"Quaker practice left an indelible mark on me, instilling a deep appreciation for collective intuition and community stewardship. I'm proud and empowered to know that for 10 years I sat on the same benches of the 15th Street Meeting House that Bayard Rustin, the father of the Civil Rights Movement, graced 75 years earlier."
You recently were elected President of the Institute of Politics at the Harvard Kennedy School and before that you served as Chair of The John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum Committee at Harvard. Can you share what the election process was like and what your new role entails?
As President of the Institute of Politics, I oversee 17 full programs and 6 interest group coalitions, spanning from the Harvard Political Review to the CIVICS tutoring program in Boston Public Schools. My aim is to make public service accessible to students from all different backgrounds and political attitudes. I am excited for the goals that we have for 2025, particularly expanding the horizons of the IOP into the realm of international relations and engaging people on the most difficult topics of our time. I'm lucky to be building on leadership experience from last year, when I served as Chair of the JFK Jr. Forum Committee. In that role, I organized events featuring notable speakers like the President of South Korea, Eric Schmidt, Bernie Sanders, Kevin McCarthy and Ava DuVernay. One of my proudest moments in college was hosting Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, and Selwyn Jones, uncle of George Floyd, whose messages emphasized turning grief into action.
What do you enjoy most about your new role?
I appreciate being able to dip into various programs and see the brilliance of my peers. Following the 2024 election, I'm constantly excited by the many ways people can engage in civic life beyond elections. This is a time to remember that people can vote with their voice and their feet, not just their ballot. The IOP is excited to be welcoming more students in STEM fields and from outside of the US than ever before.
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Friends?
The teachers are the first thing that come to mind—truly the greatest gift of my education. I'll just highlight two because, if I tried to list more, I could fill a dozen pages. Leana Phipps is the first that comes to mind. She was my first Black teacher at Friends and the person that taught me to love words. I struggled all of my childhood with reading and spelling, and it was Leana who referred me to a learning specialist to get diagnosed with dyslexia in 5th grade and then showed me that a diagnosis could open rather than shut doors to my future. Reading Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry in her class changed my life. Without her, I can honestly say I wouldn't be at Harvard today.
The second teacher is Kate Olson. In my freshman year of high school, I was shaking and almost whispering while I delivered a speech to represent the grade for the Student FacuCommittee. I crawled into a ball afterward. But, Kate Olson helped convince me to join the Debate Team. She taught me to break down every topic motion and inject rhetorical logic and narrative story telling in my speaking. She taught me to believe in myself, and coached me to being the first Black debater to rank number one nationally by the time I was applying for college. Without Kate, I know I wouldn't have had the confidence to apply to Harvard, let alone the interests and experiences that got me in.
Do you recall any guest speakers who stood out during your time at Friends?
When Bryan Stevenson came to campus, it felt like a school holiday. The halls were buzzing after hours, and my family was all dressed up. Just a few months prior, I had visited The National Memorial for Peace and Justice that he created in Montgomery, Alabama on a Civil Rights trip with the Center for Peace Equity and Justice at Friends. I didn't yet know that his speech would propel me in an entirely new life direction. I'm unbelievably grateful that Stevenson gave us the gift of his story on that day. His work in Criminal Justice inspired me to intern for the New York Civil Liberties Union and, a few summers later, the Innocence Project. Now, I'm studying for the LSAT and hope to one day be a lawyer with an ounce of the creative imagination Stevenson brings to every social issue that he confronts.
In what ways have Quaker values and your experience at Friends influenced your experience at Harvard?
Quaker practice left an indelible mark on me, instilling a deep appreciation for collective intuition and community stewardship. I'm proud and empowered to know that for 10 years I sat on the same benches of the 15th Street Meeting House that Bayard Rustin, the father of the Civil Rights Movement, graced 75 years earlier. Today, I often still go to silent meetings in Cambridge.
What are your hopes, dreams and plans for your work in the future?
I'm not entirely sure what I will do—I could be a teacher, or urban planner, or public defender—but I know that I will never stop trying to give every little kid the same opportunity to flourish that was given to me here at Friends. This school gave me a chance to learn from my failure, to bring creativity into the classroom, and to believe progress is possible. Now, my job is just to figure out where I'm needed to serve my community.
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