Founded by Aashna Parsa, youth-led YND’s innovative gamified Ally in Training™ app, supported by 26 student leaders across nine states, fosters vital neurodiversity allyship and self-advocacy skills.

LOS ANGELES, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Youth for Neurodiversity Inc. (YND), a youth-led nonprofit, is showcasing its gamified app Ally in Training™ through an interactive youth-led exhibit at the California School Health & Behavioral Health Conference (April 27–28 at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City).

The exhibit highlights allyship, strengths-based understanding of neurodiversity, and student mental health, featuring live demos of Ally in Training™ alongside CalHOPE’s youth mental health app Soluna.

Founded by Aashna Parsa, a rising high school student at Stanford Online High School and incoming freshman at The Harker School, YND brings together neurodivergent and neurotypical youth to promote inclusive learning, peer connection, and strengths-based understanding.

Based in San Jose, Parsa’s inspiration to take action emerged from her personal journey navigating neurodiversity within her family and close community, alongside adapting to physical challenges following an injury last summer. She further drew motivation from the 2025 Stanford Neurodiversity Summit and Vanderbilt University’s Neurotech Frontiers conference organized by the Janus Innovation Hub and the Frist Center for Autism & Innovation. Moreover, she developed and submitted a written research input to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ 2026 youth mental health, facilitated by a worldwide consultation of youth leaders and changemakers supported by the United Nations Youth Office.

“Growing up around neurodiversity and navigating my own challenges showed me how isolating differences can feel,” said Parsa. “Rooted in the principle “Nothing About Us Without Us,” I built Ally in Training™ to make learning allyship feel like play. Our participation in this significant conference allows Youth for Neurodiversity Inc. to connect directly with the educators and health professionals who are instrumental in shaping supportive environments for neurodivergent youth. We believe our unique youth-led approach and the innovative Ally in Training™ app are powerful tools for fostering peer connection and driving our mission forward.”

YND is growing rapidly with 26 student leaders and members across nine U.S. states and Africa, with strong representation across California, including Los Altos, San Jose, Saratoga, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Los Altos, San Mateo, and Morgan Hill.

At the conference, Parsa is joined by fellow student leaders Annie Liu and Jisoo Hur from Los Altos High School, and Unaysah Ron and Omar Ron from Ocean Grove Charter, to demonstrate the app and engage with educators and health professionals.

YND is a community member of the United Nations Youth Office’s flagship initiative on Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing and a proud partner of the California School-Based Health Alliance. The organization is also a community member of Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications under Gavin Newsom, reflecting its engagement within California’s youth health and education ecosystem.

YND student leaders also participated in advocacy efforts on April 15, 2026 in Sacramento, supporting California Assembly Bills 2071 (Digital Wellness) and 1669 (Student Mental Health) with co-sponsor of the bills GENup, a California-based nationwide student-led organization dedicated to transforming education policy by amplifying youth voices.

Maxwell Palance, mentor to Aashna Parsa and Co-Chair of the Stanford Network for K-12 Neurodiversity Education & Advocacy (NNEA), 2026 Davos Neurodiversity Summit Leadership Wall Honoree, and NASA Neurodiversity N3 Network Research Intern and Scholar, said:

“Aashna Parsa and the Youth for Neurodiversity team embody the future of authentic, youth-led neurodiversity advocacy. Neurodiverse minds bring unique perspectives and ways of thinking that challenge assumptions and spark breakthroughs. By creating spaces where different ways of thinking are supported, we expand what’s possible for everyone. Their gamified Ally in Training™ app is an innovative tool designed to bring neurodivergent and neurotypical teens together to build allyship and self-advocacy skills. I’m excited to see them sharing this work at the California School Health & Behavioral Health Conference.”

About Youth for Neurodiversity Inc.

Youth for Neurodiversity Inc. is a California-based, international youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit that breaks barriers for neurodivergent and differently-abled youth by celebrating differences, championing strengths, and mobilizing allies. The organization brings together neurodivergent and neurotypical teens worldwide to build connections, reduce stigma, and promote universal design, assistive technology, sensory-friendly spaces, and youth-centered policy. Learn more at youthfornd.org.

Website: youthfornd.org Instagram: @youthfornd

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SOURCE Youth for Neurodiversity Inc.

Child Creativity Lab STEAM workshop fosters design thinking and innovationGenesis career panel introduces students to careers across the automotive industry

ANAHEIM, Calif., April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Genesis hosted a science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) workshop and career panel at the TGR Learning Lab Anaheim for the second year as part of its continued commitment to education. High school students gained hands-on learning experiences and exposure to automotive career opportunities, helping prepare them for the future.

“Access to STEAM learning and industry professionals helps spark curiosity and open doors for students as they begin thinking about their futures,” said Brandon Ramirez, director, corporate social responsibility, Genesis Motor America. “Through programs like these, Genesis is proud to support opportunities that encourage creative thinking and introduce students to STEAM-related career paths.”

STEAM Workshop Highlights Automotive Innovation
Developed in collaboration with Child Creativity Lab, the STEAM workshop introduced nearly 100 high school students to the automotive product development process and provided technology demonstrations of Genesis vehicles. Genesis employees discussed topics including design, engineering, and sustainability. Students applied those concepts and their imagination to create innovative future mobility vehicles from upcycled materials.

Career Panel Connects Students with Industry Professionals
Genesis organized a career panel featuring employees from various professions, including engineering, marketing, and product planning. Panelists shared insights into their educational pathways, skills development, and career opportunities in the automotive industry. Students also engaged directly with Genesis employees through a question-and-answer session to learn more about their professional journeys.

“We’re grateful for the ongoing partnership of Genesis in giving our students opportunities to explore and experience careers in the automotive industry and beyond,” said Calvin Macaraeg, director, career-connected learning, TGR Learning Lab Anaheim. “The comprehensive experience left students inspired and excited about possibilities for their future.”

The workshop and career panel are part of Genesis’ ongoing partnership with TGR Foundation, which supports STEAM education for youth at the Foundation’s TGR Learning Labs located in Anaheim and Philadelphia.

TGR Foundation

TGR Foundation is a leading education nonprofit founded in 1996 by Tiger Woods. With a commitment to providing opportunities that unlock the unlimited potential in the lives of young people from under-resourced communities, its mission is to empower students to pursue their passions through education. In 2026, TGR Foundation is celebrating 30 years of driving dreams together. Through its TGR Learning Labs and signature education programs focused on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) educational enrichment, career and college readiness and health and well-being, TGR Foundation has served more than 217,000 students. For more information, visit TGRFoundation.org or connect on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.

Genesis Gives

Genesis Gives is a corporate social responsibility initiative from Genesis Motor America. Expanding on the brand’s commitment to the highest standards of performance and its athletic elegance design identity, Genesis Gives supports nonprofit organizations with the goal of improving access to, and performance in, youth sports and STEAM education in under-resourced communities. Since 2022, Genesis has donated over $2 million to support communities across the country. For more information, visit www.genesisgives.com.

Genesis Motor North America

Genesis is a new global automotive brand that delivers the highest standards of design, safety, refined performance, and innovation while looking towards a more sustainable future. Drawing from its cultural heritage and distinctly Korean hospitality, Genesis crafts experiences focused on customers as “son-nim”, or honored guests.

Genesis Motor North America offers a growing range of award-winning SUV, sedan, and electric models through its network of more than 200 independent U.S. retailers, in addition to its more than 30 Canadian agency distributors. Genesis now counts more than 90 standalone retail facilities across the North American region, with dozens more in development. Consumers can discover the brand through its many retail points, at Genesis House, the brand’s flagship space in New York City, or online at www.genesis.com.

Please visit our media site for the latest news at www.genesisnewsusa.com (United States) and www.genesisnews.ca (Canada).

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SOURCE Genesis Motor America

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Complete Genomics, a U.S.-based leader in genomic sequencing technologies, today announced results demonstrating that AI-trained variant calling models can reduce genome analysis errors by up to 73% when applied to DNBSEQ™ sequencing data generated on its advanced massively parallel sequencing platform compared to widely used industry standard pipelines.

Accurate genome interpretation is essential for applications ranging from early disease detection to targeted therapies. However, traditional analysis methods can introduce errors that limit reliability and increase downstream validation requirements. The results from this study show how integrating high-quality sequencing with AI models trained specifically on DNBSEQ data can significantly improve accuracy and consistency across the genome, including in complex and medically relevant regions.

“This is about making high-quality genomic analysis scalable and economically viable,” said Radoje Drmanac, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Complete Genomics. “By integrating AI directly with our PCR-free library prep and clonal-error-free sequencing platforms, we are enabling more accurate detection of genetic variation, including in regions that have traditionally been difficult to analyze.”

“Across multiple datasets generated from the T1+, T7 and T7+ platforms, we observed consistently high accuracy for SNVs and indels using DeepVariant models trained on DNBSEQ data. These results highlight the robustness of the approach for scalable variant calling,” said Andrew Carroll, Product Lead at Google Research.

The study also showed that the platform can identify genetic changes in DNA more accurately and with fewer errors than commonly used methods. This also includes more complex sequence alterations, with performance on these difficult genomic regions approaching that of long-read sequencing technologies.

Together, these findings highlight the potential of combining advanced sequencing platforms with novel AI-driven analysis to deliver high-accuracy genomics at scale. As genomic data continues to expand in importance across healthcare and life sciences, improvements in accuracy, efficiency, and scalability will be key to enabling broader adoption in both research and translational settings.

PanVariants, the AI-driven analysis framework used in the study, is being made available as an open-source resource to support further innovation across the genomics community.

Complete Genomics will host a webinar on April 30 to further explore how high-throughput sequencing and AI-driven variant calling are advancing genomic analysis.

To register, visit:
https://www.completegenomics.com/webinars/webinar-scaling-genomics-with-higher-throughput-and-ai-driven-variant-calling

About Complete Genomics

Complete Genomics is a U.S.-based life sciences company providing end-to-end DNA sequencing platforms, reagents, and software solutions. Since its founding in 2005, the company has contributed to more than 10,900 scientific publications and continues to advance high-throughput, cost-effective genomics.

*For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

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SOURCE Complete Genomics