As founder of Becoming a Voice, Shriya Boppana is a sex trafficking and sexual health education advocate. She holds sexual health education workshops in orphanages, schools, and extracurricular youth organizations to educate young children about safe and unsafe touch in Fairfax County Public Schools as well as in her home state of Andhra Pradesh in India. She also serves on the Virginia, D.C., and Maryland Human Trafficking Task Forces working with the U.S. Department of Justice and local law enforcement groups to identify trafficking schemes, extract victims, and integrate them back into society. Shriya has now educated more than 19,600 children on consent culture with over 360 organizations.

Shriya reflects, “Service to my nation, my state, and my people has always been in my blood. My great-grandparents were freedom fighters, fighting for India’s independence from the British, donating all their property and wealth to the resistance and making countless trips to jail cells in promise of a free country. As a first-generation immigrant, I hold the freedom of the American Dream in my heart and feel indebted to the town of Herndon, the District of Dranesville, the Fairfax County Public School system, and the state of Virginia for continually giving me opportunities to find my passion and make a difference.”

She continues, “Coming from a family history of domestic and sexual abuse, my passion for advocating for children’s sexual health education comes from a deep history of connection with the women of my lineage. I believe the key to a free society is through education of the individual. Saving kids from early sexual abuse leads to less likely chance for trafficking and harassment in the future.”

Shriya has also contributed pieces on increased media representation for people of color, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals for the Malala Fund and worked with Paramount to turn that vision into a reality through casting. Further, Shriya served as a global youth ambassador for She’s the First, advocating for girls’ rights, and was also part of Michelle Obama’s Girls Opportunity Alliance to help raise funds for women’s education in Africa, India, and the Middle East. She is also an advocate with the United Nations Foundation’s Girl Up campaign on the need for girls’ education in countries across the world.

Shriya also hosted her own TV show, Becoming a Voice with Shriya Boppana, on Fox 5 Plus, spotlighting social justice causes with depth such as domestic violence, acid attacks, and sexual assault reaching 6.2 million Virginia, D.C., and Maryland households every episode. In 2023, she became the second youngest person on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list and was the youngest inductee into the Fairfax County Hall of Fame for her anti-sex trafficking work.