The Kalmanovitz Initiative is excited to welcome the following six students to our Organizing Internship for summer 2014! Andrea Guerrero and Diondra Hicks will work with ONE DC, Suzy Jivotovski will work with the DC Employment Justice Center, and Yanely Perez and Marisha Wickremsinhe will work with DC Jobs with Justice.
Andrea Guerrero (SFS ’15) is an International Economics major with a concentration in Development, Transition, and Growth. Born in Mexico, and thus an immigrant herself, Andrea is interested in immigrant rights and the economic policies behind forced migration. Last summer she interned with AidGrade, a research organization that analyzes development programs to identify those that produce the most good. On the Hilltop she is a member of the Justice and Diversity in Action Living and Learning Community and the Georgetown Development Initiative. Andrea enjoys cooking, crafting, and making new friends as a DC volunteer tour guide. She is excited to work with ONE DC this summer and use her knowledge to help people.
Originally from Atlanta, GA, Diondra Hicks (COL ’15) is majoring in Psychology with a focus on children and families and minoring in English and Linguistics. This summer Diondra is interning with ONE DC. At Georgetown, Diondra serves as the Vice President of Operations of the Black Student Alliance, a mentor in the Girl Talk program, and a Georgetown Scholarship Program peer mentor. Much of Diondra’s campus involvement centers around social justice. Diondra was a member of the first cohort of trainees in the 2014 Social Justice Leadership Training Institute. Currently, Diondra serves on the President’s Committee formed after the submission of the 2014 Black House Proposal for Action, and this year Diondra will be the Black House’s Alumni Coordinator.
Suzy Jivotovski (COL ’15) is jazzed to work with the Employment Justice Center this summer because she strongly agrees with their vision of a worker-led coalition that fights for better rights for DC’s most vulnerable workers. Suzy’s involvement in activism and organizing began while growing up in central New Jersey with her mother, a community organizer, but her interest in workers’ rights bloomed while on the Fair Food Alternative Spring Break in 2014. Suzy is a member of the Georgetown Solidarity Committee and will be leading the Worker Justice DC spring break trip next spring. When she’s not at the EJC office or canvassing about the new minimum wage and paid sick days laws in DC, Suzy can be found playing ultimate frisbee, playing her guitar, or watching the soap opera De Que Te Quiero Te Quiero with fellow KI intern Marisha.
Yanely Perez (COL ’17) is majoring in Government and Psychology with a minor in German. Throughout her school career and in her personal time she has worked on issues pertaining directly to the homeless population and animal rights. Because her family has a long history of immigrant workers, she has found a passion advocating for workers rights. Through the KI Summer Organizing Internship, she will be working with DC Jobs with Justice. She hopes this experience will not only deepen her understanding of the organizing world but give her the tools to help those being affected by unjust labor practices back home in Oklahoma.
Marisha Wickremsinhe (NHS ’15) hails from Indianapolis, IN, and is majoring in International Health at Georgetown. In the fall of 2014, she will be working at the Health Research Centre in Navrongo, Ghana, researching postpartum depression. She has served as a program manager for DC Schools Project, a two-time leader of the First-Year Orientation to Community Involvement (FOCI) pre-orientation program, and a two-time leader for Georgetown’s Alternative Spring Break program. Marisha is a proud Patrick Healy Fellow who thoroughly enjoys discussions about race, class, and privilege. She is a volunteer with HIPS, an organization that focuses on harm reduction for communities and individuals affected by and engaged with sex work and injection drug use. She is thrilled to be working at DC Jobs with Justice this summer, where she will be focusing on the Walmart campaign for better wages and working conditions, and community outreach on recent paid sick days legislation and the minimum wage increase in DC.
