Minority Leadership Program

Malka is a first-year Master of Public Policy student with a focus on health policy. She is passionate about advocating for those living with mental illness and addiction, as well as the providers who serve them, and is currently working as a policy associate with the National Council for Behavioral Health. Malka also has worked to advance population health with the National Academy for State Health Policy, interned in the U.S. House of Representatives, and conducted research on reproductive health policy in Madrid, Spain. She graduated summa cum laude from Antioch College with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Spanish language focus.

Captain Gabe Royal is an Army officer and a current PhD student. He graduated from the United States Military Academy with a Bachelor of Science in U.S. History and American Politics in 2012. Gabe spent the last 8 years serving as an Army Aviator on active duty, deploying to both Iraq and Afghanistan. His current field of study within the PhD program in public budgeting and finance and he is interested in researching the externalities associated with national defense spending. He serves on the board of trustees for the Connecticut Boys and Girls State Foundation, working to increase the diversity of future Boys and Girls State delegates and educate the next generation of public servants. Upon completion of his graduate studies, Gabe has been selected to teach American politics as an instructor at West Point.

Shalene is an MPA student at Trachtenberg. She graduated from Delaware State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. For the last six years, Shalene served the community of Wilmington through many organizations and programs such as Autism Delaware, where she organized events and volunteered with those on the spectrum. At Urban Promise Ministries, she served as a student community leader to assist inner-city children in leadership and educational activities. Previously, she interned as a research assistant at the Center for Neighborhood Revitalization, where she worked to better understand the Wilmington, Delaware, community’s lack of trust for the criminal justice system. Shalene has a great passion for urban communities and is dedicated to serving them through her current and past works.

Maite is a second-year MPA candidate with a concentration in social policy. She graduated from George Mason University with a bachelor's degree in Global Affairs with a concentration in international development. Maite serves as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s audit coordinator for the Field Operations Directorate in the Office of Response and Recovery, where she is responsible for the tracking and preparation of regulatory and program audits and implementation of audit recommendations to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of program objectives. Prior to joining the Field Operations Directorate, she deployed to five disasters, including Hurricane Maria operations, supporting recovery and mitigation assignments in the field. Maite’s emergency management work began with the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) FEMA Corps Program.

Christina is a current MPP student concentrating in social policy. She graduated from the University of Florida, where she received a dual bachelor's degree in political science and economics while minoring in Latin American studies. One of her favorite forms of community work is with the Georgia Farm Worker Health Program. Through this organization, she helped farmworkers receive care by translating physician instructions and recommendations to Haitian Creole for the Haitian farmworkers.

Bianca is an MPP candidate with a concentration in education policy. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is currently a data analyst on the School Mental Health team at the District of Columbia Public Schools. Before joining DCPS, Bianca was a Surrey fellow within the Office of Tax Analysis at the Department of the U.S. Treasury. Prior to the pandemic, Bianca served as a mentor for the U.S. Dream Academy at Turner Elementary School and for the YWCA National Capital Area.

Jonathan is an MPP candidate with a concentration in regulatory policy.

Julia Montiel is an MA Candidate in Public Policy/Women Gender Studies. Currently, she is a program analyst intern for the USDA in their Food and Nutrition Program. She works on their regulatory and management team.  Before entering graduate school, Julia was a policy & advocacy strategist at the ACLU of Texas, where she led police reform efforts in Houston, as part of the Criminal Justice team. Previously, she served as a field investigator in the legal department at the ACLU, where she investigated human rights abuses on the U.S.-Mexico border. Prior to joining the ACLU of Texas, Julia worked as a civil rights paralegal for Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC in Washington, D.C, where she worked on class-action employment discrimination lawsuits.

Julia has worked on immigration law and policy, criminal reform, and worker’s rights. Julia is interested in regulatory policy in the tech field. 

Julia holds a B.A. in psychology and Latin American studies from Mount Holyoke College. 

Terran is a first year MPA student who recently graduated from St. Mary's College of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science in both Psychology and Political Science.

Timberley is a second-year MPP student with a concentration in Social Policy . She has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Howard University, and currently works as a research assistant at GW's Regulatory Studies Center.

Skylar Wynn is a current  Master of Public Policy student at Trachtenberg concentrating in social policy and a Research Associate at the Global Women’s Institute at the George Washington University where she works on gender-based violence. She received her bachelor’s degree with honors in Women's Studies from Old Dominion University in May 2015. During this time, she was the recipient of multiple honors such as the Anita Clair Fellman Service-Learning Scholarship, the Carolyn Rhodes Undergraduate Scholarship, Women's Studies Student of the Year Award and an International Research Award. She is passionate about gender and racial equity and how public policy can work to address the factors which drive inequality affecting Black women and girls.

Georgie is a first-year MPA candidate at TSPPA with a bachelor degree in Diplomacy and International Relations. As a professional, she have worked on implementing organizational and administrative processes in projects administered by local agencies in her home country, Haiti. She is passionate about inclusion, social justice, efficiency and democratic values in the practice of public administration.  In her free time, she enjoys reading, exercising, dancing, trying out new cuisines, basking in the beauty of art and nature, or embarking on new adventures with family and friends.

Aida is a 2nd-year MPA student expected to graduate in 2023. Originally from Pasadena, CA, Aida received a full-tuition scholarship from the POSSE foundation that gave her the opportunity to graduate from Bucknell University in 2016 for her Bachelor’s degree specializing in Education and Political Science. Aida works full-time as a program coordinator with Urban Alliance and in this role, she serves high school seniors with career development training and internship placement opportunities with organizations like the World Bank. She also is the founder and co-host of the SAD GRL SUNDAY podcast that discusses topics on healing and centers the discussions on marginalized members of our society. In the past, Aida worked primarily as a Kindergarten teacher overseas at Next Generation School located in the United Arab Emirates. Later, she served under BAYAC AmeriCorps as a career coordinator with Oakland International High School supporting migrant youth from Central America, East Africa, and the middle east in their pursuits of attending college and attaining relevant work opportunities.