Christina Hisel (UC Berkeley)

In Christina's case, we've been honing in on foundations active in efforts to alleviate poverty, either domestically, internationally, or both. Fortunately there is no shortage of good organizations dedicated to this cause, and the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations immediately come to mind. Christina's desire to fight poverty is a natural outgrowth of her previous public service experiences addressing challenges related to HIV/AIDS, the status of Liberian refugees in the United States, the crisis in Darfur, the provision of community health care, and the alarming increase in the prevalence of autism among America's youth.  Christina's depth of experiences in public service made her a natural choice to serve as Assistant Director of the Cal Corp Public Service Center here on campus, but perhaps her daily efforts one-on-one with an autistic teenager over a three-month period is the most telling aspect of Christina's character.  Needless to say, Christina's patience and maturity in this effort speaks volumes about her dedication to others. 

Lia Marshall (UC Berkeley)

As founder and director of the Shuar Health Project, Lia Marshall managed a twenty-five member team and a budget of $100,000 over a two-year period to provide safe drinking water to ten Shuar communities in rural Ecuador.  After surveying the needs of these communities, Lia and her team undertook the construction and distribution of 120 safe water containers to collect uncontaminated rainwater for drinking and sanitation purposes.  Working with the indigenous leaders and earning the trust of the Shuar locals was the first challenge.  The next step was to transport massive amounts of water and concrete miles and miles into the dense rainforests of Ecuador before final construction of the tanks could be undertaken by her team of engineers.  Lia's innovative approach produced dramatic and positive results that can and hopefully will be replicated by like-minded NGOs, especially considering the lethal threat posed by water-borne diseases; bacterial, viral, and parasitic infections continue to plague these populations.  Given this and other experiences, Lia is focused on organizations at the cutting-edge of global health policy and our short-list includes the World Health Organization, the Gates Foundation, the Clinton Global Initiative (a component of the Clinton Foundation), the Center for Disease Control, and Google.org (Google's philanthropic division). 

Olga Medina (Stanford, Political Science/CSRE)

Olga’s public service record has focused on the advancement and empowerment of underrepresented communities including experience working on civil rights, immigration, voting, and language access issues. She is interested in expanding immigrant access to and opportunities for effective participation in local communities and our nation as a whole.  She hopes to work for an organization committed to advancing comprehensive immigration reform and protecting immigrants’ rights: more specifically, an organization that engages in community-based outreach and advocacy work on behalf of immigrant communities, especially the undocumented population. She would like to work on public policy research, engage in public education efforts in immigrant communities, and participate in legal cases or projects that affect immigrant constituencies and, overall, shape the image and debate surrounding immigration.

Debbie Warshawsky (Stanford, Urban Studies)

Debbie plans to dedicate her life to the fight against urban poverty and inequality in the United States - and the promotion of racial, economic, and political justice. She is interested in a community-based, non-profit placement that works to reduce urban poverty and inequality in the United States in minority-majority neighborhoods. She would also consider working in an urban mayor's office with a mentor focused on these issues. Debbie hopes to gain a better understanding about how to engage in effective community organizing, public-private partnerships, and community-based efforts to reduce poverty in low-income neighborhoods.