Anna Borroz grew up in the Seattle area and is now in her senior year at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. She is majoring in International Relations and minoring in Spanish and Women’s and Gender studies. She was raised in a UU congregation, which gave her a passion for social justice work, especially womens’ rights issues. She is an active member of the Young Democrats of Washington and serves as president of the Spokane County chapter and chair of the Religion Caucus. After college, she wants to join the Peace Corps and do human rights work in Latin America. Outside of school she likes to go on hikes and spend time with her dog.
Anna is interning with UU Urban Ministry: Bethany House in Boston.
Louise DeCramer grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, and studies education and art at the Evergreen State College. Louise has been working with children in a variety of settings for the past six years, including Unitarian camps and churches. She hopes to pursue a career working with grieving children and their families. Louise is passionate about songwriting, as well as visual and written arts.
Louise is interning with SimpleGifts Unitarian Centre for Social Action in London.
Jonah Freed is a rising senior at Macalester College. He is majoring in international studies and philosophy with a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. During the school year, Freed works with immigrant and refugee English language learners as the Student Advocate at the English Learning Center in Minneapolis, MN. He also helps lead the chess club and Macalester Habitat for Humanity chapter on campus. Freed hopes to work for an international development or humanitarian organization in the future.
Jonah is interning with Manye Krobo Queen Mother’s Association in Ghana.
Sarah Hurd grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico and now majors in International Studies and Broadcasting at the University of Oklahoma. She grew up attending the Unitarian Universalist church of Las Cruces and acted as a UN envoy fro them. She is passionate about meeting people from different backgrounds and sharing their stories. She hopes to someday be able to combine her love of storytelling with her commitment to social justice.
Sarah is interning with UU Urban Ministry: Roxbury Youth Program in Boston.
Rachel Thompson is a Kansas City, Missouri native, and is a recent graduate from Vassar College. While on-campus Rachel worked as a Wellness Peer Educator through her school’s Office of Health Education. She enjoyed planning and executing health- and wellness-related programs during her time at Vassar. Rachel was an active member of the rugby team and was elected to class council positions, where she took the lead in planning class activities. She has participated in various volunteer programs that have all greatly impacted the way she understands and advocates for social justice.
Rachel is interning with Common Ground Health Clinic in New Orleans.
Emily Jones is an undergraduate at Barnard College in New York City. She grew up in Hamden, Connecticut, where she attended the Unitarian Society of New Haven. There she was involved with multiple social action projects. At Barnard, she is a member of musical mentors, in which she teaches an elementary school student one-on-one, private music lessons who would otherwise not be able to afford them. While she does not know what she wants to do when she graduates, she knows that social justice work will always be an important part of her life.
Emily is interning with SimpleGifts Unitarian Centre for Social Action in London.
Katie Hardiman is a rising senior at Kenyon College where she majors in Religious Studies. She hopes to use her understanding of religious beliefs and rituals to pursue a career path in peace and conflict studies and/or social justice work. At Kenyon, Hardiman is the co-president of the college’s premier community service society, a human rights activist, a dancer, and a volunteer throughout the local county. She is a lifelong Unitarian Universalist hailing from Mount Kisco, New York where she participated in numerous Sunday services, Midnight Runs,community outreach programs, and traveled to New Orleans to rebuild in 2009.
Katie is interning with UU Justice Ministry of California: Immigration Justice.
Sierra Loya is a rising junior at the University of Alabama. She is a Religious Studies major, and will be graduating witha liberal arts minor as a Blount Scholar through the Blount Undergraduate Initiative program. She will also be obtaining a certificate in Global Studies. Originally from San Antonio Texas, she is a long-standing member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Antonio. Where she served as a leader in her Young Religious Unitarian Universalist (YRUU) group. Her passion for the development of faith and community, has led her to pursue a future in social justice work.
Sierra is interning with UU Justice Ministry of California: Human Right to Water
Amelia Wisniewski-Barker grew up in Newark, Delaware attending the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Newark. After graduating from college at Boston University where she studied Linguistics, Amelia chose to serve with AmeriCorps NCCC, traveling around the country completing various projects in Iowa, Washington D.C., Missouri, and Massachusetts. She has a passion for social justice and wants to pursue a career in this area. An avid singer and piano player, Amelia also enjoys studying American Sign Language and French.
Ameila is interning with The Center for Ethical Living and Social Justice Renewal in New Orleans.
Richelle Perry is a rising sophomore at Beloit College where she studies Anthropology and Critical Identity Studies. She is also a student worker at the college’s Spiritual Life Program, where she does work with the intersection of spirituality and social justice. Richelle is the founder and co-leader of Beloit’s UU campus ministry group. An alumna of UUCSJ’s National Youth Justice Training, Richelle is passionate about anti-racism and anti-colonialism justice work, as well as queer and feminist activism. She grew up in Jefferson City, Missouri where she attended the UU Fellowship of Jefferson City. Outside of spirituality- and justice-based endeavors, Richelle enjoys spending time with her cats and going to the theatre. After college, she plans to pursue work in social justice activism and community organizing, or in religious leadership.
Richelle is interning with UU Legislative Ministry of New Jersey.
Eleanor Brow is an undergraduate student at American University studying Communications, Marketing and International Affairs. Along with exploring Washington, DC, Eleanor loves hiking, photography, and swimming. Originally from North Carolina, Eleanor grew up Unitarian Universalist and frequently attended camps and youth conferences to connect with other UU’s in her area. Currently, she is very active on her campus by being apart of American University Democrats, Public Relations Student Society of America, Amnesty International, and outside of that volunteers with the National Parks Service.
Eleanor is interning with Standing on the Side of Love in Washington, D.C.
Renee Bryant is a rising senior and political science major at Vassar College. Her interests within political science include race, capitalism, and theory. She is actively involved with Vassar’s Black Student Union and enjoys poetry writing, electronic music, and long walks in her free time. Renee hopes to work in the field of social justice upon receiving her degree and would like to attend law school some day.
Renee is interning with Food Chain Worker’s Alliance in Chicago.
Josh Leach is a masters student at Harvard Divinity School who grew up in Texas and Florida, though he is really a Midwesterner at heart. He is a lifelong UU and currently serves on the board of the Harvard UU Ministry for Students. In addition, he has spent the last year as a part-time intern with Promise the Children, a non-profit that seeks to mobilize Unitarian Universalists to protect and strengthen vital social programs for low-income children. In the past, he has also served as Illinois area coordinator for the Midwest office of Amnesty International USA. He received his B.A. in 2012 from the University of Chicago, where he studied history.
Josh is interning at Restaurant Opportunities United Center in Chicago.
Nicolaas Smith attends Queen’s University while majoring in political studies complemented by a Gl
obal development minor. Nic is fascinated by how the intersection of public policy, journalism, and social action impacts vulnerable groups. Throughout the past, he has worked towards community capacity building in the Bangladeshi migrant district of East London. His passions include piano, photography, soccer, fencing, traveling, and the occasional tree climb. He also was involved with Oxfam initiatives focusing on Women and Climate change. He is incredibly excited to engage in culturally-contextualized faith based development work over the summer!
Nic is interning with Manye Krobo Queen Mother’s Association in Ghana.
Elana Cohen is a bay area native now residing in Washington State as a student of Western Washington University/Fairhaven College. Coming into her senior year, she is perusing a self-designed interdisciplinary major “Power, Identity, and Marginalization” and a minor in Education and Social Justice. She is passionate about facilitation, community building, equity, and equality. Elana has spent time building communication and facilitation skills both locally and internationally. On her home campus, Elana is involved with organizing around farmworker justice, community building, and anti-racism.
Elana is interning with UU Legislative Ministry of New Jersey.
