Grace Ding

Grace Ding, a junior at Obra D. Tompkins High School in Katy, Texas, is the founder of Inclusive Ink, a student-led initiative expanding access to diverse literature. In response to widespread book bans disproportionately affecting marginalized students, Grace secured more than $2,000 in grants and partnered with organizations like We Are Stronger Than Censorship to distribute more than $40,000 worth of books to ESL refugees and libraries across Houston.

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Grace serves as research director of Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), a student-led organization fighting book censorship and advocating for educational equity. She has led meetings on censorship, co-authored the Student Bill of Rights and developed an interactive “School Board Power Map” to help students navigate education policy.

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In Houston, where over one-third of residents are immigrants, language barriers often prevent marginalized communities from accessing voter information. Recognizing this, Grace founded the Tompkins Civics Club, leading efforts to translate voter registration materials into six of Houston's most spoken non-English languages to ensure immigrant voters — many of whom face systemic disenfranchisement — can navigate the registration process and participate in elections.

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Grace has spoken at the Texas Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (TADOHE) annual conference, where she joined leading education scholars to discuss the impact of censorship and racial equity in schools. Her advocacy has been featured in KHOU, Teen Vogue, and the Houston Chronicle.