Magdalena Mercado is a high school senior from the San Francisco Bay Area pursuing her education at Phillips Academy Andover. After seeing her family being affected by the repercussions of the pandemic, she knew she had to take action to combat Asian American hate. In 2022, she founded Taking A Deep Dive, a youth organization dedicated to fighting for Asian American policies in education across 45+ schools nationwide.

In addition to directing a youth organization, she has worked with Massachusetts state legislators, representatives, and government officials to fight for diversified education in K-12 public school curriculums across the Commonwealth.

With a passion for social justice and advocating for human rights through public policy, Magdalena actively works to be a voice for change within her communities and beyond which she hopes to continue with Thriving Asians.

Magdalena joined Thriving Asians in 2025 as a Young Visionary in Wellness & Leadership. Her “Mental Health Mentorship” project focused on fostering meaningful mentorship between Asian youth and professionals. She conducted a community listening session to gain insight to supportive mentorship desired by Asian young leaders. Through podcast-style interviews, she aims to elevate stories of how Asian professionals pursued careers in mental health - inspiring and fostering warm connections for Asian youth to do the same.

Magdalena continues to grow her leadership now as a Senior Youth Mental Health Ambassador. She continues to grow her Mental Health Mentorship initiative, and fostering culturally meaningful mental health connections across her communities