Meet the 2024 Russlynn Ali Summer Fellows
-Russlynn Ali
Chief Executive Officer of XQ Institute
Managing Director of Ed for Emerson Collective
Founding Executive Director of EdTrust–West
The Russlynn Ali Fellowship program, named in honor of the founding executive director of EdTrust-West, aims to support people of color entering policy and advocacy leadership by laying the foundation for current and future policymakers, researchers, advocates, and African American, Latinx, Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Indigenous communities to become lifelong leaders within California’s P-16 education ecosystem.
The three Fellows this year will be joined by 3 College Track FirstGen Interns, who were selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants, will work on projects to advance educational equity and racial justice issues statewide over the course of the summer. During the 10-week summer experience, Fellows and Interns will gain exposure to the issues, policies, and politics of the current California landscape and nonprofit operations.
The 2024 cohort of Russlynn Ali Fellows and College Track FirstGen Interns is a group of students, education policy researchers, and advocates who represent the diversity and vision of California’s P-12, higher education, and racial justice communities.
The 2024 Russlynn Ali Summer Fellows
Joyce Talavera
Funding Adequacy Fellow
Joyce is a proud Angeleno from Highland Park, Los Angeles currently pursuing a Master of Public Policy degree at the University of California, Berkeley. Her interdisciplinary framework allows her to tackle policy issues from an intersectionality-focused lens, zeroing in on factors of socioeconomic status and race. Combined with her resilient nature and lived experiences, Joyce hopes to increase educational opportunity for all learners despite their ability to perform well under a standardized system.
In her free time, Joyce volunteers as a Program Manager for Close the Gap, a Bay Area-based non-profit focused on closing the opportunity gap for FGLI (first-generation, low-income) students. There, she aims to increase equity across their student-facing programs through monthly discussions with their Board of Directors and Educators.
Joyce is excited to join the EdTrust-West Team this summer as a Russlynn Ali Summer fellow.
Samuel Yee
Ethnic Studies Research Fellow
Samuel Yee is a graduate from UCLA with a bachelor’s degree in Asian American Studies and Economics. Having grown up in Oakland, California, he strives to uplift both his local community and the greater Asian American diaspora. Some of Samuel’s college highlights include collaborating with UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center as an author researcher for their multimedia textbook. Additionally, he was able to work with the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California, analyzing census data for Los Angeles Chinatowns. Over the next year, Samuel plans to apply to various graduate programs with the hope of eventually becoming a teacher of Asian American Studies. As an aspiring educator, he is passionate about expanding ethnic studies outside of the academy and empowering all students of color.
Maxine Uy Altura
Multilingual Learners Success Fellow
Maxine is a recent graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she pursued a degree in Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism with a concentration in Chinese. She brings extensive research experience, knowledge of the multilingual learner student population, and experience in supporting underrepresented communities’ in accessing higher education. She will be working with the Higher Ed Policy Team this summer to develop a policy brief on improving college access for multilingual learners. In her free time, Maxine enjoys running, rock climbing, and playing the NYT Connections.
The 2024 College Track FirstGen Interns
Amy Olide
Policy Monitoring Intern
Amy Olide (she/her) joins EdTrust-West this summer as a Policy Monitoring Intern with the help of the Emerson Collective + College Track program. As a low-income, first-generation student, Amy has experienced public education first-hand, and has witnessed the disparities and inequalities within her K-12 education. Amy aspires to play a role in shaping policies, initiatives, and decisions that address pressing societal issues and promote the well-being of underrepresented communities. She wants to pursue a career where she can create real change within government and public policy across areas like immigrant rights, foster care systems, worker’s rights, and school funding reform. Before her current position, Amy recently earned her B.A. in Political Science, B.A. in Sociology, and B.A. in Chicano/Latino Studies at the University of California, Irvine.
She has learned how political systems go hand-in-hand with social structures, and how social and legal inequalities are intertwined with the livelihoods of minorities. During her time at UC Irvine, Amy served as a TRIO Peer Mentor for the TRIO Scholars Program from 2022 to 2024. Her position as a TRIO Peer Mentor allowed her to work with first-generation, low-income, and students with disabilities through programming and mentoring. Amy also served as a Peer Health Educator for UC Irvine’s Center for Student Wellness & Health Promotion from 2021 to 2024. Her volunteer work as a Peer Health Educator for the Body Image team allowed her to collaborate with peers to combat stigmas and misconceptions of body image. Additionally, her 2-year involvement with the SAGE Scholars program has helped enhance her professional skills and gain the knowledge and resources needed to succeed in her career. Last summer, Amy also served as a Remote Client Intake Intern for the Alliance for Children’s Rights, a non-profit organization that advocates for foster youth and families through free legal and social services, and efforts for system-wide policy reform. Amy’s career goals and passion have led her to continue her studies this Fall at Cal State LA to pursue a Master’s in Public Administration. She is driven to learn about professional, public, and community service, gain the knowledge and skills to work in a diverse metropolitan environment, and understand new challenges of governing systems.
Julian Marquez
Communications Special Projects Intern
Julian Marquez is an undergraduate at San Francisco State University. He is studying Visual Communications and Design. As a first-generation college student, Julian is inspired to give back to and empower the community he grew up in.
Julian is excited about his upcoming position as an EdTrust-West Intern, where he will take the lead in designing and creating forum graphics for social media, the website, and ads. After completing his time at EdTrust-West, he aims to use the experience he gained to move forward in his career journey.
Giselle Orozco
Fundraising Intern
Giselle joins EdTrust-West as a Fundraising Intern. Her position at EdTrust-West involves supporting fundraising efforts. Giselle gained her passion for social justice and equity while working with Watts Rising an organization that helps bring equity to the community of Watts where she was born and raised. Most recently, Giselle has been working on receiving her undergrad degree in Business Administration at the University of Southern California. She hopes to one day start her own nonprofit to bring financial literacy into her community. California has been Giselle’s home since birth, and she is excited to help the community as she understands the similar struggles low-income communities face, especially in education. She hopes she can learn but also be a voice for the work being done to bring equity in education.
