As Connect Me enters Season 7, we’re thrilled to introduce our new Executive Team! Our leaders are passionate, ambitious, and inspiring. Each of them has a story of growth that reflects Connect Me’s mission of empowerment and community to make free education more accessible.
Current Executive Team:
President: Hasini Anand
Director of Software: Alexander Hu
Director of Partnerships: Ashritta Palavalli
Director of Operations: Mateo Atluri
Director of Admissions: Claudia Wang
Director of Advertising: Amy Mao
Director of Media: Jimena Ham
Director of Chapters: Vaibhav Bhaskar
President: Hasini Anand
Hasini originally joined Connect Me in Season 2 through VolunteerMatch in 8th grade, where she started as a Marketer. Throughout the seasons she was promoted to Director of Advertising, Secretary, Vice President, and President. Hasini is the first President to serve two terms while also serving as a member of the Board of Directors.
Director of Software: Alexander Hu
Alexander has shaped the tech backbone of Connect Me for three seasons, previously serving as Deputy Chair and Director of Operations. His leadership now focuses on bringing more tools to tutors through our evolving Tutor Portal through software.
His favorite quote: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” — Abraham Lincoln
Outside of Connect Me: Alexander is a software engineering enthusiast completing his degree. Whether joining a growing startup or forging his own path, he’s committed to innovative, future-facing work.
Director of Partnerships: Ashritta Palavalli
After 2.5 years and countless contributions across Operations, Admissions, and Chapters, Ashritaa now leads Partnerships. Her persistence and multi-department experience have shaped her into a dynamic facilitator for sponsorships and communication initiatives. She believes in spreading Connect Me’s mission of accessibility and collaboration on a global scale.
Her favorite quote: “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” — George R.R. Martin
Outside of Connect Me: Ashritaa loves reading, spending time with her two kittens, and is pursuing a pre-med path that combines her passion for helping others and her interest in biology.
Director of Operations: Mateo Atluri
In two years, Mateo has gone from tutor to Operations Deputy Chair and now Chair. Having worked over 400 hours in the past season, he deeply believes that hard work always pays off. He aims to make Season 7 the most efficient in Connect Me history, setting Operations up for lasting success.
His favorite quote: “Hard work pays off.”
Outside of Connect Me: Mateo loves basketball, reading, and caring for his collection of plants , especially his hydrangea. With six siblings, family time is always lively. Right now, he’s focused on discovering his purpose and figuring out the next steps in his personal journey.
Director of Admissions: Claudia Wang
Claudia’s path through Connect Me has been driven by curiosity and leadership. Starting as a tutor, moving through the Admissions Department, and stepping up as Deputy Chair, she’s now guiding Admissions with vision and empathy. She sees leadership not as a title but as a responsibility to grow with her team and community.
Her favorite quote: “Innovation is born from collaboration, not isolation.”
Outside of Connect Me: Claudia enjoys rock climbing, reading, studying French, and playing classical music with her orchestra. She’s passionate about neuroscience and aims to explore how humans make complex decisions and sustain resilience.
Director of Advertising: Amy Mao
Amy’s had a significant rise through Connect Me , from tutor to mentor, marketer, Deputy Chair, and now Director. She shows her incredible dedication. She leads the Advertising Department with creativity and purpose, aiming to expand outreach, secure new media features, and build a strong internal community.
Her favorite quote: “Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s troubles, it takes away today’s peace.” — Randy Armstrong
Outside of Connect Me: Amy plays piano and violin, crochets, reads, and loves a good bowl of ramen noodles with bubble tea. Her ultimate goal is to pursue a career in the medical field.
Director of Media: Jimena Ham
Jimena joined Connect Me just over a year ago and quickly grew from tutor to Partnerships Deputy Chair to double-term Media Chair.
Her goal for this season: to reach 50K on Instagram and expand cross-department collaboration.
Her favorite quote: “They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou
Outside of Connect Me: Jimena enjoys writing, reading, and creating both digital and traditional art. She also plays alto saxophone and violin, listens to soft rock, and dreams of designing products as an engineer or industrial designer in the future.
Director of Chapters: Vaibhav Bhaskar
Vaibhav’s Connect Me journey began in the middle of Season 4 as a tutor, and over 2.5 years later, he’s risen to become Director of Chapters after serving as an Operations Team Member and Deputy Chair of Chapter Management. Connect Me, for him, quickly became more than tutoring, but a community. Now stepping into leadership, Vaibhav aims to expand our chapters to 70–90+ active communities across the globe.
His favorite quote: “Do so much work that it’s unreasonable for you not to succeed.”
Outside of Connect Me: Vaibhav enjoys driving, traveling, meeting new people, and playing pickleball, ideally with Chipotle and a Cherry Coke nearby. He’s a fan of Rap and R&B and hopes to one day pursue a career in high finance within private equity or hedge funds.
