Ella Shahbazian
Person by Ella Shahbazian
“15-Year-Old Nonprofit Leader Teaching the Next Generation How to Turn Ideas Into Impact”
About
Ella Shahbazian is a 15-year-old founder, author, and community leader from Los Angeles, California. She is the founder of Ella’s Angels Foundation (501c3), a youth-led nonprofit dedicated to empowering young people to make a difference through servi...
Ella Shahbazian is a 15-year-old founder, author, and community leader from Los Angeles, California. She is the founder of Ella’s Angels Foundation (501c3), a youth-led nonprofit dedicated to empowering young people to make a difference through service, education, and compassion. Under her leadership, Ella’s Angels has provided Thanksgiving meal bags for 100 families, (https://enewspaper.gazettes.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=e9b0bb88-6e63-4d46-bc2a-d3f311b042eb) launched a scholarship program for under-resourced students, and led clothing and toy drives across California and beyond. Ella’s work has been featured in local media for her vision to create a movement of youth helping others. In addition to running her nonprofit, Ella is a 4.0 GPA student, varsity tennis player, and college scholar at Los Angeles City College, where she has completed 18 college credits. She has also earned certificates from Yale, Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Pennsylvania, and plans to attend Yale University in 2028, followed by Yale Law School. Ella is also the author of The Real-Life Money Guide Nobody Taught You, available on Amazon, where she teaches teens and young adults the essential financial skills they need to thrive. Her mission is to show that leadership, entrepreneurship, and giving back can begin at any age — and that kindness is the most powerful form of success. 🌐 www.ellasangels.org 📸 Instagram: @ellasangelsorg 📧 ella@ellasangels.org
What Matters
Ella believes entrepreneurship matters: "It's good to be a leader and start something that you've always wanted to start. I think it's very important to take that step and do it."
Ella says community service "matters a lot"—it's about "being involved in your community, helping, volunteering." She always invites friends to join, showing how much it matters to her.
Ella says pizza matters: "I love pizza. My like one of my favorite foods actually."
Sports matter to Ella: "Sports play a big role in who I am... coaches can shape who you are. They can push you to be the better version of yourself." sport
Ella admits memes matter: "I'm always doom scrolling on TikTok. Laughing at memes."
Ella is "iffy" but says artificial intelligence matters "if you need help... it could guide you... could be used as like a resource... not just like doing it for you."
Personal finance matters "a hundred percent" to Ella: "That's why I wrote the book... in school they don't teach you about things like that... I wanted to write a book for teens." personal finance
Music does not matter to Ella: "I'm not like a big, like I don't listen to music that much. That's why." music
Reality TV does not matter to Ella: "I don't really watch reality TV." reality television
Your personalized news digest for May 15, 2026.
Whys (7)
Personal finance matters "a hundred percent" to Ella: "That's why I wrote the book... in school they don't teach you about things like that... I wanted to write a book for teens." personal finance
Does PERSONAL FINANCE matter to you?
Ella admits memes matter: "I'm always doom scrolling on TikTok. Laughing at memes."
Does INTERNET MEMES matter to you?
Ella is "iffy" but says artificial intelligence matters "if you need help... it could guide you... could be used as like a resource... not just like doing it for you."
Does ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE matter to you?
Sports matter to Ella: "Sports play a big role in who I am... coaches can shape who you are. They can push you to be the better version of yourself." sport
Does SPORT matter to you?
Ella says pizza matters: "I love pizza. My like one of my favorite foods actually."
Does PIZZA matter to you?
Ella says community service "matters a lot"—it's about "being involved in your community, helping, volunteering." She always invites friends to join, showing how much it matters to her.
Does COMMUNITY SERVICE matter to you?
Ella believes entrepreneurship matters: "It's good to be a leader and start something that you've always wanted to start. I think it's very important to take that step and do it."
Does ENTREPRENEURSHIP matter to you?
Takeaways (12)
Seeing someone's face after we helped them — that's what actually makes me happy.
I started Ella's Angels because young people don't have to wait to make a difference.
It's a useful resource, but I don't want it just doing the work for me.
I didn't wait to be asked. I just started and figured out how to help people along the way.
I started something so young people wouldn't have to wait around to help their community.
The thank-you messages after we helped people eat Thanksgiving dinner — that's what actually gets me.
It's fine to use AI for help, just don't let it do your thinking for you.
I wrote a book for teens because school never taught me what my parents had to.
Taking that first step to start something you believe in matters more than waiting for permission.
I always invite friends to help at events by offering community service hours — it works.
When families message saying they could eat Thanksgiving dinner because of us, that's what keeps me going.
I started Ella's Angels because young people don't have to wait to make a difference.