Fellows Class of 2009
Biographies:
2008-2009
Dan Aiello
Dan Aiello graduated from Williams College in 2007 with a B.A. in American Studies and a concentration in Leadership Studies. His studies focused on the process of social change in American history and the construction of American identity, paying special attention to the civil rights movement and other struggles to fight racial injustice. This interest culminated in his senior honors thesis, titled “At the Nexus of Secular and Sacred: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Vision of America,” which explored the thought and language of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. After graduation, he began working through Maine Campus Compact as an AmeriCorps*VISTA at Bates College’s Harward Center for Community Partnerships. In this position, he worked with a variety of college and community stakeholders, particularly in the area of student leadership development. He also worked with the local adult education program to help formalize a volunteer program for college students to help recent immigrants with their English language skills. Dan was born and raised in the greater Pittsburgh area. He graduated in 2003 from Mt. Lebanon High School, where he swam competitively. His interests include citizen empowerment, education, and racial justice.
Christian Appel
Christian graduated from Northwestern University in 2008 with a B.A. in Anthropology. While in school, Christian worked with various social justice focused student groups and local organizations, including Voice in the Wilderness, an anti-war organization. During the summers Christian returned home to his native New York, where he was involved with the Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project and a direct action queer rights organization called the Queer Justice League. Christian has had many opportunities to travel throughout the world, attending schools in Denmark, Uganda, and South Africa, and working with HIV/AIDS treatment programs in Thailand and women's economic empowerment organizations in Uganda. He has also volunteered on a number of organic farms in the United States and abroad and hopes to become more involved in community health issues surrounding food access and production. An artist at heart, he also hopes to find creative and effective ways to use performance and theatre as a tool for social justice. He loves to sing, dance, and bring people together.
Alexa Belajac
While attending the University of Pittsburgh Alexa took an Intro to Urban Studies course on a whim. It didn’t take more than two classes for her to decide that this department was the opportunity for which she had been waiting. She was able to study how others have developed urban communities and the complicated factors which affect that process. After graduating with honors, Alexa spent a year in Maine learning to build boats. While crafting a 27’ day cruiser out of marine-grade mahogany she learned to love working with her hands, what it takes to stay productive during a rigorous work week, and how much she missed doing something everyday that was affecting her community. Since returning to Pittsburgh, Alexa has worked at an employment agency trying to help disadvantaged members of her neighborhood find jobs and with the Student Conservation Association in their pilot program called the Green Jobs Corps. Through these disparate endeavors, Alexa learned how to combine her creative instincts with a disciplined work ethic.
Peter Brewton
Peter is a 2008 Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Political and Social Thought. In fulfillment of his major, he completed senior thesis that analyzed the causes and consequences of contemporary American urban poverty, surveyed the theological foundations of Christian inner-city activists and organizations, and evaluated a case study of one such organization. Peter’s academic pursuits reflect his personal background and his passion for social justice and community development. A Pittsburgh native, he grew up the city’s West Oakland neighborhood, graduated from Schenley High School in 2004. During his Coro fellowship, Peter hopes to broaden his understanding of community development, enriching his past experience and research with new insights from a variety of perspectives. In the immediate future, he plans to either pursue community development and public service or continue his education at the graduate level. Peter is an enthusiastic cyclist and earnest musician, frequently biking around town and playing his tenor sax every Sunday morning at Friendship Community Church in West Oakland.
Christina Colosimo
Christina Colosimo is a recent graduate of UCL, where she majored in marine biology. During her undergraduate years, she served as a member of student government as the chair of the finance Committee. While in that role, she ran a 2 million dollar budget, which was used to help fund a new science building and help student programs that year. During her tenure in student government, she also worked on bylaw changes and informational funding meetings with other council members. Her experience on council made Christina a stronger person. She learned to be informed always and to do what’s right for the people at large. After Coro, Christina plans on getting masters in both Public Affairs and Marine Conservation. She eventually wants to become a US Senator.
Ryan Donnelly
Ryan has spent much of the past four years traveling across North and South America, as well as Europe and North Africa. Through this travel, he has become increasingly interested in learning about different cultures and how they interact with the world around them. Both traveling and international relations are of great interest to him.
Mr. Donnelly’s past work experience includes working as an intern in the US Senate, a consultant for doctoral dissertations, the Editor of The Richmond Anthology (Rome-2006), and a corporate communications consultant for a multi-billion dollar international company. In the future, he would like to pursue a master’s degree from the Heinz School at Carnegie Mellon University.
Gene Cunningham
Gene Cunningham is a graduate of Westminster College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. At Westminster he served in a variety of leadership roles, including as President and previous VP of Finance of the Student Westminster Admissions Team (S.W.A.T.), Student Government Senator, and captain and 4-year letter winner of the Men’s Varsity Tennis Team. Gene’s work experience complimented his leadership activities. He interned for two years with the manufacturing company ICMI. Gene also interned with the Regional Internship Center. His diverse leadership roles have provided Gene with strong organizational and communication skills, event coordination experience, and sales and customer service experience. Gene also volunteers with the Adopt-A-Grandparent Program and he is an Activities Volunteer at the Shenango Presbyterian Senior Care. He also worked with various charities through Greek Life.
Sara Farooqi
Sara graduated with honors from Pitzer College in 2008 with a double major in Sociology and Islamic Cultural Studies. While in college, Sara co-founded and led Itihad: Middle Eastern Students' Union, was active in the Muslim Students' Association and served as a senator in student government. Sara also studied abroad in Morocco and Turkey where she completed research on women's spirituality and public life. Aside from her collegiate activities, Sara has been active in her home community of greater Los Angeles. She has worked for the Liberty Hill Foundation, the Center for California Cultural and Social Issues, and was the first ever environmental intern for the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Sara was recently appointed to the board of directors for Muslims for Progressive Values, a national non-profit organization. After completing the Coro Fellowship, Sara hopes to channel her experiences into advanced graduate work focusing on the relationship between religion, public life and the environment, with particular emphasis on the ways in which religious interpretation can be a powerful medium for promoting environmental stewardship.
Lauren Gilchrist
Lauren Gilchrist is a Pittsburgh native and a 2007 Magna Cum Laude graduate of Bucknell University. Lauren holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a double major in management and theatre and a minor in economics. Lauren is a member of the Institute for Leadership in Technology and Management's Class of 2005, where she was a marketing consultant for MasterfoodsUSA, the U.S. division of Mars, Inc. Lauren is also a member of Delta Mu Delta, the national business honor society, and is a past president of the Bucknell chapter. In addition to her management-related work, Lauren has been Stage Manager for several Bucknell University Theatre & Dance Department mainstage productions. Lauren has interned in the Pittsburgh office of U.S. Senator Rick Santorum and in the Equity Performance Attribution and Risk Analysis Group at Federated Investors. Most recently Lauren has served as a Programs Associate at Shady Side Academy, where she has worked on projects in the Communications Office and the Hillman Center for Performing Arts. Additionally, Lauren has served as the Assistant Coach for Shady Side Academy's Middle School Swimming program and the Assistant Head Coach for Pittsburgh Field Club Swimming.
Anna Guarneri
Originally from Oakland, California, Anna Guarneri has studied and worked in Philadelphia for the past six years. Anna graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2006 with a BA in History and minors in Urban Studies and French. While at Penn, Anna pursued her interests in intercultural dialogue, tutoring, teaching local history, and choreographing and performing modern dance. Anna studied abroad for six months in West Africa, completing an independent project on women's spaces in urban Senegal. After college, Anna traveled to France to study minority issues specific to Europe as part of Humanity in Action. She then joined the first class of Philly Fellows, a program placing Philadelphia-area college graduates with local non-profit organizations. For the past two years, Anna has worked at Neighborhood Interfaith Movement, a non-profit in Northwest Philadelphia, developing and managing NIM's faith and social justice initiatives. Anna is excited to bring her passion for creating inclusive urban communities to the Coro experience in Pittsburgh.
Raymar Hampshire
Prior to becoming a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs, Raymar was a scholar-athlete at Wittenberg University where he was elected the chief justice of student government and an All-Conference athlete in football. He received the Distinguished Business Portfolio honor from the Department of Management and was selected by the Athletic department to represent Wittenberg University at the 2004 NCAA Leadership Conference. Since graduating from Wittenberg University with a degree in Business Management with a concentration in Finance, he has worked at Merrill Lynch as a financial advisor obtaining Series 7 and 66 financial certifications. Most recently, he has partnered with a Princeton University research mathematician, on the project: “Introduction to the Mathematics of Mathematical Finance,” a project which serves to present the mathematical basis of finance while simultaneously demonstrating fundamental investment tools that are universally comprehensible. Currently, Raymar is the co-founder of Spare Change, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to mitigate individual’s student loans by collaborative donations in exchange for public service.
Gabriel Henschel
Gabriel is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh’s University Honors College (UHC) and holds a Bachelor of Philosophy in Urban Studies and Politics & Philosophy along with a minor in Economics. Gabriel composed an undergraduate thesis on the potential impact of casino gambling on Pittsburgh’s communities entitled “Gambling and Pittsburgh’s Neighborhoods: A Baseline Study of Allegheny West & Manchester,” which was the culmination of Gabriel’s work as a UHC Brackenridge Fellow. Gabriel has also worked extensively with the Youth and Government program, an outreach of the YMCA which uses model government to teach students about the legislative process, instill the principles of “servant leadership,” and inspire increased student participation in public life. He has served as a legislative aide to Pennsylvania State Representative Brian Ellis (R - 11th), as an assistant to Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Darlene Harris (D - District 1), and as an intern to the Butler County Office of Domestic Relations. Gabriel hopes to bring his ingenuity, enthusiasm, and dedication to bear on pressing issues facing the citizens of Pittsburgh as a Coro Fellow.
Nancy Iheancho
Nancy Iheanacho, a native of Nigeria and a resident of Houston, Texas, graduated from Duke University with an AB in Cultural Anthropology and a certificate in Global Health. Her undergraduate career was characterized by service to both the local and global community. She served as a life group leader with Cambridge Christian Fellowship, contributed to the campus' singular humanities journal Eruditio as an associate editor, and worked as a crisis line advocate for the city of Durham. In the summer of 2007, Nancy designed and implemented an independent research-service project on obesity and chronic disease among the poor African black population in the township of Khayelitsha, South Africa. Upon completion of the Coro Program, she will attend law school after which she plans to combine her interest in public policy and international affairs to benefit the economically and socially disadvantaged both domestically and abroad.
Stacy Song Kehoe
Stacy Kehoe is a Pittsburgh area native now living in Lawrenceville. She graduated from New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study with a concentration in Political Economic Theory and Education Reform. While residing in New York City, Stacy developed an interest in the relationship between educational attainment and social mobility. For two years she worked at a public high school, the Urban Assembly School for Law and Justice. In the summer of 2007 she returned to Pittsburgh as a member of KEYS (Knowledge to Empower Youths to Success) AmeriCorps. Stacy served as a Service Learning Instructor for the Braddock Summer Youth Project as well as an intern for Braddock Redux. Stacy is an enthusiast for progressive government and public policy that upholds democratic principles and empowers individuals from all class and ethnic backgrounds. She is committed to the intelligent, innovative development of the region that is fair, inclusive, and thrives off of the extraordinary history of Pittsburgh communities. After completing the Coro fellowship, Stacy is interested in pursuing a career in urban education policy.
Amy Scott
Amy's career has centered around creating equitable educational and leadership opportunities for youth. Amy spent 5 years at the San Francisco Urban Service Project (USP), initially leading field internships for underserved middle school students and eventually serving 4 years as USP's Program Director. Prior, Amy coordinated the Service Learning Program at the June Jordan School for Equity, San Francisco's first small school by design. Additionally, Amy was active in forming the San Francisco chapter of the League of Young Voters and helped lead the League's Nevada movement for the 2004 general election. In college Amy organized for the peace movement through Peace Project, and she led workshops as a Peer Health Educator. Amy earned a B.A. in Biological Sciences and Psychology from Northwestern University in 2003 and completed a public health program at Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City. In her spare time, Amy enjoys biking, singing, pursuing environmental justice, advocating for election and education reform, and finding the intersection of visual, performance, and community art.
