OUR BOARD
ROBERT MCPHIE
PRESIDENT
Robert McPhie is an Eagle Scout and the Senior Patrol Leader of Troop 2020. He attends Pacifica Christian High School, and enjoys rowing for the Newport Aquatic Center. He also does Huntington Beach Junior Guards. Robert serves as the co-chair of the Orange County Interfaith Youth Alliance, and is an active member of Irvine’s High School Youth Action Team. He is a Hershey’s Heartwarming Young Hero Global Youth Service Day grant winner, a Congressional Award Silver Medal winner, and a Presidential Volunteer Service Award winner.
EVIE JACKSON
VICE PRESIDENT
Evie Jackson is a junior at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Santa Ana. She is on the school’s girls soccer team, girls flag football team, and academic decathlon team. She also plays club soccer for the Irvine Pateadores. Evie is enjoying her third year of volunteering for Open Sesame Coding for Kids.
BRIAN LE
VICE PRESIDENT
Brian Le is a senior in Irvine, where he plays basketball for Woodbridge High School. In addition to volunteering, Brian enjoys playing sports and spending time with friends and family.
JESSICA SHAW
COMMUNICATIONS LEAD
Jessica Shaw began volunteering with Code Open Sesame in 2017. She is a Business Adminstration student at UCI. In high school, she did track, MUN, and orchestra. Jessica also loves playing the guitar and working out in her free time.
CONNOR CHAN
VOLUNTEER LEAD
Connor Chan is a sophomore at University High School where he serves as Treasurer for the California Scholarship Federation, is involved in Future Business Leaders of America, and is a starter on the Varsity golf team. He loves working with children and has been a two-year junior golf coach for First Tee of Orange County where he teaches golf fundamentals to underserved children. During his free time, he loves to cook.
MILAN NARULA
CO-FOUNDER and OUTREACH LEAD
Since she was in middle school, Milan Narula has been dedicated to improving the lives of disadvantaged children. In 2015, Milan began volunteering with special needs children and their siblings at Intervention Center for Early Childhood, at-risk youth at KidWorks in Santa Ana, and homeless children through School on Wheels. Milan has absolutely loved this work. She has earned numerous awards and accolades for her community service: Spectrum News profiled Milan’s extensive volunteer work in a 4-minute video here, and the Orange County Register named her to their list of Top 100 Most Influential People in Orange County. Milan spent the pandemic tutoring kids experiencing homelessness, including one student who has worked with Milan since the summer of 2018. Milan is a junior at University of California Los Angeles, and intends to become a teacher one day so she can continue her life's passion of helping kids.
EMILY McPHIE
CODING LEAD
Emily McPhie is the Digital Communications Manager at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. She graduated in communication design and writing from Washington University in St. Louis, where she served as managing editor for the campus paper. Long active in the tech for good space, Emily started Code Irvine in 2015 to make computer science more accessible to children. Emily was the Orange County Graphic Design Artist of the Year in 2018, and is a Prudential Spirit of Community and Presidential Volunteer Service Award winner.
EMERITUS BOARD MEMBERS
JADEN CHEN
Jaden Chen is a sophomore at Boston University. He plays water polo and teaches swimming. In his free time, Jaden likes to play basketball and go to the beach with friends.
KEVIN SOHN
Kevin Sohn is a graduate of Northwood High School, where he participated in the band, class council, and student newspaper. He enjoys fencing, and competes at the national level and coaches younger fencers. Kevin has spent years raising awareness about human rights abuses in North Korea, meeting with members of Congress and delivering speeches in Washington D.C. He was selected for the Bank of America Student Leaders program in 2022. In his free time, Kevin likes eating ramen.
DYLAN SOONG
Dylan Soong is a graudate of University High School, where he served as founder and co-president of the school’s Machine Learning Club, a member of the Computer Science Club, and played trombone in band. He is also a nationally ranked olympic recurve archer who has been shooting for nine years. In his free time, Dylan enjoys playing volleyball and piano.
KAILI CHEN
Kaili Chen is a junior at Cal Poly SLO. In high school, he played soccer, served on Student Council, delivered meals through Irvine's Meals on Wheels program, and volunteered at the Second Harvest Food Bank. When he's not studying or volunteering, Kaili enjoys hanging out with friends to play soccer or video games.
ETHAN JACKSON
Ethan is a graduate of Mater Dei High School, and enjoys water polo, surfing, and swimming.
KAYLEY CHAN
Kayley Chan is a graduate of University High School where she partcipated in Varsity Song, Student Council, and Girls Who Code. Kayley is a Kode with Klossy Scholar and a Girl Scouts Gold Award and Presidential Service Award winner. Outside of school, Kayley loves fashion, dancing, and baking.
CHIRAG SINGH
Chirag Singh is a CS/EE student at UCLA. He has been coding since 6th grade and is excited to share this skill with others. In high school, he enjoyed debating for the Troy Speech and Debate Club, as well as teaching debate and judging middle school debate competitions. His also loves soccer, whether playing for his school and club teams, watching La Liga or playing FIFEA.
MONSIE PALABRICA
Monserrat Palabrica graduated in Computer Science from the University of California Irvine, and has returned to her beautiful home in the Bay Area, where she is a Bioscience Research Associate at SRI International. In her spare time, Monsie loves watching movies, going to concerts, and attending hackathons.
ARYAN MATHER
Aryan Mather is a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has competed on robotics teams at the national and international levels. In addition to volunteering with Code Open Sesame, Aryan has served in the Technology Tutoring Program at the Lakeview Senior Center, using his enthusiasm for technology and related skills to improve the lives of senior citizens.
EVELYN WU
Evelyn Wu is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Woodbridge High School, where she served as treasurer of the Girls Who Code club, and the Mu Captain for Mu Alpha Theta club. She also served as a programmer for STEAMpunks BRAVO, her school's robotics team.