Sharif Long
(He/Him) - Founding Board Member
Sharif is from Dallas, TX, and graduated in 2022 with degrees in Biology and Plan II and a certificate in Pre-Health Professions. As a future health care professional, he is strongly committed to bridging the humanities and sciences to create an equitable, community-focused health care system in our country. Through the Dell Medical School Health Leadership Apprentice program, Sharif collaborated with his cohort to design and implement a project, which aimed to empower patients with chronic conditions, through education provided at the Austin Volunteer Health Clinic. In addition, Sharif was involved with the Texas TourGuides, the Tejas Club, and University Housing and Dining (Resident Assistant). Previously, he served as a SCORE Athletics coach and the Longhorn Legislative Aides co-director in UT Student Government. Presently, he continues to volunteer with the YMCA Youth and Government program which provides middle and high school students opportunities to learn about civic engagement, social impact, and the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership organization. His personal involvement has reflected his deep passion for mentorship, youth empowerment, and equity, which he believes are all essential in building a world that is more inclusive for all people.
Julia Mitterer-Claudet
(She/Her) - Founding Board Member
Julia is a graduated in 2022 with degrees in Neuroscience and Plan II, and will be attending medical school after college. She is proud to come from a long line of immigrants which goes back four generations. She credits her parent’s and grandparent’s immigrant experience for imparting a guiding belief: the best way to feel at home is to invest your time and energy into your home—your community. Historically, that meant serving as the head counselor for three summers at the TR Hoover Community Development Center in Dallas, where she has maintained an active relationship since leaving for the Forty Acres. She mentored through the Plan II KIPP partnership, served on the Executive Board of Texas Spirits, and empowered ESL students through the Language Campaign. Her experience with mentorship inspired her passion for early education, and she explored its relation to brain development through her Plan II thesis. Despite a variety of experiences and intellectual interests, Julia is driven by her love for people, human connection, and the joy of spreading both of those passions across her communities.
Alexzandra Roman
(She/Her) - Founding Board Member
Alexzandra Roman graduated in 2022 as a Terry Scholar with degrees in Women & Gender Studies, Government, and Mexican American & Latino Studies. Born and raised in San Antonio, TX, Alexzandra centers her Mexican-American culture and education in her activism. Pridefully recognizing the advocacy of her ancestors, she strives to exude the same passion and perseverance they imparted on her culture through her own work. During her time at UT, Alexzandra has been involved in various organizations including: Camp Texas, the Longhorn Legislative Aides, the Women’s Resource Agency, the Texas Tour Guides, and the Latinx Community Affairs, via the Multicultural and Engagement Center. She was also a fellow for the McNair Scholars Program and for the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy. Staying true to her passion for education and community, Alexzandra has additionally spent time working with the Senate of College Council Ethnic Studies Ad-Hoc committee, proposing an Ethnic Studies curriculum requirement at the University of Texas. She has also worked with the Mutual Aid Collective, where she distributed resources to Austin community members affected by COVID-19 and police brutality during the Black Lives Matter Movement. Alexzandra hopes to continue carrying out activism for her community through her job with the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies, Tejas Foco, and through her endeavors in Educational Policy and teaching Ethnic Studies.
Dayton Thompson
(He/Him) - Founding Board Member
Dayton graduated in 2022 with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Plan II Honors, as well as minors in English, History, and a certificate in Computer Science. Raised in Fairview, TX, his adolescent experiences with rural and suburbanizing communities initially spurred questions on belonging, hardship, and class. Those particular themes guided his exploration on the potential for martial arts training to provide a form of community support, one which is necessary to help alleviate symptoms of post-traumatic stress for combat-experienced veterans. During his time at UT, he continued to explore and engage with ideas of community in a variety of spaces. He served in the Plan II department as a Peer Mentor and as a Teaching Assistant for Professor Walker’s signature Community Engagement course. Outside of Plan II, he was involved in the Normandy Scholars Program, Texas 4000 for Cancer, the Tejas Club, and the UT Weightlifting Team. While serving as a student board member for the Walker Fellowship, his primary goal was to facilitate meaningful community impact. He aimed to enable students to create or connect with projects on the Forty Acres and beyond through mentorship, research, and community exposure.
William Wallock
(He/Him) - Founding Board Member
William graduated in 2022 with degrees in Plan II and Finance and a certificate in the Core Texts and Ideas (Jefferson Scholar). He hopes to devote his professional career to working at the intersection of climate security and international law. Before beginning undergrad, he spent a year in Israel where he worked as an EMT with Magen David Adom and studied the geopolitics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Since his time in Israel, William has devoted his professional energy toward working in the realm of environmental policy and law. He has worked as a case clerk at Lloyd Gosselink with the water and energy practice group. He then worked as a water policy analyst at the Center for Water Security and Cooperation (CWSC). During the summer of 2020, he returned to the CWSC and joined the World Resource Institute (WRI) as a climate resilience researcher. On-campus, William was a 2021 summer rider with Texas 4000, a mentor with the Plan II-KIPP partnership, a researcher with the IPD lab, a TA for Lee Walker's Civic Viewpoints seminar, a Brumley Fellow with the Strauss Center, and an Undergraduate Fellow with the Clements Center. He hopes to pursue a joint JD/MPP degree after undergrad and continue to work on issues relating to environmental justice and climate resiliency.
Izabella De la Garza
(She/Her) - Food Waste Cohort
Izabella De la Garza is from San Antonio, Texas. She graduated in the spring of 2023 with a degree in Government and Mexican American and Latina/o Studies and a certificate in Public Policy with a concentration on Race, Immigration, and Citizenship from the Bridging Disciplines Program. She was also a Liberal Arts Honors student, Co-Director of Community Engagement for the Latinx Community Affairs, and Co-Executive Director of the Liberal Arts Honors Diversity Action Committee. During high school, Izabella learned of the extent of xenophobia and human rights violations against immigrants in the U.S. As the granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, she has become passionate about pursuing a career that would support all immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. She also understands there are significant faults in the U.S. immigration process and plans on using the knowledge she will gain in government and public policy to advocate for the reformation of the system.
Melissa Ebrahimi
(She/Her) - Food Waste Cohort
Melissa is from Frisco, TX and graduated in 2022 with a major in Public Health and a certificate in the Business of Healthcare. Throughout her life, Melissa has made it her goal to work towards fostering an inclusive environment for all. Her past experiences have driven her desire to help those within her community whether through small interpersonal interactions, or large-scale service projects. She was a Co-Chair for the College Volunteer Program at Dell Children’s Medical Center and the Director of Greek Recruitment for Texas THON, a student-led philanthropy organization that raises funds and awareness for DCMC. Her passion for helping others has directly influenced her time at UT which is exemplified through her experience as Co-Service chair for Texas Sweethearts, a service-oriented organization on campus. Additionally, she was a class-assistant for a program called Texas Sprouts, dedicated to promoting healthy habits for children in elementary school. Overall, Melissa hopes that through her major in Public Health, and her inherent drive to help others, to continue working to bridging the issues of inequity and healthcare disparities in her future endeavors.
Teresa Medellin
(She/Her) - Food waste Cohort
Teresa Medellin is from San Antonio and graduated in 2022 with degrees in Biochemistry and Plan II. Inspired by her family's dedication to their community, she hopes to continue their legacy of advocacy through education focused on health equity. An invaluable experience was her internship as a Housing Stability Intern at Caritas of Austin where she worked with unhoused individuals to connect them to housing and community resources. Acting on her passion for improving health outcomes, particularly for those excluded from quality health care, she is a clinical volunteer at the C.D. Doyle free clinic in downtown Austin. She is currently an intern for Texas Free Market Surgery where she focuses on patient health outcomes to provide value-based care. Teresa is also involved in the Plan II/KIPP Partnership where she works with students from KIPP Austin on their college applications. Additionally, Teresa is a Writing Coach for the Plan II World Literature course, and she has been a committee member and committee chair for the Plan II Student Association. After her undergraduate studies, she hopes to pursue a Masters in Medical Humanities and attend medical school while continuing to advocate for equity in healthcare and her community.
Kumail Imam
(He/Him) - Healthcare Cohort
Kumail graduated in the spring of 2023 with a degree in Plan II and a minor in Persian. He was thoroughly involved in the refugee community. He volunteered with Refugee Services of Texas and with the Refugee Student Mentor Program at UT, gaining insight about refugees' daily struggles. He especially has a passion for refugee health, since he has been building a venture tackling this issue in the Social Entrepreneurship Learning Lab (SELL) Ideator and Incubator Fellowships. He hopes to bring his passion for social change to his cohort so that he can work collaboratively with a team to tackle an important social issue through human-centered design.