People

Meet our Faculty

Program Director

Erica Walls

Visiting Faculty

Part-time Faculty

Gretchen Van Der Veer

Part-time Faculty

Meet our Seniors

Samantha Polanco

Samantha is pursuing her bachelors in Human Services and Social Justice with a minor in Sociology. She was born and raised in Harlem, New York. She has always been passionate about serving under resourced communities in any capacity and cannot wait to be a part of change involving the GW Arc Foundation.

Ciera Rawson

Ciera is passionate about creating change starting at the local level. She is studying Communication and Social Justice and focuses on policy and advocacy work aimed at ending chronic homelessness.

Kiana Lee

Kiana has served with Jumpstart at GW for four years and is passionate about increasing educational equity to alleviate other social injustices. She is majoring in Organizational Sciences and hopes to improve organizations so they prioritize the communities they work in

Meg Testen

Meg is completing a combined degree program receiving her Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in Education Policy. Through her service and work experience in DC, she has become passionate about nonprofits receiving sustainable funding that aid them in achieving their missions

Dahvi Cohen

Dahvi has gained valuable experiences in policy and government affairs through her internships in Vice President Harris’s former Senate office, the office of Congresswoman Porter, and numerous nonprofits. In addition to HSSJ, Dahvi is double majoring in Political Science while pursuing her Masters in Legislative Affairs with the GW Graduate School of Political Management.

Milena Urrutia

Milena is double majoring in Human Services and Social Justice and American Studies. Her passion for serving and social justice began when she joined Alpha Phi Omega, a gender inclusive service fraternity her freshman year, where she later became the VP of Service. She has a variety of experience working with grassroots organizations such as DC Dream Center, AnBryce Foundation, and College Tribe in both direct and indirect capacities. She hopes to apply her cross-cultural knowledge, in addition to her social justice experience to pursue a career in education.

Gabrielle Bello

Gabrielle is a social justice organizer, community-scholar advocate, and non-profit consultant from the South Side of Chicago. She is in her third year at The George Washington University where, in addition to her B.A., she is pursuing a minor in Sociology. Honoring her British-Nigerian immigrant background, she desires to become a civil rights lawyer and inspire her peers to perpetuate the global fight to deconstruct the institutional discrimination the American government thrives on, create a new system all together, and raise awareness to issues that people in America face on a daily basis so that they are never forgotten.

Kaylah Fermaint

Kaylah Fermaint is pursuing a B.A in Human Services and Social Justice with a minor in Sociology. Throughout her time at GW Kaylah has worked with a variety of nonprofit organizations in the DMV area that serve underrepresented communities. Her passion for service and advocacy has allowed her to be a changemaker in her community. She hopes to continue encouraging effective change with the GW Arc Foundation.

Camille O'Keefe

Camille has professional experience and a passion for mental health and cannabis education and advocacy, causes that deeply impact unhoused populations. Camille is grateful to be a part of the GW Arc Foundation and its mission to help organizations in the DMV who provide care to individuals experiencing homelessness.

Hanbin Park

Hanbin is majoring in Human Services and Social Justice. She has served with Miriam’s Kitchen, and participated in direct services to help individuals experiencing homelessness.

Shannon Doyle

Shannon is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, along with her degree in Human Services and Social Justice. Throughout her time at GW, she has served alongside numerous local and national nonprofits in completing service-learning projects, internships, and research. She is passionate about public service and community engagement, having dedicated her career thus far to social justice issues such as youth development, education equity, etc.

Rachel Kraft

Rachel is in her third year at The George Washington University majoring in Human Services and Social Justice. She enjoys working with children and has been able to do that through her classes in the HSSJ department. She is looking forward to working with the rest of the team and being a part of a group that is focusing on ending homelessness, especially given the strain that the pandemic has brought on many people.

Emily Villar

Emily is interested in working to address homelessness as a social justice issue, with a particular focus on substance use disorder as one of the conditions that causes and maintains homelessness. Emily is looking forward to the opportunity to build career-applicable skills and the opportunity to provide funding to organizations within the DMV dedicated to helping the homeless.

Alyson Campbell

Alyson is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Human Service and Social Justice and American Studies. She has worked with Jumpstart in numerous different positions, but most recently as a Volunteer Coordinator. During her time at GWU she has had the opportunity to work with Turning the Page, CAIR Coalition, and Common Good City Farm. She is excited to work with the GW Arc Foundation to develop new skills and serve those experiencing homelessness.

Kamryn Prince

Kamryn is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Human Services and Social Justice and a minor in Journalism and Mass Communications. She has served many nonprofit organizations in the DC area, including Miriam’s Kitchen, Active Minds DC and the Coalition of Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development(CNHED). Kamryn is looking forward to continuing developing new skills and serving the DC community.

Sarah Siraj

Sarah has had the opportunity to work with multiple nonprofits in the DC area as each targets a specific issue and population. Along with HSSJ, she is double majoring in Psychology which has allowed her to view many social justice issues through a new lens.

Isabel Sperry

Isabel (they/them) is a senior who is passionate about criminal justice reform and program evaluation. They have worked for a number of organizations including New Futures and DC Central Kitchen, implementing programs and evaluation infrastructure. These infrastructures are in use today and add to the efficiency and impact of both organizations.

Grayson Hussong

Grayson has worked with several nonprofits focused on addressing homelessness and is looking forward to the opportunity to engage with the issue from a different approach through the GW Arc Foundation.

Sophie Clemens

Sophie is in her third year at GW majoring in Human Services and minoring in Public Health and Psychology. She is passionate about social change and while she has experience in direct service, advocacy, and research, she is excited to gain skills in foundation work.

Eve Pinchevsky

Eve’s advocacy journey began with her learning American Sign Language and about the disparities the Deaf community experiences. Eve has learned through her internship on Capitol Hill, along with various D.C. nonprofit organizations, how imperative it is to fight for policies that support marginalized communities.