Meet the Team
Founder
Sophie Kehan Chen is a junior at a public high school in Massachusetts and the founder of the Global Narrative Initiative (GNI 10). Trained in classical philology and comparative historiography, her work engages directly with Greek and Latin literary, epigraphic, and historiographical sources, as well as early Chinese historical texts. Her core research examines how imperial regimes—from Rome to Han China—developed parallel narrative systems to legitimize domination through language, space, and moral classification.
The Global Narrative Initiative (GNI 10) was launched from a single question: Who controls the narrative of history? GNI 10 brings together ten student-scholars across four continents and is building a 150,000-word archive that moves classical inquiry from diagnosing narrative erasure to designing frameworks for narrative reclamation: transforming silence into evidence and erasure into voice.
Sophie Kehan Chen | Boston
Chapter Leaders
Kayla Chen | CA, USA
Kayla is a junior (11th grade) from San Jose, California. Having heard stories of San Francisco’s Chinatown for years, she visited the ethnic neighborhood and was entranced by its rich history of immigrant perseverance. In honor of this history, the San Francisco Chapter of GNI focuses on the ethnic enclaves of the city, from Little Italy to Mission District. Through illuminating their humanistic contribution to American culture, the chapter aims to defend their existence against gentrification.
Sophia Yuman Wu | Farmington, CT
My name is Sofia and I’m a student at a private school in Connecticut. I’m a published author whose research focuses on overlooked and contested histories. I’ve written extensively on the history of deaf education and the Hundred Flowers Campaign in China. I’m excited to be part of this project, where I’ll work to amplify the history of the Tunxis Indians - the original inhabitants of Farmington - whose stories have been excluded from how the city’s past is taught and remembered.
Yuhan Liu | Dubai
Yuhan is a junior from Dubai. Within Dubai's global crossroads stands a timeless model of international collaboration. This chapter unveils how the city has flourished on its way to becoming a leading global platform, weaving a story of intercultural harmony and dynamic growth. Revealing a city where cultural, social, and economic prosperity are mutually reinforced, these narratives pave a future driven by sustainable innovation, visionary planning, and worldwide connectivity. Let us delve deeper at Dubai's preeminent role as a global hub for cultural diversity and professional collaboration.
Hi! My name is Yvonne Chen, and I am currently a sophomore at a private high school in NJ. Have you ever wondered how the tropical, flora- and fauna-rich island of Singapore transformed into one of the world’s cleanest and most technologically advanced cities – yet continue to battle the persistent disease dengue? In my narrative, I will explore Singapore’s ongoing resistance against this mosquito-borne disease through the testimonies of affected residents. These experiences aim to highlight how government intervention and community engagement interweave to mitigate outbreaks and protect public health, demonstrating how disease prevention in modern cities is only possible through collective action.
Gabi Ping is a Grade 11 student in a Nanjing high school with a strong academic interest in global affairs, youth leadership, and social impact. She has taken on leadership roles in student governance and founded student-led initiatives focused on mental health and community engagement. Her experience includes international exchange programs, policy challenge competitions, Model United Nations conferences, and public speaking platforms. Through sustained cross-cultural collaboration, community service, and project leadership, she demonstrates maturity, reliability, and a results-driven mindset, positioning her to contribute thoughtfully and responsibly to international, fast-paced, team-based initiatives and collaborative global programs worldwide today.
Paris Wang | Hong Kong
My name is Paris Wang, and I am currently in Grade 11 at a high school in Hong Kong. I am dedicated to uncovering the "unspoken narratives" of our city’s migrant domestic workers. Drawing on Cicero’s Pro Archia, I champion the role of the narrator as a moral advocate for those who sustain our households yet remain invisible in our history. With a background in archival research on the Majie and professional reporting for The Standard, I lead the Hong Kong Chapter to transform functional labour statistics into a vibrant, humanistic record of dignity, resilience, and cultural legacy.
Hannah Li | Shanghai, China
Hannah (Haiyue) Li is a junior from Shanghai. Her narrative focus is on the clash between female migrant workers' gender roles and their careers, a dilemma resulting from the flawed hukou system and the patriarchal nature of Chinese society. She explores this issue through a focused study of female migrant workers in Shanghai.
Angela Yan | Washington, D.C.
Angela is a junior from VA, representing Washington, D.C. for the Ymbetin GNI 10. Centered around the city’s invisible civic labor, her work documents the public service workers whose efforts to sustain democratic life and preserve national memory and identity often remain unacknowledged. She aims to defend their contributions of cultural and moral labor as essential to the modern republic.
Frank Xu | PA
Hi! I am Frank, and I am a student at a private high school in Pennsylvania. I focus on uncovering what Pottstown’s surface story leaves out. By tracing the town’s rise through industry and its disentangle after economic decentralization, I hope to spotlight how prosperity is built and remembered. Most importantly, I want to see the unseen: to target why the “in-between” moments matter as much as the boom and bust.
Yvonne Chen | Singapore
Lucy Meng | Vancouver
My name is Lucy Meng, and I attend a public high school in Massachusetts. I am focusing on Vancouver, the city where I grew up, a place where ancient Indigenous histories and fragile immigrant memories coexist, yet both risk fading into silence. Guided by Cicero’s argument in Pro Archia that writing grants permanence to human life, I seek to preserve the stories that define Vancouver’s true identity before time erases them.
Gabi Ping Guo | Nanjing China
Senior Mentors
Michael Shui | Brown University
Michael Shui is a sophomore at Brown University studying History and Classics. As a Senior Mentor for GNI 10, he supports the Vancouver and Connecticut chapters, with a focus on Indigenous histories and the structural inequalities that shape archival access. His work emphasizes how limited perspectives and uneven records influence which pasts of history become visible.
Judy Lin | University of Chicago
Judy Lin is a sophomore undergraduate studying Economics at the University of Chicago. Her early upbringing in Australia has shaped her unique perspective in cross-reading cultural texts. Serving as a Senior Mentor for GNI 10, she specializes in the marginalized histories of immigration and gentrification, providing rigorous methodological oversight for the New Jersey and San Francisco chapters. Using her expertise as a Teaching Assistant at IvyMind, Judy offers step-by-step guidance in data gathering and source analysis to ensure research upholds high scholarly standards while preserving authentic lived experiences in diverse communities.
Sherry Fei | Stanford University
Sherry Fei is a Stanford rising freshman interested in history, law, and international studies. As a GNI 10 Senior Mentor, she specializes in exploring institutional power and civil liberties within American legal history. In her past research, Sherry has investigated the academic origins of the creation of Israel, court cases surrounding birthright citizenship, and the strategic use of free expression within hyper-partisan political environments, a work of research published in The Concord Review. In this project, she hopes to offer students guidance with research methodology, evaluating sources, and advanced historical writing that upholds rigorous academic standards.
Stella Zhang | Cornell University
I’m a Cornell Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) undergraduate and Senior Mentor with GNI 10. My expertise is in systems thinking and technical research communication, grounded in hands-on work in robotics/AI integration (real-time product classification with robotic arms), Python automation and data analysis, and FPGA/Verilog digital design (embedded alarm system with ALU, processor, SPI, and memory-mapped I/O). In this project, I will help students structure rigorous arguments, evaluate evidence, and translate complex ideas into clear, publishable narratives.
Emma Yao | University of Pennsylvania
Emma is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, double-majoring in Physics and English. With a background in both STEM and the humanities, she offers a thoughtful, interdisciplinary approach to mentorship grounded in curiosity, care, and close attention to detail. As a mentor for Global Narrative Initiative 10, Emma will work closely with students to help them clarify what they want to ask, why it matters, and how to communicate it responsibly. She values open dialogue, reflective research practices, and careful language use, and aims to support students in developing work that feels both intellectually rigorous and personally meaningful.