Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall | Room: 114 — 1 Prospect Street
Yale is known for fostering a culture of public service, and therefore it's no surprise that many of our classmates are leading in the fight for social justice and shaping public policy. Come learn how Yale shaped their desire to commit themselves to a career in a variety of fields shaping our social consciousness. Included below are the bios for each speaker:
Ejeris Dixon
Ejeris Dixon is the Executive Director of Vision Change Win Consulting, where they partner globally with organizations to build capacity and deepen the impact of their organizing strategies. They previously served as the Deputy Director of Community Organizing at the New York City Anti-Violence Project and was recognized by the White House in 2012 as an Emerging LGBT Leader and featured speaker on violence against Black LGBTQ communities. Ejeris received a Bachelor’s Degree in African American Studies from Yale University and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Nonprofit Management from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. Ejeris is a karaoke diva, loves cooking complicated meals, and has lived in Brooklyn, NY for the past twenty years.
Arnoldo Fabela
Arnoldo Fabela is the Director of Field and Organizing for the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT). He has led campaigns that have changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers in various sectors: healthcare, property services, retail/food processing, and public employees. His first major victory was helping 5,000 mostly immigrant janitors in Houston organize a union with SEIU and in 2012, Arnoldo helped lead the first strikes of Walmart Associates in the United States, which boosted the efforts of the national Fight for $15 campaign and led to increases in the minimum wage across the country. He lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his wife Maria and three children: Sofia, Xavier, and Seba.
Alvaro M. Huerta
Alvaro M. Huerta is Director of Litigation & Advocacy at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) where he works to defend and advance the rights of immigrants and their families through impact litigation, policy advocacy, strategic communications, and community education. He previously served as Senior Attorney at the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), where he started his public interest legal career as a Skadden Fellow. After graduating from Stanford Law School in 2010, he clerked for the Honorable Harry Pregerson on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. At Yale, Alvaro double-majored in Molecular Biochemistry & Biophysics and Political Science, is a first-generation college graduate from East Los Angeles, and the proud son and grandson of immigrants to the United States from Mexico.
Kelly Levin
Kelly Levin is Chief of Science, Data and Systems Change for the Bezos Earth Fund. The Bezos Earth Fund was created with a 10 billion commitment to be dispersed this decade to fight climate change and protecting nature. In her role, she brings data, analysis and evidence to inform the Fund’s strategic direction. Before coming to the Earth Fund, Kelly spent 12 years at the World Resources Institute in its global climate program. In addition to her Yale College degree, Kelly holds a PhD and Master of Environmental Management from Yale’s School of Environment. She currently lives in Brookline MA with her husband Jonathan Schoenfeld (JE 02), daughter Kayla and numerous pets.
Sharmeen Premjee
Sharmeen Premjee is Deputy Country Director for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Dominican Republic. She has served in many roles at CDC – including an appointment from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Geneva, Switzerland. While there, from 2014-2017, she was responsible for a multi-million dollar, Community, Rights and Gender Strategic Initiative, on behalf of people living with the three diseases. In addition to HIV/AIDS & TB, other public health issues, Sharmeen has devoted her career to include youth violence prevention and environmental justice. She has a Master’s in International Development Policy from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs and majored in Political Science and Ethnicity, Race & Migration at Yale, followed by a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to the United Kingdom.
Richard Chavolla (Moderator)
Rick Chavolla is the Founder and Executive Consultant of The Black & The Red Consulting Group and is currently on faculty with San Carlos Apache College and Tohono O’odham Community College. Most relevant to this occasion, Rick was formerly an Assistant Dean at Yale, where he directed La Casa Cultural and the Native American Cultural Center. He is proud to say that during his tenure at Yale, La Casa Cultural: Latina/o Cultural Center came into its current formation, which is inclusive of all Latinx communities. Also, during his time at Yale, the Native American Cultural Center was formed and officially recognized by Yale as the fourth cultural center on campus. Rick has also served as Associate Director of the American Council on Education’s Center for the Advancement of Racial Equity and Director of New York University’s Center for Multicultural Education and Programs, in addition to his 30-year career advancing diversity, equity and social justice in higher education.
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2022-05-28T13:00:00
2022-05-28T14:00:00
America/New_York
0Y2 Class Panel: Yalies Advancing Social Justice & Public Policy
Yale is known for fostering a culture of public service, and therefore it's no surprise that many of our classmates are leading in the fight for social justice and shaping public policy. Come learn how Yale shaped their desire to commit themselves to a career in a variety of fields shaping our social consciousness. Included below are the bios for each speaker:
Ejeris Dixon
Ejeris Dixon is the Executive Director of Vision Change Win Consulting, where they partner globally with organizations to build capacity and deepen the impact of their organizing strategies. They previously served as the Deputy Director of Community Organizing at the New York City Anti-Violence Project and was recognized by the White House in 2012 as an Emerging LGBT Leader and featured speaker on violence against Black LGBTQ communities. Ejeris received a Bachelor’s Degree in African American Studies from Yale University and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Nonprofit Management from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. Ejeris is a karaoke diva, loves cooking complicated meals, and has lived in Brooklyn, NY for the past twenty years.
Arnoldo Fabela
Arnoldo Fabela is the Director of Field and Organizing for the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT). He has led campaigns that have changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers in various sectors: healthcare, property services, retail/food processing, and public employees. His first major victory was helping 5,000 mostly immigrant janitors in Houston organize a union with SEIU and in 2012, Arnoldo helped lead the first strikes of Walmart Associates in the United States, which boosted the efforts of the national Fight for $15 campaign and led to increases in the minimum wage across the country. He lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his wife Maria and three children: Sofia, Xavier, and Seba.
Alvaro M. Huerta
Alvaro M. Huerta is Director of Litigation & Advocacy at the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef) where he works to defend and advance the rights of immigrants and their families through impact litigation, policy advocacy, strategic communications, and community education. He previously served as Senior Attorney at the National Immigration Law Center (NILC), where he started his public interest legal career as a Skadden Fellow. After graduating from Stanford Law School in 2010, he clerked for the Honorable Harry Pregerson on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. At Yale, Alvaro double-majored in Molecular Biochemistry & Biophysics and Political Science, is a first-generation college graduate from East Los Angeles, and the proud son and grandson of immigrants to the United States from Mexico.
Kelly Levin
Kelly Levin is Chief of Science, Data and Systems Change for the Bezos Earth Fund. The Bezos Earth Fund was created with a 10 billion commitment to be dispersed this decade to fight climate change and protecting nature. In her role, she brings data, analysis and evidence to inform the Fund’s strategic direction. Before coming to the Earth Fund, Kelly spent 12 years at the World Resources Institute in its global climate program. In addition to her Yale College degree, Kelly holds a PhD and Master of Environmental Management from Yale’s School of Environment. She currently lives in Brookline MA with her husband Jonathan Schoenfeld (JE 02), daughter Kayla and numerous pets.
Sharmeen Premjee
Sharmeen Premjee is Deputy Country Director for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Dominican Republic. She has served in many roles at CDC – including an appointment from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Geneva, Switzerland. While there, from 2014-2017, she was responsible for a multi-million dollar, Community, Rights and Gender Strategic Initiative, on behalf of people living with the three diseases. In addition to HIV/AIDS & TB, other public health issues, Sharmeen has devoted her career to include youth violence prevention and environmental justice. She has a Master’s in International Development Policy from Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs and majored in Political Science and Ethnicity, Race & Migration at Yale, followed by a U.S. Fulbright Fellowship to the United Kingdom.
Richard Chavolla (Moderator)
Rick Chavolla is the Founder and Executive Consultant of The Black & The Red Consulting Group and is currently on faculty with San Carlos Apache College and Tohono O’odham Community College. Most relevant to this occasion, Rick was formerly an Assistant Dean at Yale, where he directed La Casa Cultural and the Native American Cultural Center. He is proud to say that during his tenure at Yale, La Casa Cultural: Latina/o Cultural Center came into its current formation, which is inclusive of all Latinx communities. Also, during his time at Yale, the Native American Cultural Center was formed and officially recognized by Yale as the fourth cultural center on campus. Rick has also served as Associate Director of the American Council on Education’s Center for the Advancement of Racial Equity and Director of New York University’s Center for Multicultural Education and Programs, in addition to his 30-year career advancing diversity, equity and social justice in higher education.
Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall | Room: 114 — 1 Prospect Street
