meet the team

SUBAH MAHBUB
Founder & President

One of the most impactful and distinct memories that I can recall from my childhood is being a  ten-year-old and watching the fascinating science shows on television, imagining myself to be able to repeat the same experiments someday. These cool experiments like elephant toothpaste remained engraved in my mind and fascinated me to read more about the captivating discoveries and innovations of science. Being someone who came to America in my freshman year of high school, from a developing country called Bangladesh with limited resources for STEM it has always been my goal to make STEM accessible for people with limited opportunities. Since I was a little girl, I’ve always felt strongly about the involvement of women in STEM and how females are capable of achieving milestones in this area if they are given opportunities to channel their potential in this field. 

MEGAN LEON
Co-Founder & President & Director of Digital Medias

I’m am 16 years old and a junior in high school. The main reason that I helped start and joined Future STEM Leaders is its robust mission to help aspiring STEM students, who may not have the access to further their interests in STEM.  I believe that STEM is a fundamentally key part of our advancing society. My interests in STEM are the technological aspects. I like to see the behind the scene of how things are made and finalized. What intrigues me the most is the process of creating and building something from the ground up.  I was given the opportunity to create this website and manage/graphic design its social media platforms. During these times, it is crucial to have an online presence and outreach. I hope that my work with this organization makes STEM a more inclusive field for aspiring STEM students around the world!

EMILY SOOKOO

Co-Founder & Director of Operations

Every year, since fifth grade, my school would organize for different people of various occupations to come visit each individual class in order to engage our interests in distinct fields of study. I developed an interest in biology, but I also recognize how important it is to have some form of encouragement from people within a certain field to build one’s interest. As of right now, I’m pushing my interests further into biology with my electives and research, but I also want to extend the same encouragement I received towards younger students. With this non-profit I not only want to encourage biology-centered topics but also several STEM aspects, especially towards younger women. There is still a lack in female interest in STEM and I want to slowly change that by working with other hard-working students and friends who are all interested in several aspects of STEM. Ultimately, I want to expand the resources within our non-profit to students internationally, so that they could also receive a similar form of encouragement within the STEM field.

HABIBA KHAN
Co-Founder & Director of Community Fundraisers

I am a junior and the co-founder of Future Stem Leaders. My interest in STEM has developed from various roots ranging from art to reading. As a young child, I was prone to the same fate as many other kids in my generation- waking up to watch hours of mind-numbing television. My brain could do the simplest equation of Winx Club+Junk food= eternal bliss. At a certain point, I began to dislike the headaches that formed as a result of the 8 hour Wizards of Waverly Place marathons at age 9. Thankfully, my teachers encouraged me to find other hobbies instead of television addiction. My treatment started off with simple drawings that complimented the stories I was writing. What was at first forced writing about character development soon evolved into pages of my own picture book about futuristic technologies. This love of writing science fiction quickly evolved into reading about science fiction and I have been hooked since then. Many of us have read about the fantasies of scientific research in these books; we hope to inspire the next generation of youth to bring them to life.

JACQUELINE ORDONEZ
Co-Founder & Director of Domestic Affairs
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I’m 16 years old and ever since I was young from the age of 5 I've always developed an interest in addressing issues of climate change, racial disparity, and the search for efficient forms of renewable energy. Originally, I had always been interested in creating a non-profit. I had even spoken to Subah about it before we had even started working on it. As an individual that’s interested in bringing ideas of innovation and creativity to a reality. I believe that with our non-profit we would be bringing resources to children and people that want to engage in science. This would ultimately foster an environment of intellectual capability amongst those that often would undermine their own potential. As the managing director of the board, I have decided to  shed light on issues within third world countries. The idea of having an education is often seen as a privilege to children within these third world countries. With our non-profit we would ultimately allow accessibility to resources, bring science within communities, and these children would also have the chance to experience a variety of opportunities. 

FAIRUZ HUMARIA
 Co-Founder & Director of Ambassador Program

Hey everyone!! My interest in science dates back to my years in middle school where I excelled in math, biology, physics and chemistry. I became fascinated with science as I realized how science can explain the world around us through logic and problem solving. I feel that every child in the world should have access to STEM education because STEM provides the learner with a critical thinking set which will help them to face future problems they might encounter throughout their education and career. Having a basic understanding of science and mathematics put us in a very good position so we can understand much of the world around us. The goal of this non-profit is to encourage and inspire everyone to get more involved with STEM and understand its importance. Whether someone wants to be a doctor, astronaut or engineer, the journey begins with a basic tool and foundational understanding of STEM.

ANANDITA HUSSAIN

Managing Director & Editor in Chief 

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Throughout the course of my life, I have been surrounded by role models who have pursued a career in STEM, and I watch them contribute wonderful things to the world every single day. These people constantly remind me that there are so many people out there that have added to the world using STEM. It makes me wonder how many brilliant minds are left undiscovered simply because they don’t have the resources available to them. This is why FSL is so crucial; we aim to provide the support that is often needed to nurture minds and projects rooted in STEM. My goal is to help communicate FSL’s message to the world through online platforms, and in my opinion, one of the most important messages we have is that with kindness and support comes change.

TAHMINA FAYEZI

Content Writer & Editor in Chief

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I’m a sophomore at Forest Hills High School. I love to read novels in my free time and I am a huge book lover. I have a big passion for STEM because it makes up a majority of the world around me. I also think that women (especially hijabi women like myself) don’t get as much representation in the STEM field and I want to change that in some way or form.

ALLISON AVILA
Director of Foreign Affairs

I am a 17-year-old junior in high school. STEM has always interested me from such a young age because I was drawn to its logical aspects. Every day we are surrounded by products derived from STEM from our phones to our coffee makers and appliances. I have been fortunate enough to be introduced to computer science and the world of code through my electives in high school. The code that technology such as computers and video games run on intrigues me and I enjoy coding very much. Through this non-profit organization, we can aid children and students across the world by introducing them to STEM. I hope that we can all contribute in any we can to provide others with the same or better opportunities we were presented with.