Who Are We

About Us

Our Story

The Community Check-Up was first envisioned by Rohan Arora and Roma Arora. They first realized how lacking our existing climate narrative truly was after watching how air pollution took a toll on the health of their loved ones. Ever since they were young, they were taught that the climate crisis is something severe, yet they never learned the true reality of what the climate crisis was doing to actual people till their personal experiences watching their loved ones suffer. Minorities and BIPOC groups disproportionately suffer from the ramifications of the climate crisis, yet the climate crisis is taught as something abstract.

After personally experiencing how air pollution significantly worsened their father’s asthma throughout their childhood, they began to host local events in their community to show why the climate crisis matters with a focus on the public health angle. People from across their community began to come to their events and seminars, and Rohan and Roma realized how most people still do not realize how the climate crisis is a medical emergency. Most importantly, people were shocked after learning about how omnipresent environmental health disparities truly are in our nation.

After educating loved ones and community members, they decided to found The Community Check-Up, an organization focused on reducing environmental health disparities through educational outreach and youth engagement. There is so much more the climate movement needs to encompass regarding environmental health, such as environmental justice, urban planning, and more. The Community Check-Up hopes to shift the climate narrative to emphasize environmental health in order to build greater momentum for the movement and truly fight for actionable change.

Our Executive Team Directors

Rohan Arora

Founder and Executive Director

Rohan Arora is a 19-year old environmental activist specializing in environmental health and minority experience. His passion for climate advocacy, specifically in the field of environmental health, began after watching his father’s asthma get worse due to air pollution. He is the founder and executive director of The Community Check-Up, a national organization focused on restructuring environmental issues with the public health lens in all 50 states. He is also the climate activist advisor to the American Lung Association. He has been featured in several major national outlets such as Forbes, Business Insider, Refinery29

Roma Arora

Operations Director and Co-Founder

Roma Arora is a teenage activist focused on the intersection of climate action and women’s health. Her passion for environmental health began after witnessing the impact air pollution had on her loved ones’ health. She is the co-founder and operations director for The Community Check-Up. Besides being an activist, she is also a leader in her community and has been involved in many climate rallies. She is also a strategist for the Youth Climate Action Team and Virginia Youth Climate Cooperative.

Hargun Rekhi

Public Relations Director

Hargun Rekhi is an activist and firm advocate for environmental justice and corporate sustainability. She serves as the Public Relations Director for The Community Check-Up. She has worked with high-end boutiques in increasing sustainability in the fashion industry and has been successful in growing social media platforms for many organizations.

Srija Kothakonda

Design Director

Srija Kothakonda is an artist with a passion for environmentalism. She is focused on sustainability and intersectionality in everything she does. She serves as the Design Director for The Community Check-Up. She is also a small-business owner focused on natural henna design and operates her small business in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area.

Development Leads

Amory Cheng

Cleo Waxman-Lee

Elizabeth Lascarez

Ellery Spikes

Kaylee Luna

Ona M Schafer

Saiyam Shah

Seraphina Kang

Partnership Leads

Khadija Hassan

Mimi Nguyen

Alexis Gutierrez

Stephanie Star

Our Mission

The Community Check-Up is a national organization working to reduce environmental health disparities by
restructuring the climate narrative as a public health emergency. By pushing environmental health to the
forefront of the climate discussion and promoting a new generation of environmental health warriors, we aim
to educate Americans about how environmental issues and social inequities impact the health of our
communities.

Focus the Narrative on the Public Health Ramifications of Environmental Issues

Increasing accessibility and emphasis on environmental health education

Engage Youth to Demand Action in
Their Communities

Promoting a culture where youth can
act locally to instill change

Raise a New Generation of
Environmental Health Warriors

Equipping youth with the skills they need to reflect and act upon environmental health injustice

Our Blog

Check out our blog for periodic updates about the organization, activist spotlights, project highlights, and more!
If you or your organization would like to contribute to the blog, please contact us and one of our leads
will coordinate our collaboration!