Meet Our Team

Founder Bio

Reese Whittier

Director of Operations

Braedyn McClelland

Director of Outreach

Emily Van Dixhorn

Director of National Engagement

Alexis Mollema

Social Media & Design Intern

Yashika Illipilla

North Carolina Ambassador

Diya Vijayarajan

Outreach Team Volunteer

Shivani Shanmugam

Outreach Team Volunteer

Samhita Krishnamurthy

Founder

Samhita Krishnamurthy is the 16-year-old founder and CEO of Spark Civics, a youth-led international organization and movement working to redesign civic engagement through technology and innovation. Drawing on her interests in public policy, technology, and youth advocacy, she founded Spark Civics around a simple idea: young people already care deeply about the issues around them; they need better pathways to turn that interest into action.

Under her leadership, Spark Civics has grown into a network of civic innovation programs, technology, and resources reaching more than 1,000 young people. Its work includes Civic Innovation Forums, a Civic App Accelerator, Spark Activity Walls, the Spark Civics app, and 100 Civic Innovator Toolkits being distributed across two countries.

Beyond Spark Civics, Samhita serves as a District 6 Representative on the Minnesota Youth Council and founded the Minnetonka High School Girls Who Code Club. Her work sits at the intersection of civic engagement, technology, and youth leadership, with the goal of creating new ways for young people to shape their communities.

Her guiding philosophy is reflected in Spark Civics' call to action: “Turn your spark into action.”

CEO & Chief Technologist

Samhita Krishnamurthy

Privacy Policy – Spark Civics

This app has been developed by a high school student. Credits have been provided to the best of the developer’s knowledge. If any credits are missing or you have concerns, please contact us via email, which is available within the app.

Information provided in this app, including events, volunteering opportunities, organizations, and resources, is shared for informational purposes only and may change without notice. The developer and the Spark Civics team do not independently verify, endorse, or guarantee the accuracy, legitimacy, availability, or outcomes of any listed opportunities or other information displayed within the app.

Participation in events, programs, volunteering opportunities, or other activities is undertaken at the user’s own risk. The developer and Spark Civics are not responsible or liable for any loss, injury, damages, or disputes that may arise from participation in or reliance on information provided in this app.

This app may contain links to third-party websites or resources. The developer and Spark Civics do not control and are not responsible for the content, policies, or privacy practices of any third-party sites.

This app collects user information such as name, email address, and other contact information to help collect, organize, and display local civic events and volunteering opportunities. The app may also collect user ZIP code and/or address to provide location-relevant information.

We do not sell, rent, or trade users’ personal information.

Use of this app constitutes acceptance of these terms.

App Support Contact

For support, questions, or feedback, please contact us at sparkcivics@gmail.com

Terms & Conditions