Team Members
Mayumi Suzue-Pan
Founder
Mayumi is a double U.S. Figure Skating (USFS) Gold Medalist and a Mathnasium math instructor. She is a skating coach for the Wilmette Park District and USFS Certified. Being immersed in the figure skating and math communities, she felt inspired to create a program that merged both activities.
Angela He
Vice President
Angela has been figure skating since she was 7 years old. Before going to college, she had volunteered at the Rolling Meadows Figure Skating rink as an instructor for Learn to Skate, and later started coaching young students. Outside of figure skating, she is currently completing a bachelor’s degree in computer science at the University of Illinois. Currently, she is also a tutor for AP Physics.
Nadia Pesch
Membership Director
---
Ria Basu
Volunteer Coach
Ria Basu has been skating for 16 years and competes at the senior level. Since starting high school, Ria has been coaching ‘Learn To Skate’ classes; she has tutored both in high school and at a learning center. Ria is a student at Columbia University and plans to major in economics.
Morgan Deger
Volunteer Tutor & Mentor
Morgan is currently attending University of Wisconsin-Madison. She loves math, gymnastics, and ice skating. Morgan loves getting to know the girls!
Amelia Harris
Volunteer Tutor
---
Zoë Kaiser
Volunteer Coach & Tutor
Zoë has been skating for 10 years and loves teaching kids in both skating and academics! She currently works as a skating coach in a local rink. She is a student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign majoring in physics and minoring in computer science.
Asha Lee
Volunteer Tutor & Mentor
Asha has enjoyed math classes throughout middle school and high school. She helps lead an after school tutoring club for elementary aged kids in the Chicago area, and is also an SAT tutor.
Maeve McAdams
Volunteer Coach & Mentor
Maeve has been skating for 14 years and plays AAA hockey at Chicago Mission. Throughout her high school career, she has won the USA Hockey National Championship, multiple Illinois State Championships, and was selected for the Illinois High School all star team, Central District Development Camp, and USA Hockey National Development Camp. Maeve loves coaching kids on and off the ice, and loves math and science!
Sumi Pandiri
Volunteer Tutor
Sumi is a volunteer SAT tutor for Math and English. She has participated in Science Olympiad for 6 years and is currently on the New Trier varsity team for engineering. She loves STEM and hopes to inspire younger students.
Olivia Richards
Volunteer Coach & Mentor
---
Nanoko Seki
Volunteer Coach & Tutor, Committee Member
Nanoko has been skating for 12 years and is a U.S. Figure Skating (USFS) Gold Medalist. She has competed in synchronized skating for 10 years, including at the Junior level. During high school, she volunteered weekly at her local skating rink to teach younger students.
Emilia Smith
Volunteer Coach & Tutor
Emilia has been skating for 12 years and coaches figure skating at her local rink. She is a US Figure Skating Double Gold Medalist and competes on the New Trier Figure Skating Team. Emilia loves working with kids and hopes to pursue STEM in the future!
Audrey Tai
Volunteer Coach
Audrey has been skating for 8 years and coaches for Saddle & Cycle Club. She competes on the Latin Figure Skating Team, and is currently working on her USFS gold medal.
Lexi Turner
Volunteer Tutor & Mentor
Lexi enjoys the challenge of solving new math problems in her classes. She volunteers with her Girl Scout troop and hopes to pursue urban planning, combining lessons from STEM and the humanities to improve cities. She hopes to help girls feel more confident in themselves and their math abilities!
Tiana Wu
Volunteer Photographer
Tiana has been on New Trier’s Varsity Science Olympiad team for three years, placing first in engineering events at the regional and state level. She has traveled across the US and competed at Nationals twice, with New Trier placing top ten overall. She helps younger students in engineering that are new to Science Olympiad, and hopes to inspire others to pursue STEM as well!
Joyce Zheng
Volunteer Coach & Tutor, Committee Member
Joyce is a sophomore in high school at Universiry Laboratory High School. Joyce started ice skating when she was 5 at the Ice Arena's Learn to Skate program, and Joyce currently figure skates at the Ice Arena. Joyce also really enjoy watching figure skating! Aside from skating, Joyce plays soccer and chess.
Jasmine Fang
Co-Founder
Jasmine is currently attending Washington University in St. Louis. She has received two President's Volunteer Service Awards and is currently an intern for SWAP (Sharing with a Purpose), an on campus non-profit
Joyce Yoon
Treasurer
Joyce has enjoyed taking stem related classes throughout high school and is now majoring in bioengineering at UIUC. She is interested in pursuing a career in biomechanics.
Reyna Alam
Fundraising Committee Lead, Volunteer Coach & Tutor
Reyna Alam is a freshman studying electrical engineering at UIUC. She has solo skated for several years and has experience tutoring elementary and middle school aged kids in math, physics, and chemistry through interactive labs at STEM clubs. She is interested in the intersection between EE and biotech, and she can’t wait to work with the girls and help their interests flourish!
Zulma Cuenca
Volunteer Tutor
Zulma is a Junior in Animal Science. They aspire to work as a vet at an animal shelter. During their time at the University of Illinois they’ve helped tutor elementary science classes as a part of the R.E.A.C.T club. In their free time, they help do research for the department of Animal Science.
Lila Frydman
Volunteer Coach
Lila had been skating since she was 6 years old, and she is currently a student at University Laboratory High School. She skates on the Ice Cubes synchro team, and even though she’s never coached skating before, she’s so excited to be volunteering for SKATE for Girls! Some of her interests off the ice are archery, volleyball, oil painting, photography, and pretty much anything artistic!
Charlotte Hutchinson
Volunteer Tutor & Mentor
Charlotte has been passionate about STEM and has enjoyed math and science classes throughout middle and high school. She loves teaching and working with kids!
Harper Klibanoff
Volunteer Tutor & Mentor
Harper currently attends Northwestern University. She ran a volunteer tutor program at Refugee Relief in Chicago last year and currently runs a volunteer program at the YMCA in Evanston that helps with their S.T.E.A.M. program. She skated for 6 years and is excited to be able to come back to skating and help younger girls find a love for math!
Megan Lu
Volunteer Coach & Tutor
Megan started skating when she was three and now coaches for the Wilmette Park District. She is passionate about STEM, specifically chemistry and computer science. Last year she researched inorganic materials under a UC Berkeley graduate student. She also leads an afterschool club that repairs and donates technology to groups in need. Megan hopes to inspire other girls to explore STEM fields.
Gabby Meischner
Volunteer Tutor
Gabby Meischner is from Washington, IL. She is currently majoring in Engineering Undeclared but she is looking to transfer into Mechanical Engineering! Gabby got involved with SKATE for Girls because she was a peer tutor throughout high school and enjoyed working with kids!
Katie Powers
Volunteer Coach & Tutor
Katie has skated for 13 years and has taught skating for 5 years. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Illinois, where she competed on the Illinois Intercollegiate Skating Team. As a Girl Scout, her Gold Award project focused on making STEM education more accessible for her rural community.
Jacy Robbins
Volunteer Coach & Tutor
Jacy has been skating for 12 years and is a US Figure Skating Triple Gold Medalist. She coaches at her local ice rink and has experience tutoring through a club at her school. She is also studying at Vanderbilt University majoring in architecture
Stella Shepley
Volunteer Coach & Tutor
Stella is a current biology major at UIUC and is on the pre-nursing track. She has been a competitive figure skater for 14 years and has competed with Teams Elite (a synchronized figure skating team). Additionally, she has been coaching at her rink back at home for 4 years, teaching kids to adults.
Samarah Souffrant
Volunteer Coach
Samarah has been skating for 11 years and coaches at her local ice rink in Evanston. She competed at the national level for Evanston Township High School and Theatre on Ice. She also has a big passion for STEM as she majors in biology at Loyola University Chicago on the pre-med track.
Elda Thacker
Volunteer Coach & Tutor
Elda is from Belleville, Illinois and she is a biology major on the pre-med track. One fact about Ella is that she plays the violin!
Shruthika Vellamki
Volunteer Coach & Tutor
Shruthika is from Ashburn, VA. She is currently a freshman studying political science on the pre-law track at UofI. In her free time, she loves to listen to music, go on walks or hikes, and she's a big fan of watching movies. She has been skating since the age of 5 and have been on the Ashburn Synchro team for 4 years before coming to Illinois for school!
Shirley Xiong
Volunteer Tutor
---
Kimiko Suzue
Director
Kimiko is an avid supporter of science and mathematics education. She received her PhD in Biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her medical degree from Harvard Medical School.
Ava Lee
Secretary
Ava Lee has been skating for 12 years and competed at the Junior level for synchronized skating. Since starting college, she competes in senior solo free dance. In high school, Ava coached ‘Learn to Skate’ classes in Chicago.
Kaminta Hou
Co-Director
Kaminta is a figure skating coach with three years of experience at her local ice rink, where she loves sharing her passion for the sport. She’s currently studying neurobiology and is deeply interested in STEM. Her projects include developing a wearable air monitor and researching Parkinson’s disease in a lab.
Shaili Das
Volunteer Tutor & Mentor
Shaili loves STEM—especially biology and chemistry—and hopes to support other girls enhancing their leadership skills. She has researched gene expression at Northwestern University and has really enjoyed her time as a leader of Student Council at New Trier! She has also loved helping coach her younger sister and her peers for their middle school Science Olympiad team in her free time!
Audrey Germino
Volunteer Coach
Audrey has been figure skating since she was 8 years old and has been in love with the sport ever since. She has been coaching figure skating at the Skokie Park District for the past four years, but outside of the rink she has always been deeply passionate about STEM. Audrey is currently majoring in chemical engineering at UIUC.
Gia Johnson
Volunteer Coach
Gia has been skating for 13 years and competing for 7 years. She participates in yearly ice shows, coaches at her home rink, and loves teaching kids how to skate.
Anushka Kumar
Volunteer Coach & Tutor, Committee Member
Anushka is from Hoffman Estates, Illinois. She is a freshman majoring in biology on the pre-optometry track, and some of her hobbies include drawing, reading, and watching movies with her friends. She joined SKATE for Girls because she loves working with kids and ice skating, and she's motivated to empower young girls in STEM while creating a meaningful impact!
Ella Marks
Volunteer Coach
Ella has been skating for 8 years and has been involved in the Northbrook Ice Show for 7 years. She coaches at her local ice skating rink and loves teaching!
Lily Moss
Volunteer Coach
---
Sennah Rashidian
Volunteer Coach & Tutor, Committee Member
Sennah is from Naperville, IL. She is double majoring in Economics and Global Studies. She has always loved skating since she started in elementary school, and she is passionate about uplifting young girls and building their confidence in math and in themselves. She's so excited to be joining SKATE for Girls!
Melissa Rodriguez
Volunteer Coach & Tutor
Melissa Rodriguez is a junior majoring in Elementary Education. She is a tutor, a figure skating instructor, a member of the Illini Ice Girls, and this past summer she was co-director of a figure skating camp. In her free time Melissa loves running, yoga, and spending time with her friends.
Ava Siu
Fundraising & Marketing Volunteer
Ava is a jazz and classical musician and enjoys learning new things. She specifically likes Chemistry. She has helped SKATE for Girls with advertising opportunities and fundraisers.
Nicole Stawski
Volunteer Coach
---
Sarah Thomas
Volunteer Tutor
Sarah enjoys all things STEM, and helps lead a biology club at her high school. She loves sharing her passion for math and science with kids!
Makena Vician
Volunteer Coach & Tutor, Committee Member
Makena is a junior at the University of Illinois studying Kinesiology. She plans on going to grad school for physical therapy. Makena is passionate about any type of physical activity, while encouraging female empowerment!
Nina Zaldivar
Volunteer Coach
Nina started skating when she was 7 years old and has been skating for 8 years. She loves to teach skating to kids and also competes for her high school skating team!