Amber Briscoe, President & Founder

Amber is a junior at Northwest High School, Germantown, MD. She decided to start the ARTS-n-STEM4Hearts foundation after discovering that arts and STEM can have a positive impact on the lives of others. Through her middle and high school experiences, Amber realized that not everyone has adequate opportunities to participate in arts or STEM. She was inspired through her own volunteering experiences at different hospitals and Title1 schools to make a meaningful impact in the lives of children and the elderly by sharing arts kits and knowledge of STEM. Amber’s vision is to use her knowledge of arts and STEM to creatively help people with their health and life issues.

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Ryan Briscoe, Board Member & Co-founder

As an undergraduate at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH who has a passion for serving others, Mr. Briscoe avidly believes in the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and art therapy. As the founder and president of X-STEM in his high school, Mr. Briscoe is an advocate for the benefits of STEM related carriers and the need of having hands-on learning opportunities in the early academic years. Mr. Briscoe’s leadership and collaboration expertise bring valuable insight to the mission of the foundation. Ryan is pursuing his interest in the field of healthcare through his involvement in biomedical research at the Cleveland Clinic and at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Ryan has learned a lot about the early diagnosis methods of HIV at FDA, and is now enjoying his time researching the diagnostic methods of Cardiovascular Disease at Cleveland Clinic, hoping to eventually improve the course of treatment for patients with these conditions.

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Adwitya Singh, National Ambassador

As a dual-degree chemistry and business undergraduate student at Fordham University in New York City, Adwitya is interested in the intersection of business and healthcare to improve the standard of patient care through improvements in corporate operations. He is committed to use his skills and competencies now and in the future to serve those without the ample opportunities to succeed. Adwitya is an active FDNY BLS Certified EMT who continues to use his skills to help at major events such as the New York City Marathon. Additionally, he is a health educator at Belmont High school in the Bronx and holds authoritative positions in various leadership and development clubs such as the Fordham University Emerging Leaders Program. As an ambassador of Arts-n-STEM 4 Hearts, Adwitya seeks to expand the organization into both New York City and Pennsylvania, specifically to schools and foundations that focus on the education of special-needs students.

 

Varun Sharma, Web Designer

Varun is a sophomore at Wootton High School, Rockville, MD and is responsible for the ARTS-N-STEM 4 Hearts foundation’s website development. Varun balances his time outside of school and ARTS-N-STEM 4 Hearts with soccer, debate competitions, robotics club activities, playing the piano, and volunteering at hospitals. Varun’s goal is to become a medical doctor and continue to serve his community.

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Dhruv Pai, Brand Ambassador

Dhruv Pai is a sophomore in the STEM magnet program at Montgomery Blair High school, Silver Spring, MD who shares the passion of ARTS-N-STEM 4 Hearts Foundation for helping the community. As brand ambassador, Dhruv's role includes increasing awareness, promoting the interactions of arts and STEM, and marketing activity kits to various organizations. Dhruv's extracurricular activities include STEM research, mentoring county kids in computer science and science, public speaking and singing. Dhruv's vision is to use biomedical research to help vulnerable populations within his community, by enabling early diagnoses, and development of approaches to treat life-threatening diseases.

 

Shweta Shah, Board Member/Financial Officer

Shweta Shah has over fifteen years experience as an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA). Ms. Shah spends much of her time providing accounting services to all types of nonprofit organizations, including charitable organizations, trade and professional associations, private schools, and employee benefit funds.

Ms. Shah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce Accounting from Lala Lajpatrai, in Mumbai, India, as well as a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Management from the University of Maryland, College Park.  In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering, playing sports, hiking, listening to music, and reading books.

Damika Somasundaram, Board Member/Secretary

Ms. Somasundaram is a retired international development resources specialist with the United Nations.  Her results driven professionalism have successfully served clients in various fields including Education, Electronic Recycling, Energy, Environment, Fisheries, Health Care, Infrastructure, International Banking, and International Trade.

Ms. Somasundaram currently serves as a global health ambassador with the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations to bridge health resource gaps in treatment of diseases, medicines and medical supplies, life-changing surgeries and safe childbirth, which are issues of utmost importance to the field of health in many countries. She continues to serve her community as well in various volunteer positions in children and adult education.

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Dr. Ritesh Malik, International Advisor

As an entrepreneur and investor, Dr. Malik was FORBES 30 under 30 Finance and Venture Capital List- ASIA of 2016.  Dr. Malik is the CEO of a Y Combinator company, Innov8 amongst others. By partnering with the Right Minds & organizations worldwide & with the support of the Government of India, Dr. Malik envisions of Make in India & Digital India by 2030. Dr. Malik’s passion for STEM is fueled through his latest venture, ‘Project Guerrilla’, which is versioned as a premier India based accelerator & incubation center. He is leading Guerrilla Ventures, an angel fund, which has invested in over 20 companies mostly in the hardware space e.g. Fin, Sectorqube, Exploride, WooStays, Comet Core, Flip Technologies, Wigzo, Mashinga etc. Since 2014 he cofounded Harvin Academy, Thinkpot, and Innov8 Coworking. He is on a mission to create more STEM job opportunities for the underprivileged communities. Dr. Malik is a leader in the foundation’s global mission.