Sahtiya Hosoda Hammell (she/her) completed her undergraduate degree in English at Princeton University, before teaching and working with teens in Washington DC's education sector for 8 years. She went on to earn her Master of Education in Educational Psychology from the University of Virginia, where her interests were in civic engagement, community-based learning and identity formation. She has created programs for teens at cultural sites such as Monticello, James Madison's Montpelier, the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, the Bishop Museum, and the Blanton Museum of Art while at the University of Virginia, the Hawaii State Department of Education, and the University of Texas at Austin. Sahtiya returned to Washington DC in 2023 to join the Education and Public Programs team at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, where she builds spaces for teens to realize their potential to shape the world.