Advocacy Corps 2024-2025

Alex Santiago

Alex Santiago (she/they) is a first-generation student at the University of California, Santa Cruz majoring in Politics and Latin American Studies with a minor in History of Consciousness. On campus, Alex is the legislative director of the UCSC Student Housing Coalition, garden steward for the Stevenson Garden, member of the Worker Student Solidarity Coalition (WSSC) and a Legislative Fellow with the Dolores Huerta Research Center. She is also the founder of the UCSC Latinxs in Law Association. She is passionate about housing justice, migrant justice, farmworkers’ rights and church state separation!  

Anisa Navarro

Anisa Navarro is a recent first-generation graduate from the University of Washington, where she double majored in Psychology, and Medical Anthropology & Global Health. She is passionate about creating systemic change and addressing health and educational disparities faced by immigrant, low-income, and Latino communities. Anisa hopes to continue to uplift and support other first-generation youth to be more involved in lobbying and advocacy efforts.

Connor Babbitt

Connor Babbitt (he/they) is a second-year student at Southern Oregon University. He is pursuing a BA in English and a BS in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, as well as certificates in Ethnic and Racial Studies, Political Communication, and Writing and Rhetoric. Connor is determined to create a stronger community by reminding citizens of the power they already possess. Through his unionization efforts and work with local grassroots organizations, Connor is connecting communities to form coalitions that can break chains and build brighter futures.

Dasia Washington

Dasia Washington recently graduated from Guilford College with a BS in Psychology and minor in Criminal Justice. Dasia is passionate about social justice, grassroots revolution, and radical empathy, focusing on racial, gender, and wealth inequity, gun violence, and decolonization. Dasia has organized diverse events, including art exhibits, dinners, teach-ins, and media campaigns and engaged in lobbying, protests, and education in NC, DC, Arizona, and Rhode Island. Dasia is excited to learn from everyone in this year’s cohort and to build the just society that we all deserve within our lifetime.  

Dominick Damper

Dominick Damper is an Advocacy Corps Organizer for Friends Committee on National Legislation working on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Through grassroots efforts and lobbying, he is working toward a ceasefire in Gaza, the restoration of UNRWA funding, and the end of U.S. arms sales to Israel.
Dominick attends Fort Lewis College, and his academic interests are in comparative and constitutional law with a background is in engagement, research, and compliance. He brings valuable knowledge from his work with the Political Engagement Project and Our Voice Our Vote.

Jenna Qaddoumi

Jenna Qaddoumi is a recent high school graduate and will enter her first year of college at Rhodes College to study pre-law. She was the vice president of her school’s Criminal Justice and Memphis Muslims for Justice Clubs and worked within her community to educate and advocate for change. In addition, she was the editor for her school’s newsletter and loves writing just as much as reading. She has organized teach-ins and coordinated events with different organizations and hopes to use her experience to ground her organizing.  

Jose Manuel Maldonado-Morales

Jose Manuel Maldonado-Morales is graduating from the University of Washington with a bachelors in Educational Studies and American Ethnic Studies and a minor in Labor Studies as a first generation student. Jose has participated in FCNL’s Spring Lobby Weekend for three consecutive years, as well as participating in a Friends Place Fly-in. Jose worked with organizations dedicated to promoting higher education for Latino and Indigenous students, created lesson plans for preschool to high school students, and actively engaged with the community to create safe spaces.
As a first generation undocumented student, Jose is determined to make family, friends and community proud through advocacy work.

Kate West

As a passionate community organizer, Kate West (she/they) advocates for social, economic, and environmental justice. Their work involves strategic research, effective communication, and collaborative engagement to drive positive legislative change.

Kate participated in Spring Lobby Weekend in 2023 and 2024 and strengthened their collaboration, community building, and leadership skills while lobbying New Hampshire state representatives with Change for Concord. Kate served as a Concord District School Board member from 2020-2022, ran for mayor of her city, and was accepted into the 2025 Leadership NH Program.
Kate firmly believes that everyone deserves help and community and strives to address systemic inequalities through empathy, activism, and grassroots organizing.

Kaya Henderson

Kaya Henderson is an International Baccalaureate alumni with experience at Van Andel Science Academy and West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology. She is passionate about social justice and community outreach, engaged with local legislators and activists who seek to reduce gun violence, increase access to affordable healthcare, and build reconciliation with Native American communities. As an experienced canvasser, she was shadowed by the New York Times while engaging with voters and was able to help people register to vote in time for local elections. Kaya plans to attend Grand Valley State University next semester as a Political Science Major.

Kyle Feldhake

Kyle Feldhake is pursuing a master of public policy at the University of Minnesota. He earned an undergraduate degree at North Dakota State University, majoring in both political science and journalism. Recently, during his time in Fargo, North Dakota, he co-founded a local CODEPINK chapter advocating for Palestine. He has also been involved in various municipal and state election campaigns. He is excited to further the anti-war movement and build his advocacy skills.   

Mohammad Sabri

Mohammad Sabri received his M. ED from the University of Oklahoma. He is a Teach for America alumnus who taught in Tulsa, OK and started non-profit initiatives addressing food insecurity. Mohammad is also an Urban Leadership Fellows alumnus who worked on housing affordability and criminal justice reform. Mohammad also worked with Leadership for Educational Equity to address disparities in Atlanta, Baltimore, New Orleans, LA, SF, Oakland, DC, and Dallas. Mohammad is currently a consultant and educator. In his spare time, he likes to travel and coach field hockey, basketball, and soccer.  

Ranen Miao

Ranen (he/him) is a public-interest paralegal supporting environmental class action cases and an advocate for youth civic engagement. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with majors in political science, sociology, and women, gender, and sexuality studies. At Washington University, he served as student body president and organized around LGBTQIA+ rights, racial justice, and socioeconomic equity. Previously, Ranen has held internships on the Hill and with the ACLU, EEOC, Abortion Action Missouri, and a dozen political campaigns.

Saanvi Sita Mylavarapu

Saanvi Sita Mylavarapu is a senior in high school. She is an avid adventurer who has explored over 25 National Parks across the USA and hiked over 1000 miles across the globe. Saanvi is a founder and leader of Nature Worthy, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about the manifold benefits of embracing nature’s wonders while reducing carbon footprints.. Previously, she served as an ambassador for the National Park Trust and holds positions in several environmental organizations, advocating for equal outdoor access. She loves baking, hiking, and playing with her dog in her free time.

Scarlett Guajala

Scarlett Guajala is a graduate of Saint Peter’s University where she majored in psychology with a minor in sociology and was a leader in various clubs that focused on immigration advocacy and education. She has done sociology and political science research, presenting at annual conferences including the Eastern Sociological Society, and the 18th Annual Liberation Based Healing Conference. She is an activist and organizer in her community in New Jersey and New York advocating for immigrant rights, a pathway to citizenship for undocumented families, and liberation movements. In her spare time, she enjoys powerlifting and hiking.

Sophia Lozano-Camarillo

Sophia Lozano-Camarillo is an ambitious multiethnic advocate, majoring in Civil Engineering and minoring in Political Science at the University of Texas in Arlington. In her free time, she is also involved in a variety of outreach organizations within her community such as Dallas Earth Day Action, which focuses on environmental injustices in the DFW area, UTA Native American Student Association, and JOLT. She hopes to restore minority neighborhoods and unify people in compassion.

Taylor Damaschi

Taylor Damaschi is a community organizer based in Blackwood, NJ. He is passionate about foreign policy, international solidarity, and fighting for the international working class. Taylor graduated from Arizona State University’s School of Politics and Global Studies with a bachelor’s in political science, focusing on global politics and conflict. He was previously a community organizer for Working America, the community arm of the AFL-CIO, organizing in Philadelphia for higher wages, proper hospital staffing, and corporate accountability. When he’s not cooking Sichuanese food, you can find Taylor playing League of Legends.

Tzara Kane

Tzara Kane is an electoral organizer from coastal Maine. She graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BA in Theatre and Performance and is pursuing teaching certification for Secondary Mathematics. She became involved in grassroots political organizing through strike solidarity actions in Portland, ME prior to her work in tenant advocacy electoral campaigns. She served as Campaign Treasurer for successful ballot question campaigns in Portland, which protected the city’s robust rent control and tenant protection laws. She currently serves as the National Endorsements Co-Chair for the Democratic Socialists of America’s National Electoral Commission.

Yasharbek Sabitov

Yasharbek Sabitov is a student organizer from Queens, New York, pursuing a double major in Sociology/Anthropology and Computer Science at Swarthmore College. On campus, Yasharbek is closely involved with organizations such as the Swarthmore Queer Union and the Swarthmore Workers Union, where Yasharbek advocates for the interests of marginalized students and workers. Coming from an immigrant, Central Asian background, Yasharbek’s values of social justice translate directly into their advocacy against environmental destruction, anti-immigration policies, and the military industrial complex.