The gentrification of the Mission District brought a "gang list" that affected young people in a 60-block radius, limiting their freedom of movement and association. Vicente Garcia used his 2007 Young People For fellowship to organize the community to stop the gang list.
Vincent Pullara, Jr.
(vpjr)
Vincent, a sophomore at CUNY Baruch College in New York City, is working towards a BBA in entrepreneurship and small business management. He has volunteered at the Innocence Project since February 2007. His work at the Innocence Project has allowed him to be active on his school campus by coordinating events on the topic of wrongful convictions and by educating students on their rights when dealing with the criminal justice system.
Since his freshman year at Baruch, Vincent has been active in Baruch's theater productions. He has also received several honors and awards from faculty, staff and students at Baruch. Those awards include the Emerging Leader on Campus award presented by the Undergraduate Student Government in spring 2008 and an Outstanding Service award presented by the faculty and staff of the SEEK Program (Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge) in spring of 2007 and 2008. The SEEK Program "offers a unique and supportive educational opportunity to students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, many of whom have had inadequate academic preparation for college-level coursework." SEEK was designed to assist students with the intellectual potential to succeed in college who lack the educational foundation and economic resources necessary to pursue a degree.