Our Team
Leah Mordehai
Leah Mordehai is a junior at San Francisco University High School with a strong interest in law, public policy, and civic engagement. She serves as a District 1 Youth Commissioner for the City and County of San Francisco and co-chairs the League of Women Voters Youth Council, where she leads initiatives to make government more accessible to young people.
Leah co-founded Plain Policy, a civic technology initiative that translates complex legislation into clear, understandable language. She was inspired to create the project after studying voting rights history during a civil rights immersion program in the American South, where she saw how literacy barriers have long been used to exclude communities from democratic participation. Plain Policy aims to address modern versions of those barriers, dense legal language, inaccessible ballots, and misinformation, so more people can confidently participate in civic life.
Co-Founder
Emily Gorodetskiy
Emily Gorodetskiy is a youth civic innovator and nonprofit executive who is passionate about strengthening democracy and expanding opportunity for young people. She is the creator of VR’ing Democracy, an internationally recognized virtual reality civic education headset that visualizes the voting process and democratic systems for first-time voters. She serves as CEO of the Youth Entrepreneurship Association (YEA), a national nonprofit dedicated to empowering young founders and advancing entrepreneurial education, and is actively involved in her school’s Student Body Council, the Harvard Graduate School of Education MCC Youth Advisory Board, and the United Nations Association of San Francisco Youth Committee.
Her work has led her to serve as a youth UN delegate at CSW70 and as an advisor to the U.S. Ambassador on the International Youth Council on Gender Equality. She is an Innovation World 20 Under 20 Honoree and an Economic Policy Correspondent at the Perrin Research Institute under the University of Virginia.
Co-founder
Outreach DirectorJihyun Ko
Jihyun is a youth leader and advocate in education equity and climate justice. As co-lead of the Michigan Educational Justice Coalition, she helps lead a statewide youth advocacy body representing more than 80 school districts across Michigan. She helped spearhead the “Invest in MI Kids” campaign, which gathered over 200,000 signatures to support $4 billion in equitable school funding.
Jihyun also serves as Co-lead of the Education Team for Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s National Youth Action Team, where she is one of eight national youth leaders supporting a network of more than 220,000 advocates and 380 chapters.
She is also a youth leader with Michigan Youth Leaders for Environmental Stewardship, advancing climate education and sustainability policy with state and nonprofit partners in Michigan.
Finance DirectorSharon Sims-Calzolai
Sharon Sims Calzolai is an emerging finance leader and entrepreneur with an eye for capital markets, investment, and economic empowerment. As Financial Manager, Treasurer of her school club, and Vice President of Finance in DECA, where she competes in Principles of Finance and Startup Business Plan, she has built a foundation embedded in real financial strategy. She is also part of a Cancer fundraising team that has raised and managed over $42,000. She is the founder of VentureHer, an initiative dedicated to inspiring and preparing young women to launch businesses, and a financial literacy writer making complex money concepts accessible to everyday readers.
Beyond finance, Sharon serves as a Subcommittee Lead on her Youth Action Board and leads her Youth Leadership Institute Fellowship, where she works to amplify youth voices into real policy. She is an incoming intern at the San Francisco Supervisor's Office in the Financial and Budget Analysis department. She is currently building a financial literacy program for rural communities of all ages to teach financial strategies. She currently serves as Financial Manager of Plain Policy, a free AI tool making legal language and civic information accessible to all.
Co-Founder/Lead DeveloperKeanne Montemayor
Hi, I’m Keanne Andrew Galang Montemayor!
I am one of VR’ing and Plain Policy demo developers. I’m passionate about blending technology, creativity, and community impact. I thrive on solving problems and creating tools that make a difference.