The 2009 Class of the Leadership Academy

Meet the Leadership Academy participants! These 21 young professionals, selected after an extensive and competitive application process, are deeply engaged in the movement and looking to take their careers and leadership to the next level.

The new class is a diverse bunch: 60 percent are people of color, 23 percent identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender, and 60 percent are women. Ninety percent of the participants have successfully completed YP4’s first-year fellowship program and all have successfully completed a previous leadership development experience in the movement. The fellows span 11 states from the East to the West Coast and represent a mix of rural and urban areas.

Five participants will complete paid fellowships at progressive organizations in their home states; the rest are young professionals working at a range of progressive organizations across all sectors.

ADA ARONEANU

Fellowship Year: 2007
College Attended: Pomona College
Major: Politics
Organization: 1Sky
Location: Maryland

Ada Aroneanu has spent the past five years working in the social justice and environmental movements. As a student, she worked on labor issues and immigrants’ rights in both Los Angeles and Latin America. After cofounding the Pomona Campus Climate Challenge, she led the college to an institutional commitment to achieve climate neutrality. Having completed a Blueprint for Social Justice through the Young People For fellowship program and received a Draper research grant, Ada went on to campaign work after graduation. She first directed a Sierra Club State Action Fund campaign office in Washington, D.C., then was an organizer for Power Shift 2007, the largest youth climate conference ever held. Currently, Ada is the field and outreach assistant for 1Sky, a collaborate campaign pushing for strong federal action on global warming. Ada holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from Pomona College, where she received the Pomona College Award in Contemporary Politics.

ANGIE BUHL

Fellowship Year: 2007
College Attended: University of South Dakota
Major: Psychology
Organization: National Stonewall Democrats
Location: Washington, D.C.

Angie Buhl has been an active political organizer for five years. Most recently, she was hired as the development associate at NARAL Pro-Choice South Dakota, a statewide reproductive rights advocacy organization. Previously, Angie served as an organizing consultant for National Stonewall Democrats, working to mobilize members around a statewide civil union bill in Illinois. She has also worked for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Los Angeles, Calif., building public support for marriage equality.

In 2006, Angie helped lead the effort to defeat South Dakota’s anti-gay ballot initiative. She organized a broad coalition to defeat the amendment and mobilized a team of nearly 200 volunteers that surprised the country by winning 48.4 percent of the vote.

In 2007, she joined the boards of directors of National Stonewall Democrats and Equality South Dakota and was a fellow with Young People For and the Front Line Leaders Academy. Angie is a native of Yankton, South Dakota, and is a recent graduate of the University of South Dakota, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology. As a student, she was active in her campus chapter of Amnesty International as well as USD Democrats and the school’s pro-choice and LGBT student groups.

MIA CAMBRONERO

Partner Affiliation: New Organizing Institute
College Attended: Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service
Majors: International Politics; International Law
Organization: Paid Fellowship Recipient (New Organizing Institute)
Location: Virginia

Maria Paz “Mia” Cambronero is from Alajuela, Costa Rica and a graduate of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service, where she studied international politics and international law. Mia led Georgetown’s chapter of STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition in organizing advocacy efforts to fight the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan. In 2007, she joined STAND’s national leadership, serving as the coalition’s first international coordinator, and spent a year organizing student Darfur advocates from around the world. Since its foundation, STAND International has provided students in dozens of countries with resources for their advocacy, education and fundraising efforts. She has also helped to organize athletes around the issue of genocide for the Olympic Dream for Darfur campaign and for the international athlete coalition Team Darfur. Mia has lived in Guatemala, Peru, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and northern Virginia. While she misses adventuring the mountains, beaches and rainforests of Costa Rica, she loves exploring D.C., watching and producing theater, finding unusual places to read, playing WebBoggle and keeping in touch with her family back home via Skype.

Ultimately, Mia wants to be a fully empowered lawyer to help bring global attention to the most severe human rights abuses of our time. She hopes to be a leader in bringing people of all nationalities together in targeted political action, acting as a facilitator to make the progressive movement global.

ELIZABETH CAMUTI

Fellowship Year: 2006
Colleges Attended: Indiana University, Bloomington; New York University
Major: Individualized Study: Management of Public and Political Policy & Jewish Studies
Organization: Scott+Yandura Consulting
Location: Washington, D.C.

Elizabeth Camuti is the senior political assistant at Scott+Yandura Consulting. A recent graduate of Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in both Jewish Studies and Management of Public and Political Policy, Elizabeth wrote her senior capstone thesis about the history of youth involvement in the progressive movement, focusing on a roadmap to the future. She is a graduate of the Young People For fellowship program and the Front Line Leaders Academy campaign development program.

Prior to Scott+Yandura, Elizabeth held positions in development, fundraising for People For the American Way Foundation, the AFL-CIO’s Pride At Work, the League of Young Voters Education Fund, and the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center. Elizabeth currently serves on the Union for Reform Judaism Youth Division’s Junior and Senior High School Committee, working to engage young people in social justice work at an early age. She enjoys spending time mentoring young progressives in their professional development.

CHRISSY COOLEY

Fellowship Year: 2006
College Attended: The Ohio State University
Major: Environmental Science
Organization: The Ohio State University
Location: Ohio

Chrissy Cooley began attending the Ohio State University in 2003, where she began the environmental group Students for a Sustainable Campus with several other motivated students. The group worked to develop a collaborative relationship with the university in order to push for environmental policies. After attending the YP4 National Summit in 2006, Chrissy used the skills she learned to start an annual Scarlet, Gray and Green Festival in the fall. The festival has served as a catalyst for environmental achievements and collaborations ever since. It also launched Students for a Sustainable Campus into other projects such as lobbying for a green building policy, CFL raids, movie screenings and placement on several key policy task forces in the university’s administration.

While working on an environmentally responsible purchasing task force, Chrissy advocated for the creation of a sustainability coordinator position to work full-time on the issue. During one meeting, the assistant vice president of the university turned and said, “If you want it so bad, you do it.” Chrissy has now been Ohio State’s sustainability coordinator for almost a year and enjoys biking to work every day as part of greening up the largest university in the country.

CRYSTALLEE CRAIN

Fellowship Year: 2006
Colleges Attended: Delta College; Northern Michigan University; Eastern Michigan University
Majors: Political Science; Social Sciences
Organization: American Friends Service Committee
Location: Michigan

Crystallee Rene Crain is an activist, community organizer, journalist and teacher. She is an associate fellow with the Transformative Studies Institute and a Young People For senior fellow. Crystallee is a native of Flint, Mich., and currently resides in Ypsilanti, Mich. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a Master of Arts in Social Sciences. Currently she is working towards her Ph.D. in transformative studies with the California Institute of Integral Studies. She has experience working in campaign management, direct advocacy and lobbying, as well as grassroots organizing in diverse as well as homogenous communities. Her passion lies in community organizing, creating safe spaces for LGBTQ people of color, and nonpartisan voter mobilization. She believes that all people have a voice and should have the opportunity to participate in the political process.

Crystallee has been a part of the Front Line Leaders Academy, a campaign training program through People For the American Way Foundation. She has also served on YP4’s steering committee. In the sociology courses that she has taught in institutions of higher education, Crystallee has successfully organized her own students around social justice issues. Crystallee has organized in Flint, Ypsilanti, Kalamazoo, Saginaw and Benton Harbor, Mich., through her Michigan Voter Engagement Project. Most recently she has been working with Advocates for Youth as an online peer educator for young people struggling with their sexual identities and sexual orientation. She is also working with groups across the state of Michigan to secure safe places for LGBTQ people of color.

APRIL JOY DAMIAN

Fellowship Year: 2008
Colleges Attended: City College of San Francisco; University of California, Berkeley; Universidad Complutense
Majors: Ethnic Studies; Pre-Med
Organization: Paid Fellowship Recipient
Location: California

April Joy G. Damian graduated with high distinction and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in ethnic studies with a concentration in public health and health disparities/inequalities. She completed her honors thesis concerning heart disease among United States-born Filipinos and Filipino immigrants, earning the highest honors in her department. April Joy attended UC Berkeley as an Incentive Awards Program Scholar, the university’s most prestigious award to first-generation college students who have demonstrated leadership potential, high academic performance, and a commitment to serve others. She was also named a 2005 Truman Scholar.

While a student at UC Berkeley, April Joy founded the South of Market (SoMa) Scholars Mentorship Program, a one-on-one mentorship program matching college students with low-income adolescents of color. Upon graduation, April Joy served as a program analyst for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. She also volunteered as an instructor for a science and health course and an English as a Second Language (ESL) course. Through Young People For’s Capacity Building Program, April Joy is currently interning with the Chronic Diseases Program at the Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum this summer. She plans to apply for a joint M.D./M.P.H. program.

KARI FULTON

Fellowship Year: 2007
College Attended: Howard University
Major: Communications and Culture; Concentration in Legal Communications
Organization: Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative
Location: Washington, D.C.

Kari Fulton is a graduate of the John H. Johnson School of Communications at Howard University, a Young People For senior fellow and a 2008 recipient of the Damu Smith Power of One Award (Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard University) and the Brower Youth Award (Earth Island). She serves as the Campus Climate Challenge coordinator for the Environmental Justice and Climate Change Initiative and was a lead student organizer for Power Shift 2007, the first-ever national youth summit on climate change. While attending Howard, Fulton was a board member of the university’s chapter of Amnesty International, tutored D.C. public school students as an AmeriCorp member and cofounded Loving Our City, Loving Ourselves, a D.C.-based campus and community initiative.

Kari mobilizes students of color around issues of environmental and climate justice. She represents these issues by speaking at events, recruiting youth of color and connecting social justice activists to environmentalism. Kari hopes to play a role in developing other strong leaders who will build the capacity of the youth climate movement. She wants to play a role in building a world that is cleaner, safer and economically stronger.

PAUL GOMEZ

Fellowship Year: 2007
Colleges Attended: CUNY Hunter College; Westchester Community College
Major: Sociology
Organization: Paid Fellowship Recipient
Location: New York

Paul Gomez is passionate about youth empowerment, community development, and addressing issues in low-income areas. He is a graduate of Westchester Community College and is currently in the process of completing an undergraduate degree in sociology. He is the assistant director of a newly developing Westchester Community College internship program that is committed to helping students find paid internships that will complement their academic training and provide professional experience. He is also developing a summer program for the youth of his community; the program will include recreational opportunities, educational, historical and artistic excursions, scholarship opportunities, and a host of community events.

Currently, Paul works for a nonprofit organization dedicated to building brighter futures for people with learning and developmental disabilities and their families. He has collaborated with the founder of Project 22, a grassroots organization dedicated to reaching today’s youth and building tomorrow’s leaders through various art forms. They collaborated to host a community event to raise awareness of misogyny, violence, homophobia, and the distorted depiction of manhood in hip-hop. During the Leadership Academy, Paul plans to develop his vision for a gang outreach program dedicated to addressing the needs of young males in gangs, helping them to safely transition out of gang life and reclaim their position as positive men in today’s society.

KATHRYN GONZALES

Fellowship Year: 2008
College Attended: The University of Texas at Austin
Major: Radio/Television/Film
Organization: Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival
Location: Texas

Kathryn G. Gonzales is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and has a long history in queer and progressive filmmaking, organizations, and campaigns. Beginning in July 2007, Kathryn spearheaded the development of the Campus Alliance for Progress, a statewide nonprofit organization devoted to providing hands-on support to progressive student leaders in Texas. She has always had a passion for organizations that promote positive social change, including StandOut, the Queer Students Alliance, and the Campus Alliance Against Inequality. She currently holds a full-time internship with the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival and is actively applying for positions at the University of Texas at Austin.

Kathryn plans to continue working for progressive change by pursuing a career in the nonprofit sector or higher education. She feels her role in the progressive movement is to found her own mentoring program dedicated to providing services to Black and Hispanic males in college, fostering student empowerment, creating an academic support group of peers and providing mentorship throughout all stages of academic and personal development. When she is not working to advance the progressive political agenda or growing Guess Who? Productions, her personal production and distribution company, Kathryn spends time at home with her husband Rodney and their cats Jake Jr. and Michael Harley.

LAURA HADDEN

Fellowship Year: 2007
Colleges Attended: The Evergreen State College; Northwestern University
Majors: Documentary Media; Gender Studies
Organization: The Center for Digital Storytelling
Location: California

Laura Hadden is a recent graduate of the Evergreen State College, where she studied documentary media and gender studies, culminating in the creation of A Problem Like Maria, a documentary film featuring the stories of religious sisters (nuns) and their struggles for gender equality within the Catholic Church. As a YP4 fellow, she coordinated a documentary photography and audio exhibit on the lives of families facing welfare cuts in Washington state and spent a summer doing human rights documentation work in Guatemala through Global Youth Connect. She also interned with the Female Voices Affecting Change program at Street-Level Youth Media, organized a Take Back the Night rally, edited a quarterly feminist magazine, and served as a counselor for the Civic Education Project.

After spending her last year in Seattle working on community outreach for the documentary film Inlaws & Outlaws, Laura is thrilled to continue combining her passions for media and social change as an AmeriCorps CTC*VISTA at the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley, Calif., where she facilitates community-based digital storytelling workshops and oversees the website Stories for Change. Laura is also currently a participant in KPFA Free Speech Radio’s First Voice Apprenticeship Program, a training program for women and people of color in community media and radio production, as well as a member of Amnesty International’s Women’s Human Rights Steering Committee.

KEVIN KILLER

Fellowship Year: 2006
Colleges Attended: Oglala Lakota College; University of Colorado at Denver; Metro State College
Majors: Business Administration; Political Science
Organization: Campus Camp Wellstone
Location: South Dakota

Kevin Killer, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, currently serves on the National Indian Education Association and Oglala Lakota College boards of representatives. He recently won the Democratic nomination for his district for the South Dakota Legislature. Kevin is also a trainer with the Wellstone Action Native American Leadership program and Campus Camp Wellstone, which trains students nationwide in the community organizing philosophy of the late Senator Paul Wellstone.

Kevin is currently working for U.S. Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in South Dakota. He has worked for other political officials, such as former U.S. Senate Minority leader Thomas A. Daschle and Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin. In 2004, he served as the Wakpamni district treasurer. Kevin hopes to make his community a better place through civic participation and electing people who reflect his community’s needs. He also hopes to transition from being a young leader into developing other leaders in his community.

JAMEELAH MUHAMMAD

Fellowship Year: 2008
College Attended: Oakland University
Major: Biology; Environmental Health
Organization: Teach For America; United States Student Association
Location: Washington, D.C.

Jameelah Muhammad is a recent graduate of Oakland University, where she majored in biology and environmental health with a specialization in resource management. During her senior year, she was busy not only finishing up classes, but also working to help coordinate recycling as a member of the Environmental Coalition on campus, conducting Student Congress meetings as student body vice president, and traveling to universities across the country as an Electoral Action Trainer for the United States Student Association. Some of her passions include fighting for access to education and promoting environmental education and awareness. Jameelah is currently a Young People For fellow and has participated in the YP4 Capacity Building program. She is working on a Blueprint for Social Justice related to environmental justice education and recently had the opportunity to attend a professional educational retreat to learn more about how to make learning about the environment fun, interactive, and engaging for communities and especially young people. She hopes to eventually build an urban community garden that can be used as both an educational tool and a source of agricultural sustainability for the community. This summer she is participating in the Teach for America program in New York City. In the fall, she plans to teach science to middle school students. When not trying to find ways to reduce her carbon footprint or organize students around important educational issues, Jameelah enjoys reading, drawing, beekeeping and practicing guitar.

SABLE K. NELSON

Fellowship Year: 2007
College Attended: Howard University
Majors: Biology; Political Science
Organization: Paid Fellowship Recipient
Location: Washington, D.C.

Sable K. Nelson graduated magna cum laude from Howard University in Washington, D.C. with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and a Bachelor of Science in biology in December 2007. Raised in Milwaukee, Wis., Sable attended Rufus King High School, where she graduated with honors and an International Baccalaureate diploma. Sable’s future plans are to attend graduate school and pursue dual graduate degrees in law and public health.

Devoted to social justice issues, Sable has interned in the government relations and public policy office of the National Minority AIDS Council and serves as a youth member of the NAACP National Board of Directors. Because of her passion for politics, Sable has interned for Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl as well as Governor Howard Dean of the Democratic National Committee. Sable returned to Capitol Hill this summer as a Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholar. Committed to public service, Sable is a newly initiated member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

PAUL DAVID-PERRY II

Fellowship Year: 2005
Colleges Attended: American University; University of Pennsylvania
Major: Political Science; International Studies
Organization: Teach For America
Location: Pennsylvania

Paul Perry was born and raised in Norristown, Penn., in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. He graduated in 2007 from American University in Washington, D.C. with honors, receiving bachelor’s degrees in both political science and international studies. While at American University, Paul served as a research intern for Senator Barack Obama (D–IL) and as a legislative assistant for the NAACP Washington Bureau, for which he crafted a legislative brief on predatory lending. Also while in Washington, Paul worked with Campus Progress at the Center for American Progress, coordinating the organization’s annual National Student Conference in 2007.

Throughout his entire college tenure, Paul served as a tutor and program coordinator for inner-city youth residing in the Barry Farms Public Housing Development in Southeast Washington through Facilitating Leadership in Youth (FLY), a nonprofit dedicating to serving the youth of the Anacostia community. Back home in Pennsylvania, Paul has served as a student representative to his local school board, worked as a research intern for Congressman Joe Hoeffel’s 2004 U.S. Senate campaign, and served as a student speaker within the Youth Action Network of Good Schools Pennsylvania, a statewide coalition advocating for greater equity in education spending.

After college, Paul joined the movement for educational equality through Teach For America; he is currently serving in his second year as an eighth grade English teacher and debate coach at Shaw Middle School in southwest Philadelphia. While teaching, Paul is also pursuing a Master of Urban Education degree at the University of Pennsylvania.

REEM RAHMAN

Fellowship Year: 2007
College Attended: University of Illinois
Major: Cognitive Neuroscience
Organization: The Council on American Islamic Relations
Location: Illinois

Reem Rahman is the communications coordinator at the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)–Chicago. She graduated with honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with an interdisciplinary bachelor’s degree in cognitive neuroscience. Her scholarship and work are committed to the power of ideas and ideals to transform society. Reem was one of the founding members of the University of Illinois’ chapter of CAIR, the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy group in the nation, which made it the first university-based chapter in the nation. She served as the executive director, coordinating media and civil rights activism, community service, interfaith dialogue and leadership development. The student chapter that she helped build is organized around seven core areas: interactive education, media activism, a think tank, civic engagement, outreach, community service, and mobilizing action such as protests or petitions. During Reem’s last year of college, she was a part of a coalition that was galvanized to challenge overt and institutionalized racism. The coalition, Students Transforming Oppression and Privilege (S.T.O.P.), drew thousands of students to a forum that allowed students to ask questions and present demands directly to the university’s administrators. More than a year later, S.T.O.P.’s initiatives have continued to create change on campus.

Reem has been selected as a Young People For fellow and a Drum Major Scholar in public policy. She hopes to become an expert on building effective and sustainable organizations.

CHRISTOPHER RAMOS

Fellowship Year: 2007
College Attended: Pomona College
Majors: Public Policy Analysis; Sociology
Organization: The Williams Institute
Location: California

Christopher Ramos graduated from Pomona College in 2008 with a degree in sociology and public policy analysis. His senior thesis, The Latino/a Home Owning Class: Navigating Wealth, Securing Property, & Utilizing Social Capital, received distinction. Currently, as a research assistant at the Williams Institute of the UCLA School of Law, he aids in the advancement of sexual orientation policy and law through continued research and scholarship. Christopher has held two internships with Equality California and the Housing Rights Center of Los Angeles, two of the largest advocacy organizations in the LGBT rights and fair housing movements, respectively. Last summer, he was selected as a public policy and international affairs fellow at the Heinz School at Carnegie Mellon University.

Christopher feels that his role within the progressive movement thus far has been supporting individuals working on policy reform, policy advocacy and political negotiations. He hopes to move from supporting such individuals to actively working within these critical leadership positions. Within two years, he plans to pursue a dual degree in public policy and business administration, which he feels would be most effective in developing the necessary skills to be a more successful advocate for the core values of the progressive movement.

MATTHEW SEGAL

Fellowship Year: 2008
Colleges Attended: Kenyon College; Oxford University
Major: Sociology
Organization: Student Association for Voter Empowerment
Location: Washington, D.C.

Matthew Segal is the founder and executive director of the Student Association for Voter Empowerment (SAVE), a Washington, D.C.-based non-partisan, nonprofit organization founded and run by students with a mission to increase youth voter turnout by removing access barriers and promoting stronger civic education. In less than a year, SAVE has established more than 25 college chapters, formed a board of directors including many of the nation’s top lawmakers, held numerous news conferences, hosted town hall forums with presidential candidates, and directed national meetings on civic education and student voting rights. SAVE has also formed partnerships with the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, Earth Day Network, Common Cause, and Mobilize.org.

Matthew, 22, has significant experience with young voters. He has testified before the U.S. Congress about voting problems in college districts. He has stood with U.S. senators and members of Congress leading a lobbying effort of more than 1,000 students for the Voting Rights Act reauthorization. He was appointed a senior research fellow and national democracy coordinator for the Roosevelt Institution, a 7,000-member national student think tank. He is a leader on Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner’s Voting Rights Advisory Council. He guides regular workshops and panels on voter participation trends and mobilization of young voters. He also contributes a blog to the Huffington Post. Matthew has been featured on CNN, Fox News, C-Span, Al-Jazeera English, Voices of America, XM Satellite Radio, and the Discovery Channel.

EZRA TEMKO

Fellowship Year: 2006
College Attended: Oberlin College
Major: Politics
Organization: Institute for Public Administration and the Sierra Club of Delaware
Location: Delaware

Ezra Temko is from Newark, Delaware. He is currently a full-time graduate student who plans to complete a Master in Public Administration degree this December. Ezra’s specialization is state and local management; his analytical paper was focused on municipal process and civic engagement. He has a research assistantship with the Institute for Public Administration working on land use planning. Ezra also works part-time as the Sierra Club of Delaware’s member and community engagement coordinator. As the chapter’s only employee, he works to make sure that the chapter functions smoothly, grows its membership, and activates its members with opportunities to be involved.

In April, Ezra was elected to Newark City Council; he currently serves as the youngest elected official in the State of Delaware and is working to enhance Delaware’s downtown area, provide environmental leadership, and work for responsive government. His main political areas of passion include education, environment, and community issues such as civil rights and civic engagement. Ezra is a member of his local Democratic committee as well as vice president for communications for the Delaware Young Democrats. He graduated in 2006 from Oberlin College with a bachelor’s degree in politics. Ezra has joyfully participated in the Young People For and Front Line Leaders Academy programs and is excited to continue his growth in the People For family. He looks forward to meeting and seeing everyone in August!

GIGI TRAORE

Fellowship Year: 2005
Colleges Attended: Capella University; Cleveland State University
Majors: Human Services; Black Studies
Organization: Paid Fellowship Recipient (The League of Young Voters)
Location: Ohio

Gigi Traore currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. She is the mother of two and founder and executive director of “AMS” Women, Incorporated, a youth-oriented civic leadership organization. She holds a bachelor’s degree in social work and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Human Services: Management of Nonprofit Agencies. Gigi is a member of the Cuyahoga County Young Democrats, the Greater Cleveland Voter Coalition (for which she serves on the Hip Hop da Vote Committee), the Neighborhood Leaders Program, the Society of Urban Professionals, the CSU Black Alumni Organization, and the National Council of Negro Women.

Civically involved since 2002, Gigi’s service to the community and young people spans more than 10 years. Gigi has been a part of the Young People For family since 2005; she has been a fellow (2005), a senior fellow (2006/2007), a Front Line Leaders Academy fellow (2007), a member of the YP4 Blog Team (2007) and the YP4 fellow representative to the Hip Hop Alliance.

BRIAN WOLLUM

Fellowship Year: 2007
College Attended: Minnesota State University
Majors: Mass Communications; Educational Leadership
Organization: LGBT Center, Minnesota State University, Mankato
Location: Minnesota

Brian Wollum hails from the farming lands of rural Minnesota. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in mass communications with an emphasis in public relations and is currently working on his master’s degree in educational leadership at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Brian became involved in progressive politics during his undergraduate career. As president of the student group Sexuality and Gender Equality, he fought to end institutionalized homophobia and improve the campus climate for LGBT-identified individuals.

Brian’s activist work led him to Young People For in 2007, where he completed a yearlong fellowship. His fellowship work centered on increasing institutional support and funding to the campus’ LGBT center. Currently, Brian works for South Central Minnesota Pride as a communications intern through the YP4 internship program. He also works as a program advisor in the campus LGBT Center, where he advises and mentors students and plans diverse educational programming. Right now Brian is busy co-chairing the planning committee for the third annual Minnesota OUT! Campus Conference. In his free time, Brian enjoys organic gardening, fighting oppression in all of its nasty forms, reading (especially the news), traveling and speaking Spanish. He admits to watching too much HGTV.

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