Intern Class of 2007 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
New York
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shakya Cherry-Donaldson | |
|
Shakya Cherry-Donaldson was born in the Bronx, NY where she still currently resides. In the fall she will begin her junior year at the prestigious Franklin and Marshall College. At school she serves on the executive boards of the Black Student Union and the Women's Center, and serves on a panel to increase the number of minority students on her campus. Shakya is a joint major in Economics and Africana Studies and plans to study in Ghana in early 2008. After completing her Bachelor's degree Shakya plans to go straight to graduate school and focus specifically on the business aspect of her studies. Shakya is still uncertain what her future career will be, but she is very sure that it will be centered on helping those who are less fortunate.
| |
| |
|
Born in Enugu, Nigeria, Ivie Guobadia immigrated to New York in the mid 90s. Currently a rising junior at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, she is majoring in sociology and pursuing a minor in political science, concentrating in public policy. She aspires to one day lead a revolution that will impact the lives of people and effectively create change for the better in the world today. She truly believes that everything can be achieved through hard work and dedication.
| |
| |
|
Manasi Nair is a junior at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota majoring in Political Science/International Relations with a minor in Latin American studies. Manasi is from the Sultanate of Oman and considers family, human rights, cinema, drawing and traveling as her main interests. She loves to learn new languages and is particularly fascinated with the politics of South Asia and the Middle East. She also loves midnight snacking and Valentino's clothes (and looks forward to affording them someday!).
| |
Irene Ortega | |
|
Originally from Maturin, Venezuela, Irene Ortega came to the United States when she was just three years old. She currently resides in the wonderful state of New Jersey and is enrolled as a student at Rutgers the State University-New Brunswick, NJ. She is a Psychology and Sociology double major and intends on pursuing a Masters degree in Public Policy and Administration after she graduates in 2008. Her main interests are immigration reform, youth leadership development, and above all, social justice.
| |
Juan Sosa | |
|
Juan Esteban Sosa Franco was born and raised in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and immigrated to Brooklyn, NY in 1999 at age 13. He identifies as a first generation Latino immigrant of Afro-Caribbean ancestry. Juan is also a low-income student; currently a junior with a History and Comparative American Studies double major at Oberlin College. He is an honest, determined, open-minded, and out-going person, and his family means the world to him. He enjoys doing almost anything that expands his world view and believes that progress is possible and change is inevitable. He has dedicated his time and effort to fight for social justice through student organizations and other groups to create ways for disenfranchised and marginalized communities of color to make their voices heard. His life and academic experiences have provided Juan with skills to be civically engaged and involved in community service, to realize that change is not about quantity but rather about quality and personal growth, and finally to challenge the hegemonic systems of oppression. Juan has learned that direction, discipline and perseverance are needed in order to achieve success.
| |
North Carolina
Jordan Gregson | |
|
Raised by two loving parents and a caring United Methodist Church congregation, the principle of loving neighbor as self and the importance of seeking the truth have been deep parts of Jordan Gregson since childhood. After a year and a half at Warren Wilson College, Jordan lived in Nicaragua this past semester to learn about life and the Spanish language. He now looks forward to applying what he learned through his Generation Change internship and to working with Latinos in his home state, North Carolina.
| |
Idonea Kyna Lewis | |
|
Idonea Lewis (better known as Kyna) is a Native of Durham. She received her BA from UNC Chapel Hill in 2001 and is currently working on her master's in Business Administration and Management of Information Systems at North Carolina Central University. She has extensive work experience in management and marketing, and is eager to make a commitment to promoting and supporting non-profit organizations.
| |
Rev. Toure Marshall | |
|
Touré C. Marshall began his organizing career at a young age, when his father, the Reverend Gordon Marshall, became senior pastor of a small church located in a notoriously violent and impoverished project development on the south side of Chicago. As a child, he participated in voter registration drives and organized neighborhood children for a community children's choir. As a teenager, he interned with Clergy United for the Renewal of East Baltimore (C.U.R.E.), which afforded him the opportunity to organize youth in anti-drug rallies, campaigns, and neighborhood block meetings. Touré received a B.S. in Marketing from Johnson C. Smith University and a Master of Divinity degree and a Master of Theology degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. During his matriculation at Princeton Theological Seminary, Touré worked part-time as a community organizer for Camden Churches Organized for People (C.C.O.P), where he helped to organize to improve public schools. Toure is a candidate for ordained ministry in the Presbyterian Church USA. He currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife, the Reverend Eustacia Marshall.
| |
Channing Mathews | |
|
Channing Mathews was born in Miami, Florida but came to Duke University from Valdosta, Georgia with the fall class of 2005. She is a rising junior pursuing activities with such organizations as: The Impact Movement, Black Student Alliance, and the John Hope Franklin Scholars program, where she is the programming assistant. In the spring of 2007, Channing was selected to take on the task of organizing the Black Student Alliance Invitational Weekend (BSAI), a minority recruitment event that takes place over four days in the spring semester. Although once a pre-med hotshot, she has decided to pursue other interests with a BS in Psychology and double minors in Spanish and Sociology. Currently, she is unsure of what career she will choose upon graduation from Duke, but her passion is to find ways to bring the Latino and African-American communities together. She believes as one they will be an unstoppable force for social change in the future.
| |
Derwin Montgomery | |
|
Derwin Lamar Montgomery was born on September 3, 1988, and has accomplished a lot in his short life. He was licensed as a minister on June 5, 2005, voted most likely to succeed by his high school senior class, and went on to prove them true by entering the Winston-Salem State University's Honors College. At Winston-Salem, Derwin is the Vice President of FOCUS Ministries, President of the NAACP College Chapter, a Resident Assistant, and is on the Deans list. Derwin is also the founder of the Montgomery Hope Foundation, an organization dedicate to service to the community. Its motto is "if we can change your thinking, then we can equip you with the tools to change your actions therefore changing your future." Derwin believes that a person is never truly a success unless he is giving back to those who gave to him.
| |
Estefania San Juan | |
|
Born and raised in Colombia, Estefania San Juan moved to Charlotte, NC about six years ago. She enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Fall of 2004, where she double-majored in Political Science and Global Economics within three years. As a student at UNC, she was involved with the Carolina Hispanic Association, where she served as the political chair. Estefania was also vice president of the North Carolina Association of Teen Democrats, and served on the Executive Board of the North Carolina Federation of College Democrats. Estefania also participated in numerous political campaigns, ranging from the 2004 Presidential campaign, to Charlotte City Council campaigns, to Student Congress elections. Her passion is to be an advocate for the advancement of the Latino community in the United States.
| |
Allison Zirkel | |
|
Allison Zirkel grew up in Wisconsin in a town on the Mississippi River and moved to Chapel Hill, NC, when she was 21. She received her BA in Psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill, waiting tables and working for four years with a boy with autism. After graduating, she worked in a group home with adults with developmental disabilities for two years until accepted into the UNC School of Social Work. Allison is graduating this May and looks forward to her internship at Durham CAN this summer. She is interested in potentially pursuing community organizing as a career. Allison lives in a rural town by a river and loves the outdoors. She also plays the piano, saxophone, and saw, and plays in a band she put together recently. Allison has two cats.
| |
Tennessee
Eric Brown | |
|
Born August 21, 1983, in Nashville, TN, Eric is a senior at American Baptist College in the same city. He is the 2007-08 Senior Class President of the Student Government Association, President of his chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and a member of the Hoi Adelphoi Fraternity, Inc. He participated in the Living Wage campaign at Vanderbilt University, helping to secure a 30% raise for employees thanks to community organizing (which he was proud to be a part of!). There are three particular areas that Eric would like to focus his time on after graduation: Improving the public school system, working with a rape center focused on truth and reconciliation, and being part of a ministry that deals with worker justice and rebuilding black neighborhoods.
| |
Diane DeTrizio | |
|
Diane DeTrizio is a twenty year-old native of New Jersey who has been spending a majority of her time in Nashville, Tennessee. Diane is a rising junior at Vanderbilt University with a double major. Her first major is Human & Organizational Development where she plans to be in the International Leadership and Development track. Her second major is Medicine, Health & Society, which is an interdisciplinary program covering many different levels of medicine and public health. Diane hopes to one day go to law school or obtain a Master of Public Health. After graduate education she hopes to work for an international health organization in a research, logistics or law capacity. Diane always said that she wanted to save the world, and although she now knows that is not necessarily feasible, she still aims to do her best to make a difference in it.
| |
Alonzo Fortune | |
|
Alonzo Fortune, 45 years old, was born in Minnesota but grew up in a military family throughout the South. One of three children, Alonzo spent most of his adult life working as a warehouse or factory worker, and worked for the last 15 years as a self-employed carpenter. In January, 2007, he became homeless for the first time in his life. Soon thereafter he found the Nashville Homeless Power Project (NHPP) and has volunteered ever since. He has a fire for community organizing and a great desire to learn. Alonzo was just appointed to represent the NHPP on the Nashville Peace and Justice Center Board of Directors. He sees his Generation Change internship an opportunity to learn what it takes to be a full-time, life-time community organizer. His focus will be on organizing his fellow homeless people to fight for housing and to Get-Out-The-Vote for the August 2nd, 2007 local elections.
| |
Elizabeth Hopkins | |
| Elizabeth Hopkins is originally from Johnson City, Tennessee. Currently Beth is a senior International Studies and Political Science double major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Beth has a passion for social justice issues and enjoys mentoring teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds. She also loves dancing and is president of her dance team Mezmerhythm. The most meaningful experience of Beth's life thus far has been volunteering at an HIV/Aids children's hospice while studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. After her undergraduate career, Beth plans to attend law school and concentrate in civil rights litigation. Beth seeks to use her education to help others through working with non-profit organizations. | |
Jessica Lotz | |
|
Jessica Lotz grew up and continues to go to school in Memphis. Currently, Jessica is a rising senior at Rhodes College. Her previous community service work has been largely based in the Hollywood Springdale community just a few blocks away from Rhodes. Jessica has participated in a variety of programs including health care, environmental, educational and code enforcement initiatives. On campus, she is also highly involved with the Rhodes Women's Center, of which she is also the director of programming, the jazz ensemble, and the V-Day/Vagina Monologues organization. Jessica plans to go to graduate school for Social Service Administration after this summer with the Tennessee Disability Coalition in Nashville.
| |
Natalie Harris Nelson | |
|
Natalie Nelson is currently the Food Bank Coordinator at Progressive Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee. It is through the food bank that Voter Registration was organized and executed. Natalie has been instrumental in forming Parent Power at TNT. She holds a bachelor degree from Grambling State University and is currently pursuing a Masters at Tennessee State University. Natalie is also on the Title I State Board of Practitioners, Associate Minister and Community Advocate. Natalie has three children ages 23,13,9 and one granddaughter.
| |
S. Catalina Nieto | |
|
S. Catalina Nieto was born in Bogota, Colombia. At the age of 19, due to economic difficulties, she moved along with her parents to Illinois. Education was always a priority for her, so immediately after moving to the U.S., Catalina enrolled in the DuPage County Community College. She worked full time while attending school. With hard work and determination, she managed to pay for her classes and be an honors student. After three years she received her A.A and transferred to Northeastern Illinois University where she obtained a B.A in Sociology and Communications in 2006. Throughout her whole career, Catalina has been actively involved with the community. She was a mentor for middle school and high school students with the organization ENLACE (Engaging Latino Communities for Education). She worked as a volunteer for tutoring programs, political campaigns and several leadership summer camps. Her future plans include enrolling in a Masters program in Sociology, and working for organizations that help create positive social change.
| |
Amelia Post | |
|
Amelia Post was born and raised in Berkeley, California. She is finishing her last semester in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Her majors are Culture and Politics and Latin American Studies. She is interested in studying social change and justice. She speaks Spanish and is trying to learn Portuguese so she can move to Brazil. She took time off her sophomore year and lived in Masaya, Nicaragua. She also studied abroad for a semester in Santo Domingo and worked in a rural community. She is currently writing her thesis about undocumented immigrants in Washington, DC. Her interests include prison abolition, immigration reform, youth leadership, arts and activism, public spaces, baking and traveling.
| |
Emily Thaden | |
|
Emily Thaden is a doctoral student in the Community Research & Action program at Vanderbilt he is interested in promoting social justice through research and activism. Emily grew up in Nashville and moved back to attend graduate school. She completed her bachelor's degree at New York University in Psychology and Gender & Sexuality Studies, and has continued working in New York with families and youth who have been diagnosed with mental health disorders. She also works with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities throughout the city. Her current work focuses on the welfare system, low-income housing, organizational change and collaboration. Emily hopes to gain a deeper understanding of how government devolution of social services impacts non-profit organizations and communities and how these groups can best respond within this shifting climate to promote well-being.
| |
Washington D.C.
Sukhdeep Aneja | |
|
Sukhdeep Kaur is an undergraduate at Rice University in Houston, Texas. She is double majoring in political science and policy studies with a concentration in law and justice. She aspires to eventually attend law school in order to become a civil rights lawyer. Born in Punjab, India, Sukhdeep moved to Maryland when she was three. She loves to play and watch almost every sport including football, volleyball, basketball and horse back riding. She is a die hard Washington Wizards and Redskins fan and will support them through thick and thin. She is also a very crafty person and enjoys sewing, knitting and scrap booking. Sukhdeep is known for her busy schedules and extensive amount of stressing, but wouldn't have it any other way. Her experiences as a Sikh woman have defined who she is; a hardworking, determined but also jovial individual who always wears a smile. As a six foot tall Sikh woman, Sukhdeep is unique and proudly stands out in a crowd!
| |
Amye Greene | |
|
Amye Greene is a 2005 graduate of Wesleyan University with a degree in American Studies. During the past two years, Amye provided journalistic and legislative support to the Committee on Homeland Security, the Center for American Progress, the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, and the Sutton Racial Equality Council in London England. As a National Organizer for the Student Campaign for Child Survival, Amye restructured a grassroots student organization dedicated to fighting preventable diseases that afflict children in impoverished counties. She had the opportunity to guide the creativity and power of students into cohesive campaign strategies, and collaborated with religious organizations, hill staff and NGO's such as the WHO and UNICEF. The sum of internship and professional positions has made Amye aware that investing in the empowerment of the most vulnerable yields sustainable improvement.
| |
Shawna Murray | |
|
Shawna Quianna Murray was born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 29, 1987. She graduated second in her class at Woodlawn High school in Baltimore County, Maryland in the year 2005 and she is currently a student at the University of Maryland, College Park, double majoring in Criminal Justice and Family Studies. She is the coordinator for the Prison to College Pipeline, a tutoring program for youth incarcerated in Washington D.C. She led a team of forty-five college students in hurricane relief for the people of New Orleans during the university's Spring Break. She has been recently elected the 1st Vice President of the Black Student Union, the Secretary for Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and the chairperson for the Juvenile and Criminal Justice action committee for the UMCP chapter of the NAACP. Shawna has been active in coordinating rallies and marches for student causes in a diverse student activist group called Community Roots. She has served on the Dean's Advisory Board for University Studies as a representative of the Beyond the Classroom Program, where she will earn a citation in global issues and civic engagement. Ms. Murray has been awarded by Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. for her academic achievement and she was also recognized as one of the Top Ten Student Leaders at the University of Maryland by the Nyumburu Cultural Center.
| |
Kevin Simowitz | |
|
Kevin Simowitz is from Cincinnati, OH, and a graduate of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy High School. He is currently a rising fourth-year student at the University of Virginia, where he is majoring in American Studies. During his time in Virginia, Kevin has been involved in a variety of social justice and community organizing projects, including working with the Virginia Organizing Project and helping to lead a Living Wage Campaign at the University. He hopes to pursue a career in community organizing post-graduation.
| |
Daniela Vann | |
| Daniela Vann is a junior Government and Politics major at the University of Maryland. She is a native of Mexico City and has been living in the United States for the last ten years. She has dedicated the past two years of her college career to many areas of social justice, including workers' rights and the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Currently, she is part of a group on campus that is pushing the University to sign on to a program that would guarantee that all of the University apparel is made in dignified working conditions. When she is not studying and organizing, Daniela enjoys reading, traveling, art and films.
| |
