Throughout the academic year, the Stanford Center for Racial Justice offers practicums in partnership with university faculty where enrolled students get to apply their learning to support ongoing projects, initiatives, and faculty research. This quarter, we have partnered with two faculty: Dr. Jordan Starck to offer PSYCH 180B: Practicum on Racial Bias and Structural Inequality in the Law, and Professor Subini Annamma to offer the Walkout! Lab Racial Justice in Education Practicum. We are excited to announce these amazing practicum students, who collectively bring a stellar range of personal, academic, and professional experiences that will contribute to the advancement of racial justice.

Winter 2023 Starck Practicum Students

 

Jade Araujo | A junior from Juneau, Alaska, Jade is studying Political Science and Spanish. Her academic interests include constitutional law, elections and representation, and domestic policy. As an Alaska Native woman and an enrolled member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), she is interested in tribal law and governance, as well as the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) crisis in America. Jade is the Programming Co-Lead for the Stanford American Indian Organization (SAIO) and the Communications Chair for Stanford Women in Politics (SWIP). She also spent this past summer in Washington D.C. as an intern for Senator Elizabeth Warren, where she assisted with the Honoring Promises to Native Nations Act.

 

Nancy Garcia | A junior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Sociology, Nancy grew up in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. At Stanford, she has been part of MINT magazine in the events team, the Stanford Decarceration Collective in the policy memo team, and was in the Social Justice Presentations group with the ACLU. Her academic and career interests revolve around the psychological and social factors of racial bias, as well as the law and how they intersect. After graduation, Nancy hopes to go to law school, where her career goal is to do public defense work and become a criminal defense attorney for indigent defendants.

 

 

Kalissa Greene | A sophomore from Alpharetta, Georgia, Kalissa is studing Computer Science on the AI track with a Notation in Science Communication. She is passionate about AI and law, particularly the role artificial intelligence plays in the justice system. On campus, Kalissa is part of CS for Social Good, applying AI to real-world problems for tech curriculums and nonprofits; Black in CS, helping students with introductory CS classes; and the Women in CS Fellowship, learning about cross-platform mobile development. As an Inspirit AI fellow, she focuses on AI bias prevention in machine learning models. Outside of Computer Science, Kalissa is a journalist and explores news beyond the headlines as a fact checker for Stanford Magazine.

 

Grace Matthews | A second-year student from Santa Barbara, Calif., Grace is studying political science with a Spanish language minor. She is passionate about developing policies that end mass incarceration and mental health disparities in the U.S. Furthermore, Grace is interested in art as a tool for transformative justice practices. On campus, she is the policy team co-lead for Stanford Decarceration Collective (SDC), a community of students supporting criminal justice organizations and system-impacted people. Grace also conducts research and creates policy memos for SDC’s advocacy partners. While interning for REFORM Alliance’s research and implementation team this past summer, she investigated different states’ parole and probation systems, especially the racial inequalities that persist in community supervision populations. 

 

Carolina Nazario | A junior majoring in Sociology with a minor in Political Science, Carolina is interested in pursuing civil rights law. She has worked at the Legal Design Lab in order to understand how eviction is currently being portrayed online and how to use social media in order to aid legal service efforts. Carolina also worked on the Unlocking Justice practicum in order to aid self-represented litigants in the form submission process. She is passionate about encouraging public service for students on campus, and last year served as the Coordinator for the Service Liaison Program at the Haas Center. Carolina is also interested in socio-legal studies, service, and the ways in which these issues can become more accessible. 

 

 

Caleb Robinson | A junior from Silver Spring, Maryland, Caleb is majoring in Psychology and minoring in Symbolic Systems through the Neuroscience Concentration. He is passionate about mental health and racial justice and works as a Research Intern for the CoPsyN Sleep Lab on campus. Caleb also serves as a mentor for the Ernest Houston Johnson Scholars Program for African American Frosh and walked onto the Stanford Football team as a freshman, where he spent the past three seasons as a running back. He was selected to the Make A Play Foundation, a professional development organization for Student-Athletes of Color and was named a BlackRock Founders Scholar as part of the company’s 2023 class. While in high school, Caleb created a documentary about the legacy of the lynching era for his National History Day Project, which led him to be recognized at the Equal Justice Initiative’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama.

 

Elsa Schweizer | An artist and engineer in her fourth year at Stanford, Elsa is finishing up her Bachelor’s in Psychology while pursuing a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering. On campus, she is President of Stanford Women in Design, where she’s passionate about creating a community that equips gender-marginalized students with tangible skills needed to navigate design industries. Elsa also works in the Social Concepts Lab, examining how children conceptualize anti-Black racism by facilitating conversations about race between parents and their children. During the past two summers, she has worked both as a product designer and as an intern for the International Rescue Committee, where she provided case management to unaccompanied minors released from detention and resettling in California. 

 

Tess Stapleton | A sophomore from Fairfield, Connecticut, Tess is majoring in American Studies with a concentration in Inequality and the Law in America. She is specifically interested in criminal justice reform and civil rights law, which she hopes to pursue after college. On campus, Tess is a member of the Varsity Women’s Track and Field team and enjoys listening to crime podcasts, reading, and going on walks with friends.

 

 

m and enjoys listening to crime podcasts, reading, and going on walks with friends.

Winter 2023 Annamma Practicum Students

 

Yemariam Mamo | A first-year Design Masters student at Stanford School of Engineering, Yemariam’s academic interests revolve around the use of design to address systemic issues in technology. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from American University in Washington, D.C. Prior to arriving at Stanford, Yemariam worked in both the public and private sectors in analytics and user experience design. She is currently on the Designing Machine Learning teaching team at the d.school where she hopes to empower a new, just, and diverse generation of innovators. Outside of her studies and work, Yemariam enjoys painting, building prototypes for grand ideas, and spending time outside in the sun.

 

Ella Varney | A senior from Missoula, Montana, Ella is studying Anthropology with a minor in Education. She is passionate about advancing racial equity in education and building transformative educational spaces that center love, justice, and the holistic wellbeing of all students. For the 2020-21 academic year, Ella took a leave of absence from Stanford to work as an Americorps Community Projects Coordinator at YouthBuild Philly Charter School. In this role, she supported instruction for the GreenBuild workforce development track with a focus on sustainable building practices. She also developed and facilitated a year-long environmental justice curriculum. On campus, Ella has worked for the past three years as a student-staff member at the Women’s Community Center.