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2011-2012 Fellow Bios

NU Public Interest Program Fellows are passionate, dedicated, and have made profound impacts at their host organizations. Meet our current fellows and learn about their work.

Stephanie Arias (Urban Prep) Stephanie Arias graduated from Northwestern in 2010 with a BA in Human Development and Psychological Services and a minor in Latino/Latina Studies. At Northwestern, Stephanie studied abroad in Uganda through the Global Engagement Summer Institute, working on a microfinance project in rural Iganga. She also traveled to Cuba to deliver medical supplies to rural areas surrounding Havana, and traveled to Amman, Jordan to report on Iraqi refugees’ stories, which culminated in a short documentary of one refugee family’s narrative. She was a counselor for the Freshman Urban Program, a member of Multi-Ethnic and La Fe Intervarsity, and a program coordinator of the Northwestern University Public Interest Program. Her senior thesis on undocumented Latino/a high school students’ perceptions of their legal status was rooted in her own family’s immigration narrative – born in Quito, Ecuador and raised in Chicago instilled in her a passion for immigrant rights. For fun, Stephanie loves catching up on online episodes of television series others finished years ago, and Red Eye’s crossword puzzles. She is excited to join the College Counseling department at Urban Prep Charter Academy and hopes it will continue to expand her understanding of urban education as well as her service to high-school aged youth.

Tom Gonzales (Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning)
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, I completed my studies in civil engineering with a minor in transportation and logistics. During my time at Northwestern, l completed a one-year co-op work term at a transportation engineering and planning consultancy in Baltimore, and I also spent one year on an exchange program in Munich, Germany. I'm excited to have the opportunity to work at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, where I will be able to build upon my interest in transportation, land use planning, and policy.

Katie Johnstone (Inferfaith Youth Core)
Katie Johnstone, from Centennial, Colorado, is graduating with a BA in International Studies and Communication Studies.  At NU Katie was active in Environmental Campus Outreach, ISEN, the Center for Civic Engagement, the OneBook Mountains Beyond Mountains campaign, and Hillel.  Katie will work in Development at the Interfaith Youth Core, as well as contributing to their Better Together program and IFYC blog as much as possible.  Katie plans to continue studying Buddhism, French, Spanish, guitar, yoga, culinary arts, and the culture of Wicker Park in her spare time.  An outdoorsy girl and pragmatist at heart, Katie is excited to make the move from Colorado to Chicago - land of jazz, snow, civil rights, architecture, and PIP!

Claudia Leung (Lawndale Christian Health Center)
Claudia Leung graduated in 2011 with a BS in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a minor in Global Health. Through her time at Northwestern, she has been involved with Asian American InterVarsity and China Care, and has also interned on a childhood obesity project with the US Department of Health and Human Services. She recently spent four months living in the mountains of rural China as a health educator in ethnic minority villages—a challenging experience that confirmed her desire to be a doctor! Her career path and motivation have been shaped by her family’s support, experiences abroad, and most importantly, her faith, and she is excited to be a part of Lawndale Christian Health Center next year. LCHC is a health clinic that is dedicated to the health of communities on Chicago’s West Side, and is a model for providing quality care without regard to a patient’s financial resources. As a Care Coordinator for LCHC, Claudia will be helping to ensure efficient operations within the clinic, and is looking forward to learning about the challenges of urban healthcare through this experience.

Rosey Martinez (MetroSQUASH)
Rosey Martinez graduated from the School of Education and Social Policy with a degree in Social Policy and Sociology. Rosey was born and raised in Chicago. Her inspiration to pursue a career to reduce educational disparities and potentially practice education law stems from her family who has encountered the injustices of the public educational system. She has twelve siblings and considers every single one of them a role model that has helped her achieve thus far. Additionally, Rosey was President of Promote 360: A Cycle of Minority Empowerment where she helped lead student visits (from elementary to high school) and motivate others to pursue college.  She is also a sister of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc., the first and largest Latina sorority in the nation. Among many reasons, she joined this sorority as a means to empower herself as well as others Latinas.  Rosey is very excited to join MetroSQUASH because she will continue to help others reach their dreams.

Chris Oh (Lawndale Christian Health Center)
Chris was born in New York City and moved to Mason, OH for high school. He graduated in March 2011 with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Global Health. At Northwestern, Chris was actively involved in MultiEthnic InterVarsity, a Christian fellowship on campus. He also researched youth mental disorders in the Psych Department and helped mentor kids from Evanston through Project SOAR. As a pre-med student, Chris is excited to take his interests and to pursue them further at Lawndale Christian Health Center. LCHC actively engages in one of the most under-resourced neighborhoods in Chicago, providing health care to regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. Chris is excited to help pursue social justice and equality in health care at LCHC and hopes to develop his understanding of missional living and the medical field.

Nathalie Rayter (Free Spirit Media)
Nathalie Rayter graduated from Northwestern in 2011 with a B.S. in Social Policy and a minor in Environmental Policy and Culture. During her time at NU, she developed an interest in the role of media in creating positive social change -- probably a relic of her one-year stint as a journalism major -- and found balance in these interests in her time on the board of Inspire Media, a student initiative which promotes the production and consumption socially conscious film, art and other forms. She also served on the Residential College Board and the Global Engagement Committee of the International Students Association. Nathalie is so excited to be moving into Chicago and serving as a program assistant with Free Spirit Media in the coming year.

Maura Ross (Center on Halsted)
Maura Ross is a 2011 graduate of Northwestern University with a BA in both Art History and Gender Studies. On campus, she has been actively involved with College Feminists for the past three years and was elected co-president for her senior year. As a senior, Maura spent her year interning with the American Civil Liberties Union. During her time with the ACLU of Illinois, she learned about issues of equality and discrimination still taking place in our society, which served to further her interest in working in civil rights and public interest. Maura loves history, traveling, and coffee served in oversized mugs. She is thrilled to spend the next year working at the Center on Halsted as the Community & Cultural Programs Coordinator!

Hana Suckstorff (Interfaith Youth Core)
Hana Suckstorff, a native of the north suburbs of Detroit, will graduate from Northwestern with a BA in History and a minor in Italian.  A lover of Italian history and tennis, Hana has continued both passions at Northwestern through her studies and her four years of involvement with the women's club tennis team.  She has loved working with students throughout her time at Northwestern through dorm government, Res Life, and  now as a tutor at the Writing Place.  She is particularly passionate about NU's religious community and has been actively involved in University Christian Ministry (UCM) for her whole time at Northwestern.  As a peer minister with UCM, she's considering careers in ministry and academia but wanted to expand her skill set first and get some real-world job experience before committing to graduate school.  She is excited to be working in communications for the Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) and to continue exploring the intersection of faith and social justice in a city as fantastic as Chicago.

Rachel Zinn (The Community Builders)
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Rachel now feels just as at home in Chicago as she does in California.  The four winters she endured studying Human Development and Psychological Services at Northwestern were made worth it when she graduated in 2011 with NUPIP and The Community Builders as her next step.  Rachel has always been fascinated by people and how we can learn to understand one another in a way that enhances the lives of everyone with whom we come into contact.  Rachel's past non-profit work includes coordinating a youth mentorship program, working with adults with disabilities, volunteering as a counselor for Camp Kesem, and considerable involvement in Northwestern's Jewish community.  Rachel is extremely proud and excited to be part of this network of NU alumni who truly care about their communities.