Mona Cho (she/her)

Mona (she/her) is a high school junior from Southern California and a graduate of Plan International USA’s 2023 Youth Leadership Academy. She is interested in pursuing a degree in public administration or public policy. As a Plan Youth Leadership Academy member, she created a youth-led non-profit organization called Digital Online Safety and Empowerment Initiative, where she leads a group of 19 young women to raise awareness about technology-facilitated gender-based violence in their communities.  

In collaboration with Plan, Mona presented recommendations for President Biden’s Executive Order on AI, advocating for survivor-centered solutions at a listening session on synthetic child sexual abuse material and nonconsensual intimate image abuse, which was hosted by the White House National Security Council and Gender Policy Council. She also discussed how young people should influence governments and technology companies at the USAID 2024 Protecting Children and Youth from Digital Harm Symposium.  

She is deeply engaged in advocacy to combat online harms targeting youth and women in her community and was honored by First Lady Jill Biden as an inaugural Girls Leading Change Awardee on International Day of the Girl in 2023 for her work. Mona is dedicated to bringing her unique activist perspective to the Youth Advisory Board. 

Links: doseinitiative.org 

Quote: “I’m truly excited to collaborate with other passionate youth in the fight against gender inequality on a global scale. My time at the Youth Leadership Academy was an empowering and inspiring experience, and I’m eager to take the next step in my advocacy as a member of the Youth Advisory Board.”