Washington DC |2008

Derek Martin is the Research Director for Allied Progress, a consumer advocacy organization that holds the financial services industry and its allies in Congress and the White House accountable in order to advance strong protections for consumers and student loan borrowers. During his time at Allied Progress, Derek has been involved in initiatives to defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), protect payday loan borrowers, and end discriminatory lending practices.

Previously, Derek spent several years consulting on electoral campaigns and independent expenditure efforts throughout the country at the local, state, and federal level. His work helped elect progressive leaders in states including Florida, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Virginia.

In addition to his work on campaigns, Derek worked at the U.S. Department of Defense, supporting the counterintelligence mission within the IT supply chain and helping to devise risk mitigation strategies for the federal government.

Originally from the Kansas City-area, Derek earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Kansas, graduating from the Honors Program. In addition to his professional work, Derek has been active in the Washington, DC Jewish Community and involved with fundraising efforts for WalkMS. Outside of the office, Derek can be found seeing live music throughout the east coast, extolling the virtues of Kansas City Bar-B-Que, staying fit, and fully embracing the sharing economy.

Mimi Woldeyohannes is a Special Projects & Community Manager at The 74, a nonpartisan, nonprofit education media group, where she works on priorities from live events to partnerships to expanding their portfolio of initiatives that connect with different communities across the country. In addition to supporting some existing special projects, she oversees a dynamic partnership between The 74 and award-winning journalist and education advocate Roland Martin and works closely with Roland and his team on event production, coalition building, and audience engagement initiatives connected to his "School Choice is the Black Choice" media tour. Prior to The 74, Mimi served as a Policy & Research Associate at 50CAN, where she worked on strategic evidence-based education policy and advocacy priorities across the nation. 

Mimi’s passion for education policy and advocacy emerged when she joined Teach For America as a 2013 corps member teaching fourth and fifth grade math and science in San Antonio, Texas. After spending two years in the traditional public school system, she moved back to her hometown of Dallas to teach fifth grade science at KIPP DFW, a college preparatory charter school. Inside the classroom, she quickly learned of the inequities and discrepancies in the education system and has since dedicated her life to ensuring that every child has access to excellent and equitable educational opportunities. 

Mimi is a recent graduate of American University where she earned her Master’s degree in public administration in May 2018. She also holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in political science from Texas Christian University. Mimi, a member of Delta Sigma Sorority, Inc., serves on multiple boards including Learnabi and is the co-chair of the TFA DC region alumni organization, The Bridge. 

Afif Rahman is a management consultant, policy advocate, and non-profit leader. He currently works as a Lead Analyst with Protagonist Technology, providing strategic consulting to foundations, non-profits, corporations, and government agencies through big data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. He has previously worked as a Democratic political strategist and pollster with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), helping elect Democrats nationwide to Congress. Afif also has a robust policy research background having studied housing and urban development with the US Human Rights Network, youth labor at the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, and discrimination against Muslim Americans and marginalized communities at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding.

Passionate about equitable social change and inclusive civic participation, Afif co-founded the Poligon Education Fund, a national Congressional advocacy and civic education organization amplifying Muslim American voices in Congress. Serving in the Executive Director role and, currently, as a board member, he helps lead the development of the organization and its strategic vision and shapes its legislative advocacy and policy education work. A native Bostonian, Afif previously co-founded MassMuslims, an organization empowering Muslim Americans in Massachusetts through civic engagement, advocacy, education, and leadership development.

Afif has been an American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute Fellow at the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture and a Millennial Leaders Project Fellow at Union Theological Seminary. He was a National Merit Scholar at Northeastern University, where he received his B.S. in Neuropsychology and Mathematics. His interests include impact investing, public policy, and all things basketball.

Ashley Harrington is the Director of the National Social Justice Program for the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). As a member of the Public Policy and Government Affairs team, Ashley leads new policy and programmatic efforts to address the systemic issues that have perpetuated racial and economic inequality. She builds partnerships with UNCF member institutions, policymakers, and other advocates to advance equity through both policy change and community engagement and education. She is currently focused on criminal justice reform, especially as it intersects with higher education. In addition to spearheading this program, Ashley works on student debt issues.

Prior to joining UNCF, Ashley worked at the Center for Responsible Lending(CRL) as Special Assistant to the President and Counsel. At CRL, Ashley took a lead role in federal policy and advocacy efforts related to student loans. She also recently served as a primary negotiator for the Department of Education’s Borrower Defense to Repayment Rulemaking Committee.  Ashley previously served as Special Assistant to the Chief Diversity Officer in the Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo, focusing on supplier diversity in government contracting and state workforce diversity.

Originally from Greensboro, NC, Ashley received her BA in Public Policy Analysis from UNC-Chapel Hill, where she was a Morehead-Cain Scholar and a Gates Millennium Scholar. After UNC, Ashley earned her JD from New York University School of Law. At NYU, Ashley was a Derrick Bell Public Service Scholar and an Articles Editor of the NYU Law Review. Upon graduation, she was awarded the Vanderbilt Medal for outstanding service to the law school community. Ashley is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Becca AbuRakia-Einhorn is the Coordinator of Education Abroad at Gallaudet University, the world's first and only university in the world designed to be barrier-free for the deaf and hard of hearing. At Gallaudet, she is currently building the office of Education Abroad, which has never existed before at the University. In her position, Becca supports all students who wish to intern, study, or volunteer abroad during their time at Gallaudet. She serves as the advisor for the Fulbright Student Program, the Critical Language Scholar program, the Boren Fellowship, and the Gilman Scholarship. Traveling, studying, and living abroad opened doors for her and she is passionate about helping young people of all backgrounds find ways to explore the world. She advocates broadly in the field of International Education for deaf and hard of hearing students (as well as all students with disabilities) to have more access to study abroad programs. She is a graduate of the NAFSA Academy program for International Educators and has spoken at the NAFSA National conference and the CIEE National Conference in 2018.

Becca holds a BA from Pomona College in Claremont, California, an MA in International Affairs from American University's School of International Service, and an MPA from American University's School of Public Affairs.

Outside of her job, she is a StartingBloc Innovation Fellow and a founding member of IfNotNow, a movement of Jews working to end American Jewish support for the occupation of Palestine. She is Jewish and proudly married to a Palestinian Muslim who she met while living in Israel after college. She is a lover of languages and speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, Palestinian Arabic, Hebrew, and American Sign Language. Becca and her husband live with their large Pitbull/American bulldog Uno in Park View, DC

Brandon Lewis is an analyst with Bellwether Education Partners in the Policy and Thought Leadership practice area. Prior to joining Bellwether in 2018, Brandon worked as the Manager of Education and Health Policy at the National Urban League, where he shaped the League’s educational equity agenda and analysis of the Every Student Succeeds Act. He began his career as an educator and Teach For America corps member in Houston, TX, where he focused on developing a culturally responsive classroom in which students were both intellectually challenged and culturally embraced.

Prior to joining the National Urban League, Brandon was Regional Organizing Director with Hillary for America, serving the South Carolina and Florida organizing teams. As a community organizer, he worked with local grassroots leaders and activists to build diverse coalitions, expand voting access, and develop volunteer teams. He is a former Congressional Black Caucus Foundation intern and Public Policy and International Affairs Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Urban Studies from Columbia University.

Cristela Solorio Ruiz currently serves as the Western Regional Campaign Manager at Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA). In this role, Cristela develops and executes campaign plans in partnership with local affiliates, providing critical support on resource needs and allocations. Her team played an instrumental role on the ground game for the successful midterm elections in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and across the western region.

Before joining PPFA, Cristela served as a political appointee in the Obama administration at the Department of Agriculture in the Office of Congressional Relations and Intergovernmental Affairs. Prior to joining the Administration, Cristela worked on the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the state of Connecticut with Access Health CT where she was instrumental in nearly 200,000 people receiving health insurance, with many of those being Latinxs, and members of disenfranchised communities.

Cristela is an alumnus of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Public Policy Fellowship Program, where she worked at UnidosUS (formerly NCLR), and the office of Congressman Luis V. Gutierrez (Il-04). Before arriving to D.C., Cristela was a Staff Assistant for Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard in her district office (CA-40). She earned a B.A. in Politics with a minor in Legal Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Born in Los Angeles California, Cristela is one of three siblings. She has resided in Washington D.C. for the past six years and has been actively engaged in local community organizing and advocacy. She has served on the board of the GLBT Latino History Project, is a founding member of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Washington DC Lambda Council and current President of the CHCI DC Chapter Alumni-Association. In her spare time, Cristela loves to cook, spend time with friends and is an avid concert goer.

With over 6 years of experience working at multiple levels of government and electoral work across the western part of the United States, Cristela works to leverage her experience to move progressive agendas through election, advocacy, and program management.

Eboni-Rose Thompson is focused on children’s issues nationally and locally.  A proud native Washingtonian, Thompson was educated in both DC Public Schools and the charter sector. She was the first valedictorian of the SEED School of Washington, DC and went on to receive a BA in History from the University of Pennsylvania, while working in their Office of Government and Community Affairs. Eboni-Rose was recognized as one the DMV’s “Top 30 Under 30” by WKYS 93.9 for her professional and volunteer work and recognized as one of East River Family Strengthening Collaborative’s Ward 7 Women of Excellence.

She started her career with DC Public Schools in the Office of Family and Public Engagement. While at DCPS, she worked with schools to improve engagement with parents, families, and community members. For that work, she received the Founder’s Day award from DC PTA, which highlighted her citywide parent leadership efforts. She has held positions with Save the Children US, a leading organization that creates equity and opportunity for children globally and worked with Educare DC. Currently, Eboni-Rose serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at America’s Promise. In this role, she works to lead an alliance of more than 450 national partners working across-sectors to better serve young people.

Ms. Thompson’s work in her community includes three terms as an advisory neighborhood commissioner and the Chair of the Ward 7 Education Council. She is the former legislative chair for DC PTA and has been a contributor for Greater Greater Education. Eboni-Rose has had the honor of being appointed to several city taskforces representing her community, including the Citywide Taskforce for Student Assignment and School Boundaries, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s transition team, the Ward 7 redistricting committee following the 2010 census, and the Empowering Males High School Community Cabinet.

As an education advocate, Eboni-Rose firmly believes Nelson Mandela’s assertion “there can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” Through her work with the Ward 7 Education Council, Thompson has given away over 20,000 books, thousands of book bags filled with school supplies, and advocated for millions of funding for community schools, including more than $60 million to modernize neighborhood schools and working to secure at-risk funding citywide.

Emily Chong is an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Neighborhood Legal Services Program (NLSP), sponsored by Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. She is deeply committed to fighting for racial, economic, and social justice; at NLSP, Emily focuses on housing discrimination and provides affirmative legal representation, community education, and policy advocacy to help low-income DC residents overcome obstacles to accessing housing.

She earned a B.A. in political science and psychology from Vanderbilt University, where she graduated with honors and was selected for the Susan Jung Award. Emily earned her J.D. from Georgetown Law, where she served as the President of the Asian Pacific American Law Student Association and pursued her passion for public interest and civil rights law through a variety of internships at nonprofits and federal agencies, such as the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and Community Legal Services. A Georgetown Law Scholar and Public Interest Fellow, she was selected for the Leslie Turner Opportunity Scholarship and awarded the Dean’s Certificate for special and outstanding service to the Georgetown community.

Outside the workplace, Emily volunteers with the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs at their Workers’ Rights Clinics, and she also serves on the Board of Directors for the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership, a nonprofit that seeks to empower Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) youth by increasing access to public service opportunities and building a strong AANHPI public service pipeline. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, reading, doing yoga, and getting ice cream.

Jesse Barba is a Vice President at Cassidy & Associates, where he helps clients successfully navigate the legislative and regulatory landscape across the federal government. Jesse strives to build strategic relationships for stakeholders and clients so they may secure critical investments and help educate decision makers in Washington. He currently works with some of industry’s leading companies in the energy & environment, transportation, technology, and education spaces.

Formerly, Jesse worked on Capitol Hill as a Legislative Assistant to U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH) where he managed a public policy portfolio that included energy, financial services, transportation, and labor issues. He was responsible for monitoring federal policy, interacting with state and local government stakeholders and briefing lawmakers and their staff on Congressional and Administration initiatives and priorities. He also served as the Congresswoman’s liaison to the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Congressional Alaskan Pacific Asian Caucus and has strong connections to the Congressional Black Caucus. Jesse earlier served a similar role to U.S. Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY).

Jesse is a co-founder of EDGE (Electing a Democratic Generation), which works with young Democratic lawmakers and candidates by serving as both a policy advisory and political support apparatus. This includes helping to formulate and support policies important to our generation, serving as a conduit and platform for amplifying the work of young Democratic policymakers, pooling our individual and employer/client affiliated PAC resources to fundraise for their campaign, and organizing field deployments to provide active boots on the ground support.

A native of New York, Jesse earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from American University and a master’s degree in legislative affairs at The George Washington University, Graduate School of Political Management.

Jessica currently serves at The Management Center (TMC) as Vice President of Training Services. As a dual trainer and manager, Jessica has the privilege to train an emerging generation of social justice leaders on the work practices that will distinguish them amongst their peers, deepen their impact in their organizations, and propel them into the leadership opportunities that await. This training centers the work of progressive groups in the country who are deeply entrenched in bringing about social change. Jessica’s work is to walk alongside individuals and organizations as they navigate their unique contexts and help equip them for the victories to come.

Before TMC, Jessica worked as a youth developer and reproductive justice advocate. In partnership with 24 DC Public and Public Charter schools, Jessica trained, employed, and developed hundreds of DC teens as educators and advocates and fought to establish their seat at the decision-making table. Over the past 11 years, Jessica has worked passionately in the Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, Atlanta, and DC non-profit communities to build power in organizations, schools, and households where concentrated poverty restricts access and stifles potential. She’s made it her work to grapple with the complexities of reproductive justice, education inequity, homelessness, foster care, and racial justice with an eye for leading the rigorous and compassionate programming that marginalized communities deserve.

Jessica is a proud University of Florida Gator, Georgia State University Panther, and lifelong member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. In her spare time, she serves faithfully as a Youth Ministry leader, small-group curriculum developer, and Young Adult Ministry volunteer. On Saturdays, Jessica can be found thrifting and exploring new food in the DC Metro area. She is the daughter of two Panamanian parents who instilled in her the value of a life of service, relentless pursuit of justice, and gratitude.
 

Jocelyn R. McDaniel is a passionate social equity strategist, writer and speaker. Her life’s mission is to end the cycle of generational poverty by working at the intersection of a number of different social policy areas such as racial justice, economic justice, education equity and criminal justice. She currently works at Teach For America, an organization dedicated to making sure all students in our nation receive access to high quality education, as the Director, Federal Funding. In addition to her work at Teach For America, she is also re-launching her own social equity firm in the Spring of 2019.

Jocelyn graduated from the University of Arkansas with a double degree in Political Science and Communications and earned a Masters Degree in Education Policy and Management from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Jocelyn found her calling for leadership and service at the University of Arkansas where she served her campus community by participating in student government and leading in many campus-based organizations as either President or Vice President. Notably, she has also served as the International 2nd Vice President for America’s first black greek lettered sorority, positioning her as the 3rd highest ranking officer for an organization of over 280,000 black women.

After college, Jocelyn worked on Capitol Hill in Senator Mark Pryor’s office through the Congressional Black Caucus’ Emerging Leaders Program. She then moved back to her home state (Arkansas) to teach for 2 years as a 2nd Grade Teacher at KIPP Delta Elementary Literacy Academy through the Teach for America Program. Since then, she has held many roles in education policy, consulting and program management. In her spare time, she serves on the Board of Harvard Black Alumni Society-DC as the Director of Development and Alumni Relations and participates in various civic and volunteer engagement opportunities.

John Qua is the US Teams Coordinator for 350.org where he organizes communities across the US to demand action on climate change from their elected officials. He joined 350 in the summer of 2018 to help mobilize voters around federal candidates campaigning for climate justice, and in support of state ballot initiatives to tax carbon polluters and invest in clean energy. John got his start as a community organizer in 2006 during the fight for marriage equality in his two home states of Rhode Island and Connecticut – where he fell in love with organizing for its ability to affect lasting change while bringing together communities over shared values.

Since then, he’s worked on many different kinds of campaigns across the country: to mobilize Pennsylvania voters for President Obama in 2008, to fight back against factory farming malpractice in Texas, and to prevent the deforestation of old growth forest in North Carolina. Most recently, John spent 2 years as the Field Manager of Global Zero – where he led a team of activists rallying young people for continued nuclear disarmament and against the threat of nuclear war, specifically helping to build support for a federal No First Use policy. Outside of work, John co-founded 350 DC in 2013 – a local climate justice advocacy group for the DC metro area that has successfully pushed the DC City Council to divest from fossil fuels, set up a Green Bank, and publicly oppose pipelines threatening the city’s main water source in the Potomac River. He sits on the board of the Janelia Foundation where he helps fund youth organizing around peace and climate justice. John got his Bachelor’s in International Relations from Brown University in 2013.

Karen M. Kolivoski, PhD, MSW is an Assistant Professor at the Howard University School of Social Work, where she is a faculty member and researcher in the Community, Administration, and Policy (CAP) Practice concentration. Her social work-related interests involve intersections of the child welfare, juvenile, and criminal justice systems. Her goal is to advance social justice through improving the lives of children and youth who experience being involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems, including reducing racial disparities.

Dr. Kolivoski was born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, where she saw racial and economic disparities firsthand. There, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Mercyhurst College in 2005, graduating summa cum laude. She then graduated with a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree in 2006 and a Ph.D. in Social Work in 2012, both from the University of Pittsburgh. Her career next took her to Baltimore, MD, where again, she was witness to racial and economic inequalities. There, she completed a three-year postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Maryland, Baltimore School of Social Work. In 2015, Dr. Kolivoski began her faculty position at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she continues her research, mentors students, and teaches courses in social welfare policy and criminal justice in the MSW program.

Dr. Kolivoski is also a Data Consultant for the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR). In this role, she supports jurisdictions across the U.S. that are implementing the Crossover Youth Practice Model (CYPM). Dr. Kolivoski also works locally with two DC metro area counties on CYPM implementation and evaluation.

She is a recent recipient of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) American Fellowship. She has also received competitive training fellowships to attend the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Building a Multidisciplinary Pipeline of Researchers in Child Abuse and Neglect: Summer Training Institute for Early Career Transitioning Scholars (R25; 2018) and the Summer Research Institute from the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect (NDACAN) at Cornell University (2015).

In addition to her professorial research and professional memberships, she regularly publishes in and provides peer-review for several journals, and is an editorial board member for Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal and Journal of Children and Poverty.

She currently lives in Silver Spring, MD, with her husband and dog.
 

Kevin serves as the Budget and Finance Advisor to the Deputy Mayor for Education in the Executive Office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia. In that role, Kevin coordinates the budget formulation for DC’s education agencies, including DC Public Schools, public charter schools, DC public libraries, parks and recreation, and the University of the District of Columbia. Prior to joining the Deputy Mayor’s office, Kevin worked in the Office of Teaching and Learning at DC Public Schools, supporting principals and teachers with STEM and using technology in the classroom.

Originally from Rochester, NY, Kevin attended undergrad at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned a B.A. in Public Policy and Political Science. Following his time at UNC, Kevin joined Teach For America as a middle grades math teacher in a high needs school in Charlotte, NC, where his students attained the highest school-wide growth rate his second and third years teaching. Kevin then earned his Master of Public Administration degree from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, where he focused on public finance and social policy. In his spare time, Kevin cheers on Carolina and Syracuse basketball and performs with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington.

Khadijah Williams is a nationally recognized advocate for homeless youth and a survivor. After nearly 20 years of homelessness — including in Los Angeles’ infamous Skid Row— Khadijah was accepted into Harvard University, where she graduated in 2013 with a bachelor’s of arts in sociology. Her journey from homelessness to Harvard was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2009, and she has since completed dozens of interviews and speaking engagements across the country. She’s received advocacy awards from School on Wheels, the Union Rescue Mission, and the New York City Department of Education; and her story has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Essence Magazine, and Oprah’s Where Are They Now?. Khadijah Williams is a member of the Board of Directors at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and is also an education policy professional.

Khadijah recently completed nearly four years at the DC Board of Education Office of the Ombudsman for Public Education, where she was promoted to Legislative Affairs Specialist. In this role she educated councilmembers and other decision makers on the policy implications of the problems DC families faced in the public-school system, and made policy recommendations based on these implications. Expanding on her work at the Ombudsman office, Khadijah will soon transition to her new role of Senior Education Organizer at Rocketship Public Schools - where she will lead the DC branch’s work in parent leadership development, organizing, and mobilizing.   

Khadijah strongly believes that the educational inequities we currently grapple with require diverse leaders with diverse perspectives to develop lasting change. In her daily life, Khadijah seeks opportunities to identify, challenge, and change prevailing narratives about educating vulnerable youth, while ensuring there is a place for marginalized voices within both the affected community and within positions of power. Ultimately, Khadijah plans to lead and turn around a struggling school district and alter the education reform industrial complex’s decision-making process and its inherent assumptions.  

Nairobi is currently a fellow at Citizens Climate Lobby. At Citizens Climate Lobby, Nairobi testified before the DC City Council regarding the Clean Energy Omnibus bill and the harms that climate change has on communities of color, worked with the Salt Lake City mayor's office to introduce a carbon pricing resolution at the US Conference of Mayors, and wrote policy analyses for federal legislation. Prior to being a fellow, Nairobi was the Director of Operations for a member of Congress, managing a legislative portfolio of telecommunications, energy, climate change, technology, and science. She also supported the member’s role as Congressional Black Caucus Whip and hired junior staffers. During her time on the hill, she worked to protect the FCC Lifeline program, drafted the Top 1% Accountability bill, and drafted amendments to prevent pipelines that harm the Great Lakes. Before moving to DC, she worked as an algebra II, trigonometry and calculus teaching assistant at Chicago State University. In addition to her work experience, Nairobi volunteers with the Climate Emergency Coalition - leading federal policy strategies, at the DC Youth Services Center, Free Minds Book Club and Writing Workshop, and delivers meals for Food and Friends. She is also a classically trained cellist.

A native of Milwaukee, WI, Nairobi earned a bachelor's degree from Temple University and a bilingual master's degree in comparative politics and public policy from the Universite de Montpellier in Montpellier, France.

Nic Hill is a Business Development Manager at Service Year Alliance where she develops and manages partnerships with the philanthropic community.  These partnerships help ensure as many young people as possible have the opportunity to strengthen communities and develop personal and professional skills through a year of paid, full-time service.  She developed a commitment to national service and community engagement during her year of service with the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps in Denver, CO. Her experiences there led her to positions with Teach For America in DC and later City Year in New York.  In both roles, she formed partnerships with philanthropic partners, schools and community-based organizations to help ensure that students received the resources and support they needed to be successful in and out of school. Most recently, Nic worked for DC Public Schools in their Office of Family and Public Engagement managing a portfolio of high-profile school partnerships and developing the district’s first Adopt-a-School Program, partnering non-profits and for-profits with public schools. Nic is passionate about project management, partnership development, and community engagement and the ways in which these skills help to build bridges across communities and elevate the importance of equity in cross-sector collaborations. In her spare time, Nic enjoys all things storytelling including movies, books, podcasts, improv, and watching live storytelling performances.
 

Tara currently serves as a Staff Assistant in the United States Senate office of Senator Dianne Feinstein (CA-D) where she is focused on technology policy and national security. Tara began her career in the private sector but has always had a passion for public service and civic engagement. Prior to joining the Senate, she spent three years working in financial services and the financial technology sector. Most recently, she worked in Product Development at Fundrise, a FinTech startup in DC dedicated to making it possible for anyone to become a real estate investor, regardless of income or net worth. Previously, she worked as a Securitized Product Sales Analyst for Nomura Securities International, a global investment bank in New York City. During the 2016 presidential election, Tara balanced her work at Fundrise with her role as a Community Organizing Fellow on the Hillary for America campaign. Following the 2016 election, she decided to leave the private sector to work in public service full-time.


Tara was raised in New York City as the proud daughter of Iranian-American immigrants. She has always been passionate about increasing minority representation at all levels of public leadership. She has worked to mobilize Iranian-American voter turnout and civic engagement and raised money for progressive Iranian-American candidates running for office. In 2017, Tara was named one of the Iranian-American Women Foundation’s “Rising Stars” for founding Iranians of America, a social media campaign dedicated to sharing the human stories and contributions of Iranian-American immigrants in the United States. Tara received her B.A. from Cornell University where she double majored in Government and Near Eastern Studies.