OUR STAFF

John Trasviña has devoted his professional and personal life to public and community service in California and nationally. A San Francisco native, John is a graduate of Lowell High School, Harvard University and Stanford Law School. President Biden appointed him to be Principal Legal Advisor to the Director of Immigration & Customs Enforcement at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He served from January 20 through September, 2021. Previously, he was California Executive Director of Generation Citizen.

President Obama appointed John to be Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity in the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). President Clinton appointed John to be Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices at
the U.S. Department of Justice. He was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate for both appointments. Previously, he was general counsel and staff director for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution.

In community service, he was President & General Counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF), Vice President of the Hispanic National Bar Association and chair of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 29 national and regional organizations that develops a national policy platform in U.S. presidential elections.

He also served as a member of the San Francisco Elections Commission, Redistricting Task Force and chaired the Voting Rights Subcommittee of the Citizens Advisory Committee on Elections. He was one of the first student members of the Board of Education in 1976. As an educator, he was Dean of the University of San Francisco School of Law and taught immigration law and policy at Stanford Law School. Until joining the Biden Administration, he was President of the Lowell High School Alumni Association, Vice Chair of California Law Pathways (to diversify the legal profession) and a member of the Board of Counselors of the U.S. Senator Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University. Over his career, he has been honored for his civil rights work by leading organizations in the Latino, Asian American and African American communities.

Megan came to Generation Citizen in 2018 straight out of the classroom, having taught 9th grade Social Studies at Colorado River Collegiate Academy, an early college high school in Bastrop, TX. She played an integral role in GC coming to her campus after learning more about the program through a 2016 civic workshop held at the White House. Through her time working as a GC teacher, she saw her students truly understand the important role they play in their local community. Serving as the civic education leader in her district, she provided students additional opportunities to be active changemakers through partnerships with the University of Texas and the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life. A few of her career highlights include being awarded the 2016-2017 Bastrop ISD Secondary Teacher of the Year, receiving the first-ever TX GC Teacher Change Maker award in 2017, and watching her well-deserving students receive the 2017 GC Class Change Maker award.

Megan’s passion lies in providing underrepresented youth with opportunities to lead and succeed, working with one of her GC class projects on starting a youth advisory council with the City of Bastrop. She feels that GC opens doors for students who may have historically had them closed.

She has lived in Iowa, Tennessee, and Texas, currently residing in the Dallas area. She received a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration, and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, both from Middle Tennessee State University. Megan also has 8 years of community college teaching under her belt, working in both TN and TX. She enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 rambunctious daughters (Sophia & Chloe), hunting for new flavors of kombucha, and planning her next international adventure!

Megan came to Generation Citizen in 2018 straight out of the classroom, having taught 9th grade Social Studies at Colorado River Collegiate Academy, an early college high school in Bastrop, TX. She played an integral role in GC coming to her campus after learning more about the program through a 2016 civic workshop held at the White House. Through her time working as a GC teacher, she saw her students truly understand the important role they play in their local community. Serving as the civic education leader in her district, she provided students additional opportunities to be active changemakers through partnerships with the University of Texas and the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life. A few of her career highlights include being awarded the 2016-2017 Bastrop ISD Secondary Teacher of the Year, receiving the first-ever TX GC Teacher Change Maker award in 2017, and watching her well-deserving students receive the 2017 GC Class Change Maker award.

Megan’s passion lies in providing underrepresented youth with opportunities to lead and succeed, working with one of her GC class projects on starting a youth advisory council with the City of Bastrop. She feels that GC opens doors for students who may have historically had them closed.

She has lived in Iowa, Tennessee, and Texas, currently residing in the Dallas area. She received a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration, and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, both from Middle Tennessee State University. Megan also has 8 years of community college teaching under her belt, working in both TN and TX. She enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 rambunctious daughters (Sophia & Chloe), hunting for new flavors of kombucha, and planning her next international adventure!

Daniela Hernandez first came to Generation Citizen as a Democracy Coach and Chapter Director for the St. Edward’s University chapter in 2017 where she served her chapter for five semesters. While her time there she worked to ensure our Democracy Coaches felt prepared and supported to go into the classrooms. She then joined the Central Texas as a Program Associate after graduating with her Bachelors in 2019.

While completing her undergrad, Daniela worked with various organizations to protect the most vulnerable communities. Through this she developed a passion for civics, education, and policy, wanting to change the systems that were in place that were hurting the most vulnerable communities. This led her to the Texas State Capitol where she worked on education, healthcare, immigration, and social welfare policy.

Daniela was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. She loves her communities and where she comes from, which is why she so excited about working with youth and helping to elevate their voice. She also enjoys embroidering, hiking Texas’ beautiful trails and parks, and spending time with her dog, Roosevelt.

Faith joined Generation Citizen with a passion for education, policy and advocacy and is excited about expanding access to action civics for all students. Prior to joining GC, Faith was a Program Director at Propel America, overseeing programming in RI and MA, managing partnerships and working with young adults to help them realize their career potential. Faith also was a Fellow with the Women’s Policy Institute, where she worked with her cohort to pass a bill to allocate funding to increase school social workers across the state of Rhode Island.

Faith is originally from New York City, where she previously worked on teacher recruitment in charter management organizations. Faith currently lives in Providence, RI with her cat, dog and partner. Faith holds a B.A. in English Language and Literature from Smith College, and an M.A in Urban Education Policy from Brown University.

Carra has always understood education to be a vehicle for social justice, and she is thrilled to apply that ideology to her work in actions civics. A former teacher, Carra loves that her role as MA Program Manager at Generation Citizen allows her to exercise her passion for the empowerment of young people and still lets her focus on curriculum development and meaningful, student-centered learning.

Before joining Generation Citizen, Carra spent five years teaching English literature and one semester as a program manager at the nonprofit Tutors for All, which aims to defeat the achievement gap in Boston public schools. While teaching in a large, diverse high school in the greater Boston area, she also spent two years coaching Model Congress students beyond the classroom and into civic engagement. Carra was continuously awed by what her Model Congress students accomplished when they combined passion with thoughtful action. Working at GC means expanding these efforts, beyond those students with a natural proclivity for political action, to all students, especially those who don’t see a place for themselves in civic engagement.

Carra is originally from central Connecticut and received both her BA in Secondary Education and English Literature and Ed.M in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College. When she’s not pondering the future of our democracy, you can find her with her nose in a book, on her yoga mat, or walking her dog Scout on the beach.

Arielle Jennings has worked for over fifteen years leading and supporting mission-driven education and civic engagement organizations achieve their missions. In her role as the New England Executive Director at Generation Citizen, she leads a team that integrates Action Civics education across school districts in the region and advocates for state-level civic education policy reform through grassroots coalition building.

Arielle’s passion for civic education and educational equity developed at a young age with early experiences in political activism, community development, and service-learning. The daughter of a life-long public educator and social activist, Arielle believes that our schools and communities have a responsibility to prepare young people to be civic actors and center their voices more intentionally in the political process. Early in Arielle’s career, she worked in Boston and Washington, D.C. addressing issues of food insecurity, homelessness, and criminal justice reform. It was during these early experiences she witnessed the exclusion of marginalized voices in political and civic processes, fomenting her belief that our democracy must become more inclusive and accessible. She has since worked in K-12 schools, universities, and nonprofits promoting youth voice, civic action, and educational equity both domestically and in the U.K.

Arielle earned her master’s degree in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the George Washington University with a minor in human services.

Kristina is a licensed social worker in Rhode Island with over seven years of nonprofit and youth development experience.  She has dedicated her educational goals and career path to providing youth with an array of advocacy, career, and educational opportunities through leadership development and mentorship.

After earning her B.A, in Sociology from Bryant University, Kristina dedicated a year of service through the City Year program, mentoring and tutoring in a sixth-grade classroom at DelSesto Middle School in Rhode Island. She then went to Boston University and earned her Master’s in Social Work with a focus on macro practice.

She continued her passion to elevate the power of youth voice working as a youth community organizer in Boston, MA advocating for summer youth employment opportunities, environmental justice, and affordable public transit.  She then spent three years working for Year Up Providence, supporting young adults on their journey into the corporate workforce by providing social services, access to community resources and mental health counseling.

In joining Generation Citizen in Rhode Island, she is excited to continue to foster these community relationships and uplift the youth voice through Action Civics.  In her free time, she loves trying new foods, playing soccer and running.

From her own educational experiences, Allysha knows that teachers who foster self-awareness, self-reflection and critical thinking empower students to engage with their peers and community. She is very excited to join Generation Citizen because she believes that helping young people see that their participation in civic and political life matters is key to realizing the democratic ideals laid out in the founding documents of our country.

Prior to coming to Generation Citizen, Allysha spent several years working with nonprofit organizations on issues ranging from affordable housing to workforce development and earning a Master of Public Policy from Brandeis University. She decided to switch to a teaching career to help future voters have the critical thinking skills and political efficacy necessary to tackle these problems at the systemic level. In pursuit of this dream, she earned her Master’s in American Studies from UMass Boston where her research focused on the development and implementation of civics education during the Progressive Era. She previously taught project-based 7/8 grade social studies in charter schools and high school history with students in institutional settings. Culturally responsive teaching practices that focus on developing deep learning partnerships with students and strengthening their independent learning skills were central to Allysha’s pedagogy. She is very eager to integrate her knowledge and experiences in policy, program management, and teaching in her work with Generation Citizen.

Outside of work, Allysha loves to sing, play piano, practice yoga, play fetch with her dog, and spend time in Maine with her partner.

Khin Mai Aung has practiced civil rights, immigrant rights, and education law for over 20 years, and brings to Generation Citizen many years of experience supporting youth organizing through action planning and legal supports, as well as deep experience with policy making and advocacy.

Before coming to Generation Citizen, she was Executive Director and Assistant Counsel at the Office of Bilingual Education & World Languages in the New York State Education Department, in which capacity she oversaw the Department’s civil rights enforcement and regulations regarding English Language Learners and immigrant students, as well as the New York State Integration Project, a program to incentivize integration though school improvement funds. Previously, Khin was Director of the Educational Equity Program at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, where she conducted national advocacy and legal representation concerning civil rights in kindergarten through 12th grade public schools, higher education, affirmative action and juvenile justice. She partnered with Asian American youth groups in capacity building and social justice advocacy in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Detroit, New Orleans and other locations, and launched the National Asian American Education Advocates Network, the first national network of Asian American public education advocates. Earlier in her career, she was Director of Policy and Civic Engagement at Youth Leadership Institute, a Staff Attorney at Asian Law Caucus, and an Associate in the law firm of Morrison & Foerster, all in San Francisco, California.

Khin received a B.S. in International Politics from Georgetown University and earned her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley-School of Law. She was born in Yangon, Myanmar, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and now lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and three children. Khin is also a writer and volunteer activist concerning civil rights in Myanmar.

Frances has spent the last six years abroad, as both a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Upper West region of Ghana and working for an international school in Nablus, Palestine. While a mathematician by training, Frances has also worked extensively to promote both girls’ education and student centered learning.

She is excited to apply her background as a teacher and administrator to best support the GC mission, its teachers, and its students. Frances is a native of Pittsburgh. You can find her watching the Steelers and Penguins all season long.

Hana Carey has worked in education for eight years, and is passionate about elevating young voices. Prior to joining Generation Citizen, she taught middle and high school history, and was also a leader in equity and inclusion work within her school communities.

She believes that representation and celebration of marginalized identities and perspectives is integral to the success of our democracy. As a program manager, she is excited to support action civics in classrooms throughout New York. In her free time, Hana loves being outdoors, studying Japanese, and all things basketball (go Celtics!).

Milo brings a rich background in youth empowerment and public advocacy to Generation Citizen. A former legislative advocate for the American Cancer Society and Students Against Nicotine, Milo voiced youth concerns at local, state and national levels of government, urging legislators to regulate Big Tobacco’s illicit marketing schemes and enact stronger public health policies. As democratic institutions and values – including access to issue-neutral civics education – have faced unprecedented assault in recent years, Milo championed social justice causes and uplifted the youth voice in democracy in his work for Senator Schumer and Big Brothers Big Sisters. In his role as Associate, Program in New York, he aspires to spread the importance of civic action to the next generation of leaders, hoping they hone that practice in pursuit of a more equitable and inclusive America.

Milo is a recent graduate of Cornell University, where he studied history and government. At GC, Milo assists our program managers to expand partnerships throughout New York, connect policymakers with students, and ensure our Action Civics curriculum is implemented smoothly in classrooms. Outside of the office, Milo loves going to museums, talking endlessly about college football and American politics, adventuring with friends, and playing tennis.

Carolyn O’Neil believes in the power of civics education to create a nation of engaged and united citizens. This passion brought her back to Generation Citizen, where she previously served as Program Manager for the New York team until 2018.

She brings with her more than a decade of experience in the nonprofit and public sectors, with a focus on education and civil rights. Prior to rejoining GC, she worked with the New York City Department of Education’s Office of Community Schools, where she managed partnerships with community-based organizations to bring wraparound services to students and families. She previously worked with Open Society Foundations, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and spent two years teaching English abroad on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program.

In her free time Carolyn is a children’s novelist and volunteer citizenship exam tutor, and she enjoys reading, hiking, watching too much TikTok, and exploring ways to build a more equal society.

Jessica was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. She lived in North Carolina for undergraduate school, where she attended Bennett College. During her time in both high school and college her interest for youth education and advocacy grew. As a college student, she learned the importance using her voice to empower and uplift others to take action. From registering voters in primary and national elections to attending campus town hall meetings.

After undergrad, Jessica became an Americorp Success Mentor to students in the same school in which she had graduated from years ago. Her passion for youth advocacy and social justice stems from her parents, who have always advocated for change in their community. They encouraged her to know who her local and state stakeholders were and how to collaborate with others to create a more equitable community. Through Generation Citizen, Jessica hopes to educate and inspire young people to believe in their voices to make a lasting impact.

Jessica loves the arts! She can often be found singing,or dancing to your favorite songs. She loves to travel, paint and spending quality time with family and friends.

Yajaira Adorno joins Generation Citizen with twenty years of non-profit experience in many capacities. She recently spent more than ten years in charter schools in a few roles like human resources & benefits administrator, business manager, and talent operations and data.

Yajaira is passionate about fostering a loving, people-centered approach to building culture and community while challenging the status quo. Yajaira is always looking to find efficient ways to implement processes equitably.

When Yajaira isn’t working, she is window shopping for her next travel trip, cooking, or hanging out with her cute pup.

I got my start working in an educational setting at The City College of New York, where I worked in fitness and IT. In my spare time, I loved to volunteer at robotics competitions for youth. After discovering how much I enjoyed detail-oriented work, I gravitated towards the finance field.

Prior to Generation Citizen, I worked in finance for Row New York. I enjoy the fulfillment of working in a non-profit organization. To me, it means a lot to make a difference in young peoples’ lives and this has led me to GC, and their mission to advocate for young people to exercise their civic power. I consider myself to be someone who has always voiced their opinion about topics I am passionate about and therefore I believe it is important to empower young people to do the same.

I’ve lived in New York my entire life and graduated from The City College of New York. You can usually find me spending time with my pets, engaging in some kind of fitness-related activity, or out and about in nature (preferably somewhere warm and by a body of water).

Megan came to Generation Citizen in 2018 straight out of the classroom, having taught 9th grade Social Studies at Colorado River Collegiate Academy, an early college high school in Bastrop, TX. She played an integral role in GC coming to her campus after learning more about the program through a 2016 civic workshop held at the White House. Through her time working as a GC teacher, she saw her students truly understand the important role they play in their local community. Serving as the civic education leader in her district, she provided students additional opportunities to be active changemakers through partnerships with the University of Texas and the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life. A few of her career highlights include being awarded the 2016-2017 Bastrop ISD Secondary Teacher of the Year, receiving the first-ever TX GC Teacher Change Maker award in 2017, and watching her well-deserving students receive the 2017 GC Class Change Maker award.

Megan’s passion lies in providing underrepresented youth with opportunities to lead and succeed, working with one of her GC class projects on starting a youth advisory council with the City of Bastrop. She feels that GC opens doors for students who may have historically had them closed.

She has lived in Iowa, Tennessee, and Texas, currently residing in the Dallas area. She received a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration, and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology, both from Middle Tennessee State University. Megan also has 8 years of community college teaching under her belt, working in both TN and TX. She enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 rambunctious daughters (Sophia & Chloe), hunting for new flavors of kombucha, and planning her next international adventure!

Elizabeth Clay Roy is a lifelong leader of civic engagement and social change initiatives, and the new Chief Executive Officer of Generation Citizen, a national nonprofit committed to providing youth with the knowledge and skills they need to actively participate in our democracy.  Leading Generation Citizen brings Elizabeth full circle to her childhood roots, when she campaigned door to door for candidates in Boston before she was old enough to vote. She was so active in voter registration drives that PBS’s show In the Mix chose her to lead youth coverage of the 2000 Presidential election.

Prior to joining Generation Citizen, Elizabeth was Executive Director of TakeRoot Justice, a New York City-based social justice organization that supports grassroots organizations and provides legal services to over 2000 clients each year. Elizabeth’s work at TakeRoot Justice built on her success as an entrepreneurial and collaborative leader, especially as Chief of Staff at Phipps Neighborhoods where she co-led South Bronx Rising Together, an education equity collective impact partnership.  Elizabeth was the founding Deputy Director of Opportunity Nation, a national campaign to expand economic mobility where, with research partner Measure of America, she created the Opportunity Index, a first-of-its-kind measurement of contributing factors for economic opportunity at the state and local level. She began her career working in participatory planning in India and serving Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick as a Policy Advisor and the Director of Grassroots Governance.

Elizabeth co-authored Shaping Vibrant Cities, a guidebook on effective community-led urban planning based on her participatory governance work with Janaagraha in Bangalore, India. A long-time champion of experiential learning, she serves on the Board of World Learning, a leader in study abroad and global development.

Chuck is a native Appalachian who spent the first 22 years of his life in West Virginia. Before joining Generation Citizen as the organization’s Associate Director, Coalitions & Policy Research, he worked in policy research and consulting for National Journal Research, and spent five years in Nashville working in advocacy and coalition building throughout the entire state of Tennessee.

Chuck is a graduate of Shepherd University and Michigan State College of Law, where he taught First Amendment law to high school students. He currently lives in Northern Virginia with his beloved wife, Kristen.

Dairanys Grullon-Virgil is from the Dominican Republic who came to New York at the age of 13 years old. She is passionate about gender equality, education and the arts. She is a nonprofit professional, community organizer and social entrepreneur with a background in international studies and non-profit management. As part of her passion for music, she founded Mi Gente! Latinx Music Festival.

Dairanys graduated with a Master’s in Public Administration and Nonprofit Management from the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs at Baruch College (CUNY). As an undergraduate student, she volunteered for two years as an AmeriCorps member at Grant Street Settlement and in 2012 received the Obama AmeriCorps Award of the year. As a Program Coordinator at generationOn, the youth and family division at Points of Light, Dairanys helped manage multiple campaigns and initiatives to inspire youth to get involve and bring positive changes to their community.

Dairanys believes that more than ever youth need access to tools and resources to help them become strong community-minded and active civic leaders. She believes that Generation Citizen provides a tangible opportunity for young people to take action and make the changes that they want to see happening in their community.

Dairanys loves traveling as it is for her the best way to educate yourself about the livelihoods of different cultures and see the world from a different perspective.

Amy joins the Generation Citizen team with over five years’ experience working for education and youth-development nonprofits, both in the US and abroad. Prior to GC, Amy spent three years with Playworks New England as a foundations and communications specialist. In addition to her nonprofit fundraising background, Amy brings to her role a commitment to community organizing having served as a 2020 Census Enumerator in Boston, MA, and an active volunteer supporting grassroots candidates in local and national elections.

As Grants Manager, Amy serves as the lead grant writer on GC’s major organizational grants while working to build and maintain operational systems that support prospecting, grant writing, and tracking of grant applications. Amy is excited to leverage her writing and foundation stewardship experience in support of GC’s mission to mobilize young people to make their voices heard and inspire meaningful change in their communities.

Amy is originally from Maplewood, New Jersey and holds a B.S. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis. She currently lives in New York City and in her free time enjoys live music, being outdoors, eating home-cooked meals, and playing & watching soccer — she is a lifelong New York Red Bulls season ticket holder.

In her role as Associate Director, Operations, Dana oversees IT & systems administration, contract management, and vendor procurement, and also supports process improvement initiatives across the organization.

Dana joined GC in January 2019 as the organization’s first human resources hire. She’s spent most of her tenure building and strengthening GC’s HR and talent management systems, from talent recruitment to internal policy development, and everything in between. Prior to GC, she worked at Education Pioneers in a variety of HR, executive support, and operations roles, and is a 2016 alum of their fellowship.

Dana enjoys building, optimizing, and maintaining systems and structures that support people and organizations in collaborating, reaching goals, and actualizing missions. She’s grateful to be able to do this at GC, alongside an exceptional team of colleagues that believe in the power of young people and their role in a just, inclusive American democracy.

Dana lives in central Florida, where she can often be found doing crossword puzzles or home improvement projects. She likes to live by the words of the poet Frank O’Hara…”Grace/to be born and live as variously as possible”.

Julia Love is Chief Development Officer at Generation Citizen. She leads fundraising and communications efforts for the organization, and is a member of the leadership team. Julia has over 15 years of experience in fundraising and has served as a board member and volunteer for a number of nonprofit organizations focused on advancing educational equity, youth development, and social justice in the U.S. and globally. Previously, she was Head of Leadership Gifts & Engagement at Teach For All, a network of social enterprises in 60 countries and growing, where she led the individual giving team and portfolio, helping to raise over $75 million during her tenure. Prior, she led Corporate Partnerships at iMentor, and was Director of Philanthropy and Communications at The Resource Foundation, where she served as a philanthropic advisor to individuals and corporations interested in supporting local nonprofits in Latin America and the Caribbean and led the organization’s communications strategies.

Julia holds a B.A. in public policy from Duke University, and dual Masters in Public Administration from the London School of Economics and School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) at Columbia University. She began her career as a Fulbright scholar in Bolivia where she worked with civically engaged women leaders. She has also directed and produced several documentary films. Julia lives outside of New York City with her husband and their two daughters.

Juanita joined the Generation Citizen staff in 2017 after teaching Social Studies for five years. She also taught GC classes for three years at Roger Williams Middle School in Providence, Rhode Island, which was known for its strong GC projects and polished Civics Day presentations. Her students founded a Student Council, met with district officials to discuss strategies for increasing teacher diversity, and testified to the Superintendent and School Board about closing the achievement gap between English Language Learners and their peers. What has made Juanita truly most proud is the long-lasting impact GC has made on her students.

As a member of GC’s National Program Team, Juanita leads the curriculum iteration process making the curriculum more engaging and responsive to student needs. She provides ongoing support to local and national departments’ program needs by serving as a thought partner on education and pedagogical issues and owning curricular and material development for cross-team collaborations. She also manages the national Teacher Leadership Board, an internal structure designed to create opportunities for teacher leaders across sites to provide meaningful input on Generation Citizen’s program, curriculum, and strategic decisions.

As a proud Rhode Islander, Juanita spends time exploring the many gems the Ocean State has to offer with her family and friends.

In memoriam of Darcy Richie, who served as Generation Citizen’s Chief Program & Impact Officer from 2020 to 2022. Please read about Darcy’s exceptional life and leadership here.

Josh has over 15 years of nonprofit management experience working with national education and youth development nonprofits, including Teach For America, Youthbuild USA, and Peace First. He led the launch of a national fellowship program for young leaders at Peace First, scaled up Teach For America’s alumni giving and volunteerism programs, and managed technical assistance to over 100 YouthBuild programs.  Josh received his BA from Williams College and his MBA from the Yale School of Management.  Josh was also chair of the Young Nonprofit Professional Network’s national board during a period of rapid expansion, and led the Development and Search Committee for The Food Project.

A lifelong follower and debater of politics, nationally and locally, Josh is excited to support Generation Citizen’s mission of engaging young people in fashioning solutions to community challenges in partnership with local and state government.  His experience working with youth from diverse backgrounds in each of his roles, and seeing how their voices broadened the conversation, grounds his commitment to ensuring that our civic institutions are representative and responsive to all of their constituents.

Josh grew up in Guilford, Connecticut and lives outside Boston with his wife and newborn son. In his free time he enjoys hiking, coffee snobbery and wine tasting.

Shaneeza serves as Generation Citizen’s Director, Finance, where she works on the financial goals of the organization.

Prior to joining GC, she worked at New Visions for Public Schools, where she spent 3+ years in budget management and reporting for the organization as well as their network of charter schools. Shaneeza has spent most of her career working in education and youth development. She has developed a strong background in finance, accounting, general organizational operations, as well as program management. She has worked with organizational leaders and Board members to develop strategic financial goals and fiscal responsibility in their organization. Prior to New Visions, Shaneeza worked at The Child Center of New York as a Program Director. Her passion for providing the necessary tools for our youths in academic as well as social-emotional learning and exercising their rights to build a brighter future has led her to GC.

Shaneeza was born in Guyana, South America and currently lives in New York. She is a first generation college graduate where she has obtained her Bachelor in Organizational Management, at CUNY Queens College, and her Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) at Touro University, Graduate School of Business. When she is not buried deep in spreadsheets, you can find her cooking up new recipes, enjoying a warm tropical vacation, or spending time with family and friends.

Audrey serves as Generation Citizen’s Associate, Development where she coordinates development and fundraising processes and systems as the organization expands and strengthens its fundraising base. Her responsibilities are centered around supporting individual and institutional fundraising across sites in collaboration with the National Development Team and local fundraisers.

Prior to GC, Audrey held the position of Grants Associate at the Philadelphia Foundation where she focused most of her time supporting the team with grants applications and its college scholarship opportunities.

Having graduated from Arcadia University with a B.A. in Criminal Justice with a concentration in Social Justice, Audrey is feeling blessed to have an opportunity to contribute to GC’s mission of providing accessible action-civics education for future generations.

Audrey is originally from Long Island, New York and can often be found listening to music and trying new cooking/baking recipes. She loves to play video games in her free time and is almost always at the front of the line for every Marvel movie premiere.

As Director of Communications and Marketing, Joanna leads Generation Citizen’s digital and strategic communications efforts to amplify and leverage the team’s unique and essential work across the country.

Prior to GC, Joanna spent more than five years in immigration advocacy at the National Immigration Forum, where she worked to educate and engage diverse audiences in support of meaningful immigration reform.

Joanna is originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, but grew up in the (self-proclaimed) Christmas Capital of Texas, Grapevine. She holds a B.A. in Politics with International Relations from the University of York and currently lives in Washington, D.C.

In her free time she enjoys last-minute road trips, live music, and continuing her quest to find the perfect public reading spot. Her favorite emoji is the squid and her favorite punctuation mark is the em dash, closely followed by the interrobang.

Andrew Wilkes serves as Generation Citizen’s Chief Policy & Advocacy Officer, where he leads GC’s thought leadership, coalition building, and policy initiatives as a part of the national leadership team. Andrew comes to this role with nearly ten years of experience in public policy, advocacy, and community organizing, particularly among congregations and community-based organizations. Prior to joining GC in 2017, he served as the executive director of the Drum Major Institute, a social change organization founded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In that capacity, he executed public affairs events in Dallas, TX and Washington D.C. to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act; established the Beloved Community Initiative, a national resource on spirituality and social justice for faith communities; and relaunched the nationally renowned Marketplace of Ideas Forum – a forum for bringing policy ideas to an audience of changemakers, policy professionals, and nonprofit leaders.

As a Senior Grants Manager at The American Red Cross of Greater New York, he worked with elected officials, public agencies, and community stakeholders to administer a $45 million budget for Superstorm Sandy recovery in New York state and Connecticut. Before that, he worked at Habitat for Humanity – New York City, where he mobilized 140 faith communities across the city to serve, donate, and advocate for affordable housing.

Andrew is a graduate of Hampton University, Princeton Theological Seminary, the CORO public affairs fellowship, and is a doctoral candidate in political science at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. He also serves on the board of directors for the Labor-Religion Coalition of New York State and Habitat for Humanity – New York State.

Amy joined Generation Citizen in 2016 in furtherance of her professional and personal passion for empowering youth and providing opportunities through education. She began her career with Project Transformation, a community oriented summer day camp focused on building literacy among elementary-aged children from Oklahoma’s low-income urban neighborhoods. Long a community volunteer in a variety of capacities, she currently chairs an organization which operates a food pantry and provides no cost eye care (and other services) to Oklahoma City’s working poor.

Amy is proud to be at the forefront of Generation Citizen’s expansion to the Sooner State. Perpetuating the optimism and resilience of her pioneer forebears, she believes teaching Oklahoma’s youth to engage civically will improve their lives and equip Oklahoma with a new generation of leaders.

Amy holds a B.A. in Letters from the University of Oklahoma and a Masters in Religious Education from Oklahoma City University. She enjoys adventures with her husband and two boys, knitting, cooking dinner with friends, and cheering on the OKC Thunder.

Arian comes to Generation Citizen after years of working with under-resourced and vulnerable communities, from unhoused populations, to Title I students, to neighborhoods lacking adequate green space. After several years working in social research and non-profit program management, Arian joined a local public school district to oversee a three-year, federally funded research grant designed to extend knowledge about participatory learning in K-12 education. This project, which reached over 400 students from diverse backgrounds, introduced new pedagogies, improved equity and accessibility in the district, and increased student persistence, engagement, and overall academic achievement. The project framework has since been adopted district-wide.

Being a part of Generation Citizen has given Arian the opportunity to bring together several of her passions – supporting teachers and students, building our democracy, and fighting for equity-centered systems and resources. She is particularly excited about increasing civic engagement in her home state of Oklahoma, where voter turnout and participation in democratic practices is frequently well below the national average.

Arian received her BA and MA in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Oklahoma. When not working, she is busy chasing two young children, volunteering for local organizing efforts, and trying to spend as much time outside as possible.