Action Corps ambassadors and organizers are leaders across the country who volunteer with Action Corps campaigns. They represent Action Corps in meetings with members of Congress, in the media, and in their communities.
Have some extra time? We have flexible volunteer roles to accommodate a range of different schedules. Apply to join our Volunteer Program!
Ambassador
California
Blen Alemu, based in San Diego, is an international student from Ethiopia. She volunteers as a coordinator, marketer, and financial advisor at Jarweng Educational Development. Jarweng is a non-profit whose mission is to build schools in South Sudan and to improve life through better education, healthcare, and commerce.
Ambassador
California
Jeremy Neil has spent the last two years in the nonprofit sector advocating for ocean plastic mitigation efforts and coastal protection while working on his MS in Public and Urban Policy. His interests center around the intersections of policy and technology, leveraging modern computer technologies to help decision makers and grassroots organizations increase their influence and democratization over public resources.
Ambassador
Colorado
Stephen Lauer, based in Pueblo, Colorado, is a scholar, educator, and organizer driven to understand and overcome barriers to sustained civic engagement for inclusive and equitable community development. He is currently working on food access and agricultural initiatives in rural southern Colorado.
Ambassador
Connecticut
Layan Jahaf is a Yemeni-American high school student passionate about political science and foreign relations. She is a founding member of Pathways for Yemen, a nonprofit initiative working to end Yemen’s civil war and alleviate the country’s devastating conditions.
Ambassador
Florida
Zehra Baqri, based in Orlando, is a college student passionate about science, technology, engineering and math. She is involved in her Shi’a Muslim community and campaigns for first generation immigrants from Pakistan and Iraq to register to vote. It is important to her to speak out for her community to her central Florida representatives.
Ambassador
Georgia
Alexandra Nelson is a second year student studying art history and minoring in Spanish and curatorial studies at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. She is involved in Spelman College Student Ambassadors, The Social Justice Program, The Blue Record Podcast, and the AUC Art Collective. She is passionate about social justice and increasing Black visibility within the art world.
Ambassador
Georgia
Brittany Wilson has over a decade of experience planning outreach events to excite, engage, and interact with the community. She is a founding member of Action Corps. Brittany is the design director at a large home textile company that sells to major retailers throughout the U.S.
Ambassador
Idaho
Brendan Bell-Taylor graduated from Boise State University’s Political Science Program, specializing in international relations. He recently worked with the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights and is involved with Idaho politics to further human rights. His research has focused on far-right radicalization in the United States.
Ambassador
Idaho
Hannah Margaret Schwarz is an international development practitioner committed to gender equality, climate justice, and human rights. Hannah graduated from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, and worked in sexual reproductive health and food security while serving in the Peace Corps in Nepal.
Ambassador
Indiana
Kimberly Kiser is a data specialist and prospect researcher for Second Helpings, in Indianapolis, providing job training, and hunger relief to 4,000 people a day. She is a founding member of Action Corps and holds a master’s degree from Indiana University, where she studied non-profit law, management and finance.
Ambassador
Indiana
Monica Tuimuk is from the Matu-Chin ethnic group and is involved in this community as well as the Burmese community in Indianapolis. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering and serving the community. Most of her leadership experience comes from student and community organizations such as Alliance for Immigrant Justice, Sigma Psi Zeta Sorority Inc., and Myanmar Student Organization. Her goal is to continue developing skills in order to effectively participate in advocating for marginalized communities.
Ambassador
Iowa
Rev. Joan Fumetti is an ordained minister with the United Church of Christ, and a climate activist. She is a retired staff member of Growing Hope Globally. The organization works with U.S. farmers who agree to donate the profits from specified crops to support sustainable agriculture in low-income countries. Rev. Fumetti played a key role in Action Corps’ 2020 Global COVID Response Campaign, bringing together Iowa farmers, humanitarians, and people of faith, to lobby Sen. Grassley.
Ambassador
Kentucky
David Lian is an ethnic Chin from Burma, he studied political science and is currently studying MBA Entrepreneurship at University of Louisville, He has experience speaking to state and DC legislators for Burma. He has a passion for traveling and learning from different parts of the world.
Ambassador
Maine
Louise Kazek is an international affairs and law student at the University of Maine. Originally from France, and president of Model UN in Maine, she has a diverse network from around the world.
Organizer
Maryland
Kanisha Harrell is a first generation, limited-income student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, where she is double majoring in Political Science and Sociology with a minor in Civic Life. She tutors with the Goucher Prison Education Program, mentors other first generation, limited-income students, and serves on the Hopkins Board of Student Conduct. She is active in racial justice organizing and has interned with the Innocence Project, an organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people. Kanisha plans to become a criminal defense attorney to aid communities of color impacted by mass incarceration.
Ambassador
Maryland
Mark Harrison is the retired director of peace with justice from the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society where he advocated for public policy issues before Congress and the administration. In that capacity he served on the boards of Churches for Middle East Peace, International Labor Rights Fund and Interfaith Peace Builders, among others.
Ambassador
Maryland
Bret Lawson, based out of Washington, D.C., is an international relations student. She is passionate about humanitarian advocacy and moved to the capital to be able to better influence policy, particularly in regards to mobilizing resources to low-income communities globally.
Ambassador
Massachusetts
Kate Mallory, based in Boston, is an undergraduate student studying international relations and political science. Kate currently serves on the board of 100 Million USA, a worldwide campaign to end child exploitation. She previously worked with the Northeastern University School of Law’s Immigrant Justice Clinic.
Ambassador
Massachusetts
Odile Hugonot Haber has been an RN in the US for over 30 years, has worked with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom since 1983, and is on the board of World Beyond War. She was a delegate for the California Nurses Association, part of the Campaign Against Apartheid at UC Berkeley in the mid 1980s, part of the Women in Black movement, and part of the Long Haul’s project, the Slingshot newspaper.
Ambassador
Minnesota
Kim Kokett, based in Minneapolis, is a early childhood educator and family advocate. She has had the opportunity to travel to a number of countries including Rwanda, India, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Columbia, South Africa and Sierra Leone to share her experiences around education and learn about development on a local level. She is also connected to MN 350 and the ONE Campaign.
Ambassador
Minnesota
Yasmine Tesema grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is currently attending Carleton College. She is involved with religious-based groups and cultural organizations.
Organizer
Minnesota
Holly Young is a graduate of Penn State. She first visited the West Bank at age 13 and has been advocating for Palestinian rights ever since. Currently a homeschool mom, she is dedicated to raising her children with a strong sense of social justice.
Nebraska
Minnesota
A retired pedorthist (specialist in treating conditions of the ankle and foot), Sharon Conlon enjoys her life with her husband and grown children. Sharon works with the Nebraskans for Peace Palestinian Rights Task Force, Friends Committee for National Legislation, and Planned Parenthood. She traveled to the West Bank in 2017 and 2019, where she observed the humanitarian crisis up close.
Ambassador
New Hampshire
Abigail Henry of Newmarket is an undergraduate political science student at Northeastern University and a member of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). She is interested in international relations, conflict resolution, and the role of the military in establishing diplomatic relations and peacebuilding.
Ambassador
New Jersey
Kathleen O’Neill, based in Linden, NJ, is a retired UNICEF staff member. She currently works as a caregiver and has volunteered with ESL programs, LGBT youth groups and the marriage equality movement.
Ambassador
New Jersey
Romir Patel is a high school sophomore at the Delbarton School in New Jersey. He has a strong interest in advocacy work and for years has researched international relations and domestic policy making as a competitor in middle school and high school debate. As a debater, he has consistently ranked amongst the best nationally and has a wide range of debate experience in global issues.
Ambassador
New Mexico
Kathy Chavez, a native New Mexican, is a Navy veteran and practicing nurse. She grew up with a strong sense of social justice and was raised to respect the earth and all living creatures. With Action Corps she has lobbied for food aid reform and climate change policies. Her passions include health care and the COVID global response.
Ambassador
New Mexico
Don Wiviott is a social entrepreneur currently working in organic agriculture and reforestation. In 2008 he was a congressional candidate in his home state of New Mexico and currently serves on the board of the Iowa Farmers Union. He holds a degree in Environmental Studies from Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard.
Ambassador
New York
Sami Esquivel has worked with local NGOs to spread awareness on the importance of oceanic health and forests by leading bay restoration projects and educational hikes for volunteers and the public. She has also coordinated with working communities to advocate for land management and organic farming at community farms for over three years. Sami is focused on amplifying diverse voices to build a healthier community through her involvement in projects involving community outreach as well as arts and cultural partnerships.
Organizer
New York
Khadija Hayat is from North West Pakistan, where she witnessed the impacts of conflict and systemic barriers to progress. She has worked with communities in poverty, including supporting socio-economic initiatives at the governor’s secretariat and aiding displaced families after the 2009 floods in Peshawar. As an international diplomat, she has tackled issues like United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, immigration policy, and bilateral cooperation. Khadija is fluent in French, Urdu/Hindi, and Pashto. She also has a basic knowledge of Arabic, Persian, and Punjabi.
Ambassador
New York
Julia Meltzer is a graduate student in the Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management program at the Milano School of Policy, Management, and the Environment and will be completing her Master of Science in Fall 2021. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, and is interested in climate justice, environmental justice, and political ecology at all scales. She has advocated for environmental policy at the state level and looks forward to expanding her scope to address intersecting global challenges.
Ambassador
North Carolina
Birch MacLeod is a college graduate who was born and raised in Seattle, and now residing in North Carolina. On her days off you can find her crocheting, gardening, or playing banjo on the porch. Now that Birch is out of school, they have more time and energy to give back to the communities around them.
Ambassador
North Carolina
Andy Silver is a retired epidemiologist and a dual citizen of the US and Israel, living in Durham, NC. In 1966, he refused military service in the US and fled to Israel. In 1979, he left Israel as a matter of conscience. Andy has spent 16 years in Thailand, the last eight volunteering with mobile health clinics of the Karen Dept. of Health and Welfare in the occupied Karen state of Burma. He has lobbied Congress many times over the years with various human rights organizations.
Ambassador
North Carolina
Birch MacLeod is a college graduate who was born and raised in Seattle, and now residing in North Carolina. On her days off you can find her crocheting, gardening, or playing banjo on the porch. Now that Birch is out of school, they have more time and energy to give back to the communities around them.
Ambassador
North Carolina
Djeynaba Ba is originally from Mauritania. Her dissertation research at Ohio State University focuses on mining policies in Africa. She has volunteered with Oxfam America, World Food Programme USA, and CARE.
Ambassador
North Carolina
Kenny Ruffin is a former member of Oxfam America’s Action Corps and a founding organizer of Action Corps. He has been interested and active in pursuing justice and equality locally, nationally and internationally.
Ambassador
Oklahoma
Sr. Diane Koorie, a Sister of Mercy at Mercy Health Center convent in Oklahoma City, is a former teacher continuing to serve on ministry boards, offering adult faith formation, and in advocacy work. Sisters of Mercy serve God’s people through education, health care and other ministries that further social, political, economic and spiritual well-being.
Ambassador
Pennsylvania
Robin Garrett, based in Chester County, Pennsylvania, is a nurse/nurse educator with 40+ off-and-on years of activity related to peace-making, non-violence, women’s health, and reproductive justice, now mostly focused on making change in Pennsylvania’s racially discriminatory criminal legal system with a current focus on ending life without parole and abusive solitary confinement practices.
Ambassador
Pennsylvania
Julian Wharton was an advocate in the early AIDS movement with ACT-UP, is chair of the Nominating Committee for the NAACP-Monroe County, PA, and is an active member of his church. Leading up to the 2020 election, he volunteered with Reclaim Our Vote to fight voter suppression.
Ambassador
Rhode Island
David Oppenheimer is a peace activist and retired chef from Providence, Rhode Island. He has brought students, immigrants, and peace activists together for meetings with elected officials. Significantly, he played a key role in securing commitments from Senator Reed, the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, towards the goals of ending U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia and U.S. participation in the war in Yemen, restoring humanitarian aid to Yemen, and a global COVID response with international funds called Special Drawing Rights.
Ambassador
South Carolina
Kyle Anderson helps support global education and discovery technologies with Academic Programs International. He is a former Chinese professor and university administrator, and works closely with Parami University (Yangon, Myanmar) and its students to sustain learning in crisis contexts.
Ambassador
Texas
Rachel Powelson, based in Dallas, has lived in Thailand and Myanmar and researched Kachin languages in grad school. Her wish is for Myanmar to become a peaceful and prosperous country where its people can live in safety and happiness.
Ambassador
Vermont
Karen Blanchard has taught change agents for over 30 years at the School for International Training in Vermont, including programs for NGO professionals in Southeast Asia and newly arrived refugees. She is a member of Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) for formerly incarcerated individuals, serves on her local school board, and is part of the Inclusion Committee in Westminster, VT.
Organizer
Vermont
Mary Diane “MD” Baker is an activist in Brattleboro, Vermont, where she organizes with a number of groups. She was a key organizer of the January 25, 2021 Vermont car caravan as part of the global day of action called World Says No to War on Yemen. She has participated in multiple constituent meetings with the staff of Vermont’s U.S. senators, advocating for global justice, and she has led press outreach for the group’s local Yemen solidarity campaign.
Ambassador
Vermont
Ellen Schwartz is past president of the Vermont Workers’ Center, where she currently serves as co-coordinator of the Campaign Team. She is a retired Vermont educator and editor.
Ambassador
Virginia
Seng Hkawn Myitung is a first-generation Kachin immigrant from Burma, driven by a desire to make a difference and advocate for her people and others. She has served as a member of the Burma Action Committee for STAND, the student-led movement to end mass atrocities.
Ambassador
Virginia
Tahir Mahmood holds a Master in Microbiology from Karachi, Pakistan. Now retired, Tahir worked as a Blood Bank Manager at various hospitals in the USA and the Middle East. He currently volunteers for freedom and civil rights and teaches Arabic language as a hobby.
Fellow
Washington D.C.
Sarah Atique is a young professional of South Asian descent with a background in global health and clinical neuroscience. As a Bangladeshi Muslim American, she brings a diverse perspective and is committed to supporting minorities and advocating for the silenced through various international initiatives.
Ambassador
Washington D.C.
Lauren Selig is based in Washington, D.C. and has spent her career in the nonprofit and political sectors. She completed the Rising Organizers fellowship for emerging and established organizers in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area. Lauren is currently active in labor and Palestinian solidarity groups, using community and union organizing to build coalitions that address society’s inequities.
Organizer
Washington State
Teresa Ngan organizes from Vancouver, Canada, where she is involved with Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO). Originally from Hong Kong, she is a graduate of Washington State University’s Climate Stewards Program and is a Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Achiever at the Gold Level. She regularly speaks out against Islamophobia and has volunteered with Islamic Relief to supply global humanitarian aid, despite that she is not Muslim herself. A strong opponent of United States arms sales to Israel, Teresa aims to help advance peaceful approaches between America, Israel, Palestine, and the rest of the world.
Ambassador
Washington D.C.
Ann Simons has worked as a state and regional lobbyist for 35 years. She recently played a pivotal role in the passage of legislation creating the Washington State Women’s Commission. She holds a Master of International Relations from American University.
Ambassador
Wisconsin
Moselle Singh is a Punjabi-American artist and grassroots collaborator based in the Great Plains (Iowa-Wisconsin) with a background in agroecology and biodiversity regeneration. They have worked on small farms around the world with growers and seed keepers advocating for food/seed sovereignty and the dismantling of colonial-capitalist agriculture from the Great Plains to undivided Punjab. They currently collaborate with the Indigenous-led resistance, Great Plains Action Society.
SPECIAL THANKS
Founding Organizers
- Brennan Frazier, New York
- Brian Rawson, California
- Clara Herrero, California
- Dawn Deransburg, Wisconsin
- Desiree Thayer, California
- Djeynaba Ba, Ohio
- Elizabeth Norman, New York
- Elizabeth Tillman, Texas
- Ellie Baron, New York
- Fatmazohra Feknous Ouaaz, New York
- Hope Berndt, Indiana
- Isaac Evans-Frantz, New York
- Jasmine McBeath, California
- Jessica Shao, California
- Kathy Chavez, New Mexico
- Kenny Ruffin, Ohio
- Kimberly Kiser, Indiana
- Margaret Tran, New York
- Megan Nakra, Illinois
- Nancy Carpenter, Illinois
- Nancy Romer, New York
- Richenda Kramer, New York
- Sapana Thomas, Massachusetts
- Somia Elrowmeim, New York
- Taryn Fusco, New York
- Yolande Cadore, New York
- Yolibeth Rangel, Wisconsin
- Brittany Wilson, Georgia
Founding Board Members
Action Corps would never have taken root without the tireless efforts of our founding board members: Megan Nakra, Sapana Thomas, Elizabeth Tillman, Brittany Wilson, and Kimberly Kiser.