NAILAH GARARD, COHORT 2
Nailah Garard is a Junior in Macaulay Honors College at City College of New York where she is currently studying International Studies and Anthropology. She is also earning a pre-law/legal studies degree under the Skadden Arps Honors program to work in the legal profession as an attorney, or a health court judge. Nailah is staunchly aware of the policies that exacerbate racial disparities within the criminal justice and healthcare systems. As an academic and an activist, she is focused on uncovering the ways policy work, both locally and globally, can address these particular inequities . In her school community, she serves as Vice President in the Roosevelt Institute, Secretary for Humanizing Homelessness, and a peer mentor. As a Partners for Change Fellowship recipient, she was able to research the efficacy of campus resources and map student environmental trauma. In the future, Nailah hopes to continue her social justice work as a policy-maker in collaboration with underserved communities.
MINH NGUYEN,COHORT 2
Minh Nguyen is a senior at The City College of New York. Majoring in Political Science, Minh is interested in unpacking the intersections of immigration and national security. As a recent immigrant himself, Minh has always seen America as a symbol of hope, offering shelter to those in search of a new home, for a multitude of reasons, whether it be political persecution, religious freedom or economic opportunity. Recent events under the current administration have shown otherwise, affecting women and minorities the most, and that is why Minh hopes to learn more about immigration and national security policy to help America fulfill the promise of being the land of the free. Minh was a research intern for Clinical Lecturer in Law Ryan Thoreson at Yale Law School during Summer 2019.
MALITHI PERERA, COHORT 2
Malithi Perera is a Business Management and Administration major at City College of New York as a junior. As a financially independent woman, Malithi is well exposed to the harsh conditions employees face working for major corporations. She hopes to use her education to understand, document and expose the corruption and labor injustices in the business world. Shes hopes that the lessons learned from these intellectual endeavors will prove useful to her personal experiences and other small business owners/employees. However what is above all most important to Malithi is that she is able to expand her gaze beyond her education and use experiences to be an example for her family, her friends, and her community.