About Us
Arushi Choudhury, CEO
Ben Malovich, Design Manager
Melisa Shafiee, Marketing Manager
Hi! I'm Arushi Choudhury, the founder and CEO of Color For Empowerment. As a junior in high school, you can often find me debating economic and social issues through Model United Nations, which inspired me to create this initiative with the goal of incentivizing change in my community. At Color For Empowerment, I oversee our social media accounts and brainstorm + execute blog posts and books. I am beyond thrilled to speak on issues I'm passionate about and educate a younger generation on serious topics, and I can't wait to make a long-lasting impact in my community.
Hi! I'm Ben Malovich, the design manager of Color For Empowerment. I plan the contents of the coloring book ( such as word puzzles, mazes, connect the dots, etc ) and implement designs and pictures in order to create a book with a balance of entertaining and educational information. Additionally, I help create posts for the Instagram account. In my free time, one can find me hanging out with my friends and running my small jewelry business on Etsy. I joined Color For Empowerment to make a change in the world and I'm excited to witness this in change with my own eyes.
Hi! I'm Melisa Shafiee, the marketing manager of Color For Empowerment. I bring our organization to the next level by initiating partnerships via Instagram collaboration and creating blogs to educate an older audience on issues such as protecting abortion rights, ways to stop AAPI hate, and more. In my spare time, you can find me playing the piano, writing articles for her mental health blog, and representing youth voice in my community. I hope that with our books, we can cultivate awareness of the world's most pressing issues to audiences everywhere.
Color For Empowerment's Backstory
Welcome to Color For Empowerment! My name is Arushi Choudhury, and I'm a junior in high school in Washington State. My goal is to help educate children about economic and social issues in entertaining ways, such as coloring and activity books.
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Growing up, I always loved the environment around me. Whenever I had the opportunity, I'd help out my community by volunteering at local, economically friendly places or cultural festivals.
When I began high school, I dived deeper into the economic and social challenges youth face and started exploring possible solutions to overcome these issues. For instance, during the 2020 lockdown, I observed the increasing rates of domestic abuse South Asian women faced as they remained isolated at home with little help around them. I designed my first coloring book with Melisa Shafiee to educate children about the South Asian heritage and culture these women represented.
The support and encouragement I received from my committee encouraged me to design my latest activity book with my team Ben Malovich and Melisa Shafiee: How to Save the Oceans. Unlike the South Asian coloring book, this includes entertaining elements such as mazes, coloring pages, and word puzzles while educating children about the intense effects garbage has on our oceans.
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Thank you for taking the time to read about us and our missions!
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