Meet the CHAC Exec Board

Alefiyah Lokhandwala, Co-Chair

Alefiyah is a junior from Cleveland, OH  studying Economics & Political Science. Service has always been a passion of hers, and she has been involved with Civic House since the moment she came to campus forPennCORP. Along with serving on CHAC Exec, she have been involved with Civic House as a work-study, CHIPNIP intern and PennCORP co-director. Outside of Civic House, she is a member of Penn Masti, a co-ed South Asian dance troupe and volunteer at LIFT.

Loren Kole, Co-Chair

Loren is a junior Visual Studies major, Art in Practice concentration.  Loren served as Communications and Funding Coordinator for the 2012 board, and is honored to have been elected to serve as Co-Chair with Alefiyah for this year's board. She also serves on the Alternate Spring Break executive board, and is involved with projects at the Women's Center and Kelly Writer's House. When not at Civic House, you can find Loren at Desi Chaat, perusing the farmer's market in Clark Park, perfecting her scone recipe, or pulling all nighters in Addams.

Lindsey Lansky, Communications and Funding Coordinator

Lindsey is a junior from Austin, Texas studying Economics in the College. Besides serving as CHAC's Communications and Funding Coordinator, Lindsey is a teaching assistant in macroeconomics, the alumnae relations chair of Chi Omega sorority, and a volunteer at LIFT-Philadelphia.  Her hobbies are not typical for someone in her early 20s but include knitting, listening to Classical music, and baking cupcakes (seriously). 

Rachel Zurier, External Liaison

Rachel is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences from Providence, RI,  pursuing a degree in Urban Studies. She has been involved with Alternate Spring Break and the Netter Center since freshman year. When not holing up in the majesty of Fisher Fine Arts, Rachel likes to wander around Philadelphia, pretending she works for the City Planning Commission.

Grace Truong, Arts Liaison

Grace is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences pursuing a major in Biology and a minor in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies. She is currently Vice President of Penn Speaks for Autism, the premier resource for the greater Philadelphia autistic community. Through this organization, she has helped launch the first after-school program geared towards autistic children in the nation, forming one-on-one connections between Penn student volunteers and autistic children of Lea Elementary School. She is also the Community Service Chair of alpha Kappa Delta Phi Sorority, Webmaster of the Vietnamese Students' Association, Women's Shelter/Community Service Chair of American Medical Women's Association, a mentor in the PEER mentoring program, and a member of the UPAAN Philly Dragon Boat Team. She also currently researches in the Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Diseases at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Amit Pujari, One-Time Service Liaison

Amit is a sophomore in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and also on the Pre-Medicine track. He works as a research assistant at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and enjoys both clinical and bio-medical research. His current work concerns the study of typical Type 2 Diabetes treatments and analyzes the effectiveness of potential treatments. Last Summer he spent two months in South Korea, working in a laboratory concerning electrochemistry with new materials for batteries and capacitors. At Penn, he is a member of Engineers without Borders where he works with kids at local high schools, promoting sustainability through engineering and general engineering education. 

Connie Hua, Tutoring & Mentoring Liaison

Connie loves the New York Times, breakfast foods and discussions about educational policy, feminism, and health care politics. When not holed up in Starbucks frantically finishing readings she definitely should have done last night, Connie can be found cuddling with her friends, being a yogini in a 105 degree room, and watching trashy reality television. She cannot live without Gmail or Kenya blend coffee. She plans to retire on Martha's Vineyard and open her own yoga studio one day.

Lucy Abbot, Poverty Liaison

Lucy is thrilled to be serving on the CHAC Exec Board as the Poverty Liaison this year. Lucy is a rising senior in the College of Arts and Sciences majoring in Psychology and Criminology. For the past two and a half years, she has volunteered at LIFT, a national non-profit organization that trains college students to work one-on-one with community members to help them become economically stable. As a student director at LIFT, she has been actively involved in efforts to track client outcomes and use client feedback to inform and improve LIFT's work. Other campus activities include being an evaluation research assistant at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at Penn, co-president of the women's club basketball team, and a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority.

John Lu, Public Health Liaison

John Lu is a rising senior from Toronto, Canada. He is currently studying in Engineering and Wharton majoring in Materials Science, Marketing, and Finance. Outside of CHAC, he is involved in Penn Speaks for Autism, Phi Gamma Nu Professional Business Fraternity, and PEER Mentoring. He is very passionate about soccer and his favorite soccer team is Manchested United.

Michael Sha, Developmental Liaison