Coro Fellows Program in Public AffairsSouthern California Class of 2013 - 2014

MaryaBangeeUniversityofCalifornia,Irvine–B.A.English,B.A.SociologyDuring her undergraduate studies,Marya led several campaigns around issues of social justice and civil liberties. Upon graduation, Bangee served as director of Mentors for Academic and Peer Support (MAPS), a UCLA student-led organization dedicated to improving youth education in inner-city high schools. She then worked with the Industrial Areas Foundation, where she collaborated with civic institutions to help disadvantaged communities gain access to healthcare, and organized South LA schools to advocate for better funding. Marya is passionate about the interplay of religion, civic culture and public service, and hopestoutilizeherCoroexperiencetogrowasaneffectiveandethicalleaderinthoseareas.

NickBolesCaliforniaStateUniversity,Chico–B.A.InternationalRelations,B.A.EconomicsNick has traveled through 28 countries, became fully bilingual during study abroad in Spain, and won a University Affairs directorship. Over the past three years, he progressed from an hourly file clerk at a financial service firm to a full-time account manager on tours for artists including Steely Dan, the Beach Boys, and the Eagles. He also devoted time to raising funds and awareness for the ALS foundation as a corporate team captain. In the future, Nick plans to apply his knowledge of the private sector to better servethepublicinterest.

BenBrintUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley–B.A.HistoryBen co-founded the UC Berkeley chapter of a national collegiate non-profit, Challah for Hunger. He helped build it into the largest of forty national chapters, developing an interest in organizational design, management, and advocacy. Ben pursued these interests through Berkeley Hillel, Kappa Alpha Order, Berkeley Student Cooperative housing, and “Yes on Proposition 30” campaigns. He studied public policy and history at Berkeley, graduating with Highest Honors from the History Department. Ben’s academic interests led him to intern in Washington DC and study abroad in Jerusalem. He plans to work in management,politics,media,andcommunitydevelopment.

AnnieW.DearWilliamsCollege–B.A.PoliticalScienceAt Williams College, Annie studied American politics, sparking an interest in community development and state and local policy. She honed these interests in an internship with the state policy think tank, Think New Mexico, in Santa Fe, where she provided research for policy initiatives to improve public policy in New Mexico. Graduating cum laude with honors, she wrote her senior thesis on campaign strategy and the influence of political parties on the 2012 Senate elections. Annie hopes to work in education policy and economic development and implement policy improvements to better communities andsociety.

JoeyFreemanUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley–B.A.AmericanStudiesAt Berkeley, Joey was elected Senator and Student Body Vice President and served as Finance Officer of the UC Student Association. Joey spearheaded advocacy campaigns on behalf of public higher education and led the successful effort to pass historic charter reform in Berkeley, enabling the creation of a student super-majority City Council district. Joey's experience includes internships with a U.S. Senator, LA City Councilwoman, political consulting firm, community organizing coalition and various political campaigns.Hehopestostudybusinessandinternationalrelationsandworkinthepublicarena.

BrianHengesbaughUniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles–B.A.Psychobiology,MinorinSocialThoughtAt UCLA, Brian started Pathway Volunteers, which brought together disabled young adults and UCLA students. During college, he worked in East Africa with a non-profit that teaches HIV education and supports disadvantaged youth. Brian also co-founded a socially conscious fraternity and led an organization that built community gardens. After graduating, Brian joined Teach For America and taught science at a school in rural Arkansas, where he established aWrestling Program, AP Physics Course, and Swahili Club. Brian hopes to pursue a doctorate in Environmental Psychology and encourage policies that fosterprosocialbehavior.

Coro Southern California 1000N.AlamedaSt.LosAngeles,CA90012www.coro.org

Coro Fellows Program in Public AffairsSouthern California Class of 2013 - 2014

PriscillaHsuClaremontMcKennaCollege–B.A.InternationalRelations,MinorinAsianAmericanStudiesPriscilla is passionate about representing underprivileged groups. She enjoys applying practical skills in fundraising and technology to supplement her work experiences. To better understand international conflicts, Priscilla explored foreign policy and human rights with Amnesty International and lived and worked with the Tibetan Women’s Association. Shortly thereafter, she studied ethnic minorities and Chinese culture in China. Upon returning to the US, Priscilla continued her advocacy efforts with low-wage workers in New York and Los Angeles, and created an immigration task force at CMC to increase awarenessoflocalissues.Priscillahopestocontinueherworkservingthecommunity.

LaceyM.JohnsonUniversityofCalifornia,LosAngeles–B.A.PoliticalScienceandPublicAffairsAt UCLA, Lacey’s focus on community development led her to work for SHAPE, a student run non profit organization that mentors underserved youth in south Los Angeles. She also explored her civic interests by completing a year-long research project that examined language access to government services for limited English proficient individuals, in addition to interning for California Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell. After graduating with honors, Lacey began working for the Mayor’s Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development’s Summer Night Lights program. She hopes to pursue a Master’s Degree in Public Policyandworkinthefieldofcommunitydevelopment.

IsaiahMuhammadDickinsonCollege–B.A.PoliticalScienceAt Dickinson College, Isaiah became involved in issues of corporate responsibility and global inequality, which propelled him to create a student organization to hold the college accountable for ending its relations with unethical companies. To better understand global inequality, Isaiah became a Fellow with the Institute of International Public Policy, where he studied how to become a stronger advocate by conducting research on international immigration. Through the fellowship, Isaiah studied comparative politics in Bologna, Italy. Isaiah hopes to shape and implement public policy that promotes economic justice.

AnnaNúñezCommunityRelations,Communications,andMediaProfessionalAnna is passionate about helping her community, providing over 19 years of professional service within non-profits, corporations, city, county and federal government—most recently with Voter Registration for Harris County, TX. Her media experience includes Host and Producer for Latino Voices, Pacifica Radio, and Deputy Producer for Latino USA, NPR. Giving a voice to the voiceless, addressing social inequality, immigrant rights, health disparity, and environmental justice fuel her zeal and volunteerism. Becoming a cancer survivor as a single mother was her greatest learning experience and sharpened her life’s focus to workharder,withintegrity,tomakeastrongerpositiveimpactandensureeverysecondcounts.

AkhilRaoUniversityofCalifornia,Riverside–B.S.BusinessAdministration,MinorinEconomicsWhile at UCR, Akhil studied issues around corporate social responsibility and the intersection of financial policy and economic development, in addition to doing field research in India and studying abroad in China. Since graduating with honors, Akhil has focused on developing new tools with which to explore the effects of various policies and better understand the behavior of individuals in networks. After Coro, Akhil plans to pursue a doctorate in Economics and use data to help organizational policy makers better servetheircommunities.

ScottSilvieraCaliforniaStateUniversity,SanMarcos–B.A.PoliticalScienceScott Silviera was born in a small town in the Central Valley called Lemoore. At CSU, he quickly got involved in many different clubs and organizations, such as the resident advisors, orientation team and student government. From there he developed a passion to advocate for higher education. His senior year he was elected president of the student government and vice president of the California State Student Association. In this capacity, he traveled to every CSU campus advocating for students and spreading his philosophyofconnectinggreatpeoplewithgreatideas.

Coro Southern California 1000N.AlamedaSt.LosAngeles,CA90012www.coro.org