Emily Loveland is a Ph.D. student at the UConn School of Social Work. Her interests include social welfare, food security, human rights, and policy. Emily strives to analyze human rights issues from both a micro and macro perspective, evaluating how the intersection of these issues impact policies, communities, and individuals.

“You learn to swim by swimming. You learn to be courageous by couraging” a quote by Marie Daly, the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry, is a favorite of Madeline’s. Her years as a basketball player and watching her favorite Boston Celtics drives her goals to win for women at the State Capitol. In her role as Policy Director, Madeline learns something new every day as she represents CWEALF with legislators, state government, and coalition partners. She is most proud of her Masters of Social Work degree from UConn and leading the Campaign for Paid Family Medical Leave. She started at CWEALF as an intern writing fact sheets about paid leave and five years later led the passage of one of the strongest paid leave laws in the country. When not at CWEALF, you can find Madeline spending time with her nieces and nephews and soaking up the sun at the closest beach.

The founder and President of UConn’s Human Rights Symposium, Irene is a sophomore double majoring in Cognitive Science and Statistics. Through various positions, including her role as Executive Director of the Student Coalition for Refugees and her work with Genocide Watch, Irene aims to develop inter-organizational networks and international infrastructure to holistically support survivors of armed conflict and to predict, prevent, stop, and punish severe violations of human rights.

Mallori Thompson is a student at the University of Connecticut School of Law and the Editor-in-Chief of the Connecticut Law Review. Her publications include an article on the constitutionality of abortion restrictions in light of racial disparities in maternal mortality and a Note on expanding insurance coverage for Black women seeking infertility treatments as a form of reparations.

Dr. Barbara Gurr is an Associate Professor with the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program at the University of Connecticut. She is the author of Reproductive Justice: The Politics of Healthcare for Native American Women (Rutgers University Press 2015) and co-author of Furious Feminisms: Alternate Routes on Mad Max: Fury Road (University of Minnesota Press 2020). Her current project, emerging from recent pipeline resistance at Standing Rock Reservation and elsewhere, examines multi-racial, multi-gender futures through climate fiction and speculative storytelling.

Maria Kelley is a sophomore at UConn with an Individualized Major in Law, Social Justice, and the Family. She is the current President of Creating Caring Communities, where she has advocated, obtained resources, and spread awareness for UConn students facing food and housing insecurity, family estrangement, homelessness, and experience in the foster care system. Being in the child welfare system has ignited Maria’s passion and love for giving back to her community. This experience is why she strives to create pathways, uplift voices, and foster understanding.

Winta Mekonnen is a rising junior that is studying Physiology and Neurobiology. She immigrated from Ethiopia to the united states in hopes of getting a higher quality education and has become a first-generation college student in her family. She is currently one of the admins running the Black at UConn page in an effort to create a positive and impactful change for all the BIPOC students at UConn. She is one of the USG multicultural and diversity senators hoping to pass and implement legislation that could empower UConn students.

Ethan is a Junior, studying political science and communications. He and his friend founded the Food Insecurity Taskforce within the Undergraduate Student Government and created "Husky Market", a program designed to offer student's financial assistance in accessing food resources. Ethan now serves as the Vice-President of the Undergraduate Student Body and Undergraduate Student Trustee on the Uconn Board of Trustees. 

The founder and President of UConn’s Human Rights Symposium, Irene is a sophomore double majoring in Cognitive Science and Statistics. Through various positions, including her role as Executive Director of the Student Coalition for Refugees and her work with Genocide Watch, Irene aims to develop inter-organizational networks and international infrastructure to holistically support survivors of armed conflict and to predict, prevent, stop, and punish severe violations of human rights.

Michael Christy is UConn sophomore studying Political Science at the University of Connecticut and Founding President of PowerUp UConn. As a lead student organizers, Michael has advocated for a victims advocacy position within UConn Public Safety and the reallocations of funds from UCPD into other areas of UConn Public Safety and Health.