MCPS recently shared that Lorena Wu, a rising junior at Poolesville High School, was officially sworn in as Maryland’s Student Member of the Board for the 2026-2027 term on July 1 after being appointed earlier this year by Maryland Governor Wes Moore.
According to the Maryland State Board of Education, Wu has built an extensive record of student advocacy and public service at the local, state, and national levels. As co-president of Eco MoCo, Maryland’s largest student-led environmental nonprofit, she helped lead initiatives that collected more than 400 pounds of trash and generated more than 200 hours of community service. She also worked alongside local, state, and federal leaders on environmental issues, including opposition to the proposed M-83 Highway, testimony on transit initiatives, and advocacy for environmental legislation. Those efforts helped Eco MoCo earn the Joe Howard Environmental Award.
Wu also served on the Maryland Youth Advisory Council after being appointed by the Maryland Association of Student Councils. During her two-year term, she advised the Maryland General Assembly on youth-related policy, authored the council’s annual report to the governor as historian, and helped oversee $12,000 in grant funding for youth-led organizations.
Her work within Montgomery County Public Schools has included serving as director of legislative affairs for the Student Member of the MCPS Board of Education Advisory Council and as deputy for the Montgomery County Regional Student Government Association, where she collaborated with students and school leaders on education policy.
Beyond education and environmental advocacy, Wu has also championed Asian American rights by testifying before both the MCPS Board of Education and the Maryland General Assembly. She serves as legislative aide for OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates’ Greater Washington, D.C. youth council and has completed internships in the offices of Maryland Delegates Lily Qi and Teresa Woorman Wu.
Outside of her advocacy work, Wu is a competitive fencer and musician. She says she looks forward to continuing her service by representing students across Maryland and helping shape the future of education statewide, while expressing gratitude to her family, friends, teachers, and mentors for supporting her journey.
