Mariestella Fisher-Vélez

Mariestella is a 2001 psychology graduate of Fordham University and earned a Master’s degree in urban education from Temple University in 2004.  As a VISTA Volunteer in a Philadelphia inner city high school, she worked with the Urban Nutrition Initiative educating low-income communities about healthy eating while supporting locally-grown produce … Read more

Barrett Ebright

Barrett is a 2004 graduate of Willamette University, where she earned a BA in sociology.  Barrett has had academic and practical experience with both urban and rural issues: she served asa case manager for low-income housing residents in Chicago, and later as an Undergraduate Rural Poverty Research and Policy Fellow … Read more

Will Connors

Will is a 2004 graduate of the University of Chicago, where he earned a degree in English and sociology.  He has worked with developmentally disabled children in New Hampshire, children with AIDS  in Boston, underserved middle schoolers in Brooklyn, and determined high schoolers in Chicago.  Will led a service trip … Read more

Philip Colvin

Phil is a 2004 graduate of The College of the Holy Cross with a Bachelor of Arts in political science.  He volunteered for Student Programs for Urban Development, served as a Judicial Advisor, and interned with the Worcester County Food Bank.  He also created the Educated Shopper Program, an educational … Read more

Alexandra Cawthorne Gaines

Alexandra is a graduate of Vassar College where she earned a dual degree in psychology and urban studies.  She spent a semester at American University with the Transforming Communities Program, and is particularly interested in issues affecting disenfranchised communities of color, such as prison reform and education.  In college, she … Read more

Shireen Cama

Shireen graduated with distinction from Yale in 2004 with a degree in economics.  She served as a freshman counselor, coordinated an elementary school tutoring program, and volunteered as a community health educator. She was also a leader in the South Asian Students and Persian Students Associations, worked on health education, … Read more

Alexis Bylander

Alexis earned a degree in political science from Concordia College in 2004.  She also studied public policy in seven European countries and spent a semester abroad study ing in Malta.  She participated in Concordia’s mock trial team, the TOCAR anti-racism taskforce, and was co-leader for a Habitat for Humanity trip … Read more

Dennis Barrett

Dennis graduated magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a double major in political science and history in the Honors Program.  He tutored youth in South Bend, worked with the student run national publication Changing Times, served as dorm president, and organized a weeklong program encouraging students … Read more

Estera Barbarasa

Estera is a 2004 graduate of the University of Chicago, with a major in political science and a minor in psychology.  She tutored children through the Woodlawn After-School Kids Program, researched country condition information for political asylum seekers, and studied abroad in Italy. An internship at America’s Second Harvest exposed … Read more

P.J. Andrews

P.J. is a 2004 graduate of Tufts University where he majored in American Studies, minored in Africa in the New World Studies, and completed an honors thesis examining Cape Verdean American identity.  He also completed the Public Policy and International Affairs fellowship at the University of Michigan.  P.J. co-founded and … Read more

Jennifer Mayer

2nd Class, 2003-2005 Field Placement: USAID Africa Bureau, Uganda Jennifer served as the mission’s Humanitarian Coordinator, overseeing relief activities funded by the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and serving as the principal mission liaison with OFDA and the NGOs … Read more

Rosa L.

2nd Class, 2003-2005 Field Placement: International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Washington, DC Rosa researched setting up a self-sustaining US Committee for IFAD and Rural Poverty with 501(c)3 status that could serve as a replicable model for IFAD outreach in … Read more