Francisco Miguel Araiza is the deputy executive director of Next100. He has spent his career leveraging research and data to advocate for more inclusive, just, and equitable public policies. His passion for public policy stems from his first-hand experience of social inequities as a low-income and undocumented youth.

Lindsey is an advocate for economic justice and a first-generation college graduate. At Next100, Lindsey’s work focuses on the design and implementation of compassionate, effective policies to end poverty by working to expand and improve safety net benefits like the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and advance policies like universal paid leave to support all families, drawing on her experience growing up in low-income, rural Alabama.

Robert Godfried is an advocate for creating public service opportunities that are accessible to all. At Next100, Robert focuses on increasing equity and inclusion in AmeriCorps and public service more broadly at the federal, state, and local levels. He previously worked in tenant organizing as an AmeriCorps member, as a field organizer for Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign, and as an associate for a progressive political digital marketing firm.

Alejandra is an educational equity and immigration justice advocate. At Next100, Alejandra’s work focuses on expanding systemic academic, social, and emotional supports for K–12 immigrant students and multilingual learners, drawing on her teaching experience in Miami–Dade County Public Schools. Alejandra is a proud product of Mexican immigrants, and previously worked at various education and immigration non-profit organizations in New York City.

Vidal Guzman is a New York City-based community organizer who has worked with the End Qualified Immunity Campaign, Black Lives Matter, and Just Leadership USA. At Next100, Vidal works to end the forced labor of incarcerated people currently allowed under the U.S. Constitution and New York State aw, and to improve wages and training opportunities for the incarcerated. Vidal draws on his experience as a formerly incarcerated young person, initially incarcerated at 16, after being tried as an adult.

News Mention   Criminal Justice
Vidal Guzman Interviewed by Nonprofit Quarterly

Dan is a housing advocate working on advancing housing policy related to climate change and community engagement. He is a native Floridian, an HBCU graduate, and, prior to joining Next100, worked with an affordable housing coalition in Florida. At Next100, Dan draws on his lived experience growing up in a segregated coastal community to promote equity and justice in housing and climate planning.

Chantal is an advocate for students involved in the foster system, working to ensure they have the school support they need to succeed. At Next100, Chantal’s work focuses on improving academic outcomes and narrowing the opportunity gap between students in the foster system and their peers. Chantal draws on her experience as an education attorney working directly with students and families impacted by the foster system and seeks to see schools as sources of support, encouragement, and care for this unique and vulnerable population.

Diana is an immigrant rights and climate justice advocate, and a first-generation college graduate. At Next100, Diana works to enhance our immigration system to recognize climate migrants so that climate-displaced people have a pathway to relocate in a safe and dignified way. Diana draws on her experience as an undocumented youth in the Dream Act movement, where she first became politically active.

Suryani (Sury) Dewa Ayu is an advocate for creating spaces of belonging and inclusion—particularly democratic spaces—that center historically marginalized communities. At Next100, Sury focuses on leveraging local and international learnings about civic design to help foster democratic practice and improve policy outcomes for underrepresented communities on a federal level. Sury draws on her experience as a civic designer, having developed a program to hire and empower local teen civic designers to propose design recommendations for city government.

Emma Vadehra is the executive director of Next100. She previously served as chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Education under Secretaries Arne Duncan and John B. King, Jr. and as senior education counsel for the late senator Edward M. Kennedy. She is an education policy wonk, an advocate for progressive policy change, and a believer in the next generation.

Testimony   National Service
Next100 Submits Public Comment Regarding How AmeriCorps Can Better Collect Data on Grantee and Service Recipient Diversity

News Mention   Changing the Game
Emma Vadehra Interviewed by Robert Sterling Clark Foundation