Our Mission

Umlaut was founded under the belief that inherent in every child is incredible potential and is organized to help foster youth realize and achieve their capabilities through volunteer-supported mentorship.

Our Program

Umlaut operates with the goals of building upon foster youth’s vision of their futures by matching them with passionate teens to guide them on a path to success.

Offered Plans

Drop-in Class: The Drop-In Class is a thirty-minute to one-hour session that allows foster youth to dabble in new spheres of interest (for example, experimenting in photoshop). This option also allows volunteers to trial Umlaut’s tutoring sessions and begin bonding with their mentee.

10 Hour Plan: The 10 Hour Plan is designed for volunteers who have already committed and successfully taught three drop-in classes. This option provides one-on-one, weekly tutoring sessions for foster youth seeking instruction in areas of growth. The 10 Hour Plan also offers an opportunity for high school seniors to meet their 20-hour community service graduation requirement.
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Of course, for potential volunteers who do not see a topic they are qualified to teach on the list, there will be an option for them as well.

Discovery Lecture: The Discovery Lecture is a fifteen-to-twenty-minute lecture, similar to a Ted-Talk, where high schoolers speak about a topic they are passionate about and are willing to teach. This option provides a great public speaking opportunity for high schoolers, and it allows a group of foster youth to discover new passions along with a way to pursue it.

Our Locations

Pleasanton, CA

Umlaut Foundation is based in Pleasanton, CA, where we serve over 150 foster and kinship youth. Each one of these kids deserves an opportunity to explore their interests and realize their capabilities. If you live in the area and are interested in joining the community, visit Get Involved to learn how you can help out.
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If you are not from Pleasanton and would like to help expand our list of locations, please see Open a Branch to learn more.

Our Affiliations

California Alliance
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Meet the Team

2023-2024

Jerry Liu

CEO

Jerry is a senior at Amador Valley High School. At school, Jerry is part of the Math and Physics clubs. Jerry is a USAMO Honorable Mention qualifier, USACO Platinum competitor, and a USA Physics Team member. In his free time, Jerry enjoys playing basketball and oboe. He hopes to help expand Umlaut programs and build a larger community for foster youth.

Angad Bhargav

CTO

Angad is a senior at Amador Valley High School who takes part in various clubs such as AVBotz, Amador UAVs, ACE Coding, and Technology Student Association. When he's not at school, he enjoys playing the oboe, graphic design, and various forms of software development. As CTO of Umlaut, Angad hopes to extend his abilities to all technical aspects of the foundation.

Ela Mutaf

COO

Ela is a senior at Amador Valley High School where she is a member of Mock Trial, Student Site Council, and Students Interested in Medical Sciences. She is also a weekly tutor for kindergarteners and works at American Swim Academy, teaching kids how to swim. Outside of school, she loves to read, listen to music, and walk with her dog. At Umlaut, she hopes to extend its outreach, positively affecting even more foster youth than before.

Tho Nyugen

CCO

Tho is a senior at Amador Valley High School, where she is involved in Science Olympiad and Amador Writers Ensemble. She is an admirer of the arts and enjoys calligraphy, piano, and clarinet in her spare time. She is proud to be a member of Umlaut and will work hard to connect foster youth to an education that helps them thrive.

Brandon Huynh

Reporter

Brandon is a senior at Amador Valley High School. At Amador, Brandon manages and competes with the Science Olympiad team, is involved in student government and district policy, and explores his interests through the Psychology Club. Through his position at Umlaut, he wishes to make information and insight accessible to all.

Alex Chin

Brand Ambassador

Alex is a senior at the College Preparatory School. He participates in Science Olympiad in school and enjoys playing tennis and traveling. He hopes to learn more about digital design and contribute his growing skills to helping others.