Risa Chokhawala’s passion for STEM began at a young age, driven by a curiosity for how technology could solve real-world problems and improve people’s lives. Growing up in San Jose, California, at the heart of Silicon Valley, she was naturally drawn to engineering, robotics, and computer science. One of her earliest breakthroughs came in fifth grade, when she participated in The Tech Challenge — a prestigious engineering design competition hosted by The Tech Interactive. Competing against students from across the Bay Area, Risa and her team designed an innovative solution to a complex engineering challenge and won the competition, an experience that showed her the power of creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving through technology.

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That early success sparked a deeper commitment to STEM. As she progressed through middle and high school at The Harker School, Risa immersed herself in advanced C++/JAVA programming, robotics, and artificial intelligence. She became heavily involved in VEX Robotics, where she spent countless hours designing, building, coding, and testing competition robots. Over the years, her team achieved remarkable success, winning multiple VEX Robotics tournaments and qualifying for the VEX Robotics World Championship three consecutive years in a row. Beyond technical performance, her team was recognized for its innovation, collaboration, and depth of engineering knowledge, ultimately winning the prestigious Research Division award at the world level.

 

Despite these accomplishments, Risa’s journey in STEM was not always easy.

When she first entered advanced STEM classrooms and robotics competitions as a middle school student, she quickly realized she was often one of the only girls in the room. While she loved learning and solving technical problems, she sometimes felt isolated in male-dominated environments. Many of her peers appeared more confident speaking up, experimenting, and applying concepts quickly, which caused her to question her own abilities. Without many female role models or peers to lean on, Risa began to experience the self-doubt that discourages many young girls from continuing in STEM fields.

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Still, she persisted. And through those experiences, she began recognizing a larger pattern.

While volunteering and teaching STEM concepts to elementary and middle school students, Risa noticed that many young girls displayed the same hesitation and lack of confidence she once felt herself. Even when they were enthusiastic and capable, fewer girls raised their hands, asked questions, or took risks during technical activities. Many doubted their own abilities before they had even been given the opportunity to succeed. Risa realized these patterns were not coincidental, but instead reflected broader societal stereotypes and the lack of visible female representation in STEM.

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Determined to change that reality, Risa co-founded STEMHer alongside her sister, Amiya Chokhawala. What started as a shared mission between two sisters evolved into a growing international initiative focused on empowering girls through science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. As co-founder and now CEO of STEMHer, Risa has helped lead hands-on workshops, robotics competitions, coding camps, and AI education programs designed to introduce girls to STEM in an engaging and supportive environment. STEMHer’s programs now reach students across the United States, the Caribbean, Africa, and India, encouraging young girls to view themselves not just as learners of technology, but as future engineers, innovators, and leaders.

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Today, Risa continues to pursue her own technical passions through artificial intelligence and machine learning projects, including developing algorithms that help detect misinformation in news articles. But beyond her own achievements, her greatest mission is creating opportunities for the next generation of girls in STEM.

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For Risa, STEMHer represents more than an organization — it is the community and support system she once wished she had herself. Through mentorship, education, and empowerment, she hopes to inspire girls around the world to pursue STEM careers with confidence, curiosity, and ambition.