Annika Chadha

Annika Chadha built Countdown2K as a student at DuPont Manual High School in Louisville, Kentucky, after noticing that some of her classmates in Jefferson County Public Schools — a district of nearly 100,000 students — had struggled to keep up from their very first years of school. Her research led her to the kindergarten readiness gap: a lack of academic, social, and emotional preparedness before school entry that follows students through their entire education.

Her insight was practical: while readiness gaps track family income, smartphone access does not. So she built Countdown2K as a free mobile app — 13 interactive games spanning more than 100 activities — that lets any parent or caregiver prepare their child for kindergarten. In 2023, Rep. Morgan McGarvey named her the winner of the Congressional App Challenge for Kentucky's Third District for the app.

Annika writes the Countdown2K blog, where every statistic is sourced to primary research. Beyond the app, she serves as a student advocate for early education with KSVT and interned with Thrive By 5 Louisville in summer 2025.