{"id":210,"date":"2021-11-12T00:53:18","date_gmt":"2021-11-12T00:53:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/au.test\/get-involved\/essay-contest\/"},"modified":"2025-06-30T16:06:32","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T20:06:32","slug":"youthfellows","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/youthfellows\/","title":{"rendered":"Youth Organizing Fellowship"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Youth Organizing Fellowship<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Youth Organizing Fellowship is a paid opportunity to grow as a leader, build power with a national cohort of youth organizers, and advocate for the separation of church and state and inclusive religious freedom, including the issues that depend on them like abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights, strong public schools and a functioning democracy.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Applications for the Youth Organizing Fellowship are now closed. Applications for the 2026-2027 Fellowship will open in spring 2026.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Meet the 2024-2025 Youth Organizing Fellows<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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A.J.<\/strong> (he\/him) is a graduate of the University of New Mexico, where he majored in History and Political Science. A Truman Scholar with a background in labor organizing and policy analysis, he focuses on the intersection of economic justice, social policy, and the defense of pluralist democracy. His interest in the separation of church and state reflects his commitment to preventing the weaponization of religious freedom to discriminate against vulnerable populations, particularly those facing economic hardship.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Andy Beyer<\/strong> (he\/him) is a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where he majored in political science and minored in Spanish and human rights. He is based in the Bay Area and is interested in constitutional law, LGBTQ rights, and upholding church-state separation, particularly as it relates to issues of religious exemptions.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Aryan Batada<\/strong> (he\/him) is a freshman in college, where he studies Industrial & Labor Relations. Outside of class, he is involved in political work and climate activism. He hopes to one day be a civil rights lawyer.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Belle Townsend<\/strong> (she\/they) is a writer, organizer, and researcher from Robards, Kentucky, currently living and working in Louisville, Kentucky. They do communications and creative work for issue based non-profits, particularly around about LGBTQIA2S+ civics and politics in Kentucky. Belle has published three poetry collections, “Push and Pull,” “The Observer Effect,” and “The Holy in the Humdrum.” They are the founder of Backwoods Literary Press, a non-profit press project to platform and document diverse rural voices in the face of increased book bans and censorship.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Chloe Serrano <\/strong>(she\/her) is pursuing her BA in Asian American Studies at UCLA. <\/span>With aspirations for a career in law and politics, she is refining her skills in political communications, social media, policy writing, and research.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Imani K. Bryant<\/strong> (they\/she) is a double alumna of Howard University where she received a bachelor of arts and master of arts in political science. In her undergraduate studies, she focused on the inclusion of Black queer individuals in conceptions of Black Power through the liberation theology framework. In her master’s studies, she wrote her thesis on the political theology of white Christian nationalism. As a scholar activist, Imani believes in the power of combining theory with praxis in our imaginations of intersectional justice and liberation.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Katharine Turcke<\/strong> (she\/her) is originally from Boise, Idaho and is a junior at Pomona College studying Politics and English. At Pomona, Katharine enjoys leading her mock trial team through competitive trial simulations, volunteering for small claims legal aid services, and researching constitutional issues. Having grown up witnessing the effects of religious extremism, she is passionate about church-state separation issues ranging from reproductive rights to book bans.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Kennya Medina <\/strong>(she\/her) is a legal advocate for tenants\u2019 rights in Los Angeles County. A graduate of California State University, Long Beach, she is passionate about social justice and equitable access to public services. Through this fellowship, Kennya will explore how discrimination in foster care and interim housing services intersects with church-state separation issues, advocating for systemic change.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Lex Colleen<\/strong> (she\/her) is a social worker and community organizer from New York City. Her passions are criminal legal reform, decarceration, and abolition, and her career goal is to work in policy. She currently works at NYC Council as a Legislative Fellow, but her background is in grassroots organizing and activism.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Lilly Arthur<\/strong> (she\/her) is a senior at the University of Arizona, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Gender and Women Studies. Lilly has organized on her campus for various issues, including preserving the Cultural Resource Centers on the U of A campus, reproductive justice, and protecting student spaces on the U of A campus. In addition to her role as Youth Organizing Fellow for AU, Lilly is the director of Feminists Organize to Resist Create & Empower (FORCE), an intersectional feminist student group that oversees the Feminist Pharmacy, which provides access to free and confidential menstrual products, safe sex products, and Plan-B to U of A students. In her role at AU, Lilly will focus on public education in her home state of Arizona, which has the most extensive school voucher program in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Mariamme Latif Estafan<\/strong> is a junior at George Mason University double majoring in government & international politics as well as conflict resolution and analysis. Mariamme joined AU as an Outreach and Engagement Intern in summer 2024 and is excited for the opportunity to be part of the Youth Organizing Fellowship to advance her advocacy and activism skills!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Mish Quan<\/strong> (any pronouns) is a junior undergraduate student at The George Washington University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in International Affairs and Economics. Their passion for racial justice and its intersectionalities stems from their years of work in Kentucky organizing against environmental racism. Now, they hope to expand their local work to a global level through advocacy with the Youth Organizing Fellowship against White Christian Nationalism in America. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Miura Rempis-Locke<\/strong> (she\/her) is a doctoral student from Nashville, TN studying Public Policy. She serves as America’s Civic Miss 2025, and is the author of the children’s book series, “Smarticle Particles and the Power of Civic Engagement”. Miura is passionate about fighting school censorship, LGBTQ+ and racial discrimination, and voter suppression. Her favorite banned book is Animal Farm, and she has a “Read Banned Books” tattoo!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Parth Joshi<\/strong> (he\/him) is a sophomore at the University of Southern California double majoring in History and American Studies & Ethnicity. On campus, he is a part of Spark SC, Political Union, Planned Parenthood Generation Action, and Asli Baat; he also works at the USC Center for the Political Future. Through the fellowship, he aims to tackle the intersection of oppression between the denial of LGBTQIA+ rights and reproductive healthcare access.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Meet More Fellows<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Youth Organizing Fellows 2020 - 2021<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Youth Organizing Fellows 2022 \u2013 2023<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Youth Organizing Fellows 2021 - 2022<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Youth Organizing Fellows 2023 - 2024<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Youth Organizing Fellowship The Youth Organizing Fellowship is a paid opportunity to grow as a leader, build power with a national cohort of youth organizers, and advocate for the separation of church and state and inclusive religious freedom, including the issues that depend on them like abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights, strong public schools and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"issue_tax":[],"class_list":["post-210","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/210\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210"},{"taxonomy":"issue_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.au.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_tax?post=210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}