing the piano, baking, and reading!
​Jaiya Patel
STEM Spotlight Director
Bettina is a student at Oxbridge Academy. She joined the WriteCause Podcast Team in July of 2023. Bettina loves to surf and has a passion for legal justice and advocacy. She founded a nonprofit organization, Justice Advocates Network, dedicated to giving abuse survivors the resources they need. Being an active member in her community has made a huge impact on Bettina’s advocacy journey, and through WriteCause, she hopes to reach a larger group of inspiring young people from all over. In her free time, she enjoys engaging in Congressional Debate and serving as her school’s literary magazine’s editor-in-chief. Bettina wants all teens to know that they do not have to wait to take action; anyone can make a difference.
​Gargi Karve
STEM Spotlight Director
Addison Edelstein
Executive Director
Atlas Saavedra
Fundraising Coordinator
Atlas Saavedra is currently a junior in West Palm Beach Florida. Atlas is a passionate advocate and activist, having led a walkout in their freshmen year of highschool in protest of banned books via Walkout2Learn. They are a proud member of the SEE Alliance, volunteer at local science and art museums, and thespian—having dabbled in acting, directing, stage management, and playwriting. A writer at heart, Atlas hopes to inspire and educate the world one word at a time.
Arjun Jangi
Newsletter Coordinator
Arjun is a student at Horace Greeley High School and a Newsletter Coordinator at WriteCause. He is involved with his school’s Science Olympiad and Quiz Bowl teams, and enjoys writing for his school newspaper and local Youths In Law chapter. He hopes to inspire others to be involved in current events and affairs through creating, sharing, and promoting writing. In his free time, he likes to draw, read, play piano, and bake.
Bettina Gannon
Podcast Director
Lincks Cius
Fundraising Coordinator
Lincks Cius is a high school student from Florida. They are involved in a multitude of theater productions and several student-led organizations. Outside of the classroom, Lincks is passionate about writing, advocacy, and creating space for youth voices. They hope that through these passions and their work with WriteCause that they can create an environment that promotes creativity and expression for young writers today.
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Maggie Abt
Maggie is a front-end developer, designer, and consultant with over 10 years of experience working with clients in both the public and private sectors to build modern, scalable, and user-friendly solutions. In her spare time, she collects unreasonable amounts of holiday decor and tacky coffee mugs, tends to a vast garden of seasonal peppers, and makes HOT, hot sauce.
Lisa Liu
Lisa is a Director at NetImpact Strategies Inc., an award-winning Federal Consulting firm inside the Beltway. She’s passionate about problem-solving and believes that our worlds and realities are all just constructs that we’ve built as a collective. This means that words are the most powerful peacemaking tools and weapons within us all so she’s delighted to be a part of WriteCause’s journey in encouraging future problem solvers to start exercising those powers!
Kavita Kalatur
Kavita is the founder of NetImpact Strategies Inc., and has spearheaded the company's growth of 75% CAGR over the last decade. With a “Customer-First” approach, she has built a collaborative culture where NetImpact professionals work as trusted advisors; prioritizing customers' needs and staying accountable for outcomes. NetImpact has been recognized by the Inc 5000 Fastest Growing Companies and the Washington Post to commend the company’s outstanding culture and employee engagement strategies.
Charles Stewart