The Stanford Center for Racial Justice in partnership with the Haas Center for Public Service is excited to announce our inaugural 2023 Summer Fellows, who will work full-time for 9 weeks this summer to support our work to address some of the most challenging problems in our country resulting from the history and persistence of racism. The Summer Fellows collectively bring a stellar range of personal, academic, and professional experiences that will contribute to the advancement of racial justice—welcome Isabelle Coloma and Riley Burton!

Isabelle Coloma | Isabelle (’24) is an International Relations major from the Bay Area who strives to place service and community engagement at the center of her work. Regarding her academic passions, she is intrigued by questions related to democratic development, historical memory, and curriculum formation. She is currently conducting an honors thesis that represents a culmination of these interests—exploring Hong Kong civic education textbooks and their conceptions of citizenship. On campus, Isabelle is a vice chair of programming with Stanford in Government and an oral communication tutor with the Hume Center. Prior to joining the Stanford Center on Racial Justice, she interned with the MLK Institute’s King Papers Project. Inspired by the historical civil rights vision, she is excited to join the Center and contribute to its valuable work alongside the other interns and staff. In her free time, she enjoys learning about other cultures through food, language, and film. After her study abroad in Hong Kong, seal engraving has become her most recent creative project.

Riley Burton | Riley (he/him) is a second-year law student from Seattle, Washington. On campus, Riley is the Co-President of the Stanford Prison, Abolition Resource Coalition (SPARC). Riley also serves as the Stanford Law Association Events Chair and Black Law Student Association Alumni Chair. Off-campus, Riley is engaged in labor rights organizing for incarcerated individuals. Last year, Riley co-led a campaign to remove slavery from the Oregon state constitution. Riley wrote his undergraduate economics thesis on prison wage exploitation and is very excited to continue his impact-focused research this summer with the Stanford Center for Racial Justice. In his free time, Riley enjoys rock climbing and camping.