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2006-2007 Fellows Bios

Adam Arents (Alumni for Public Schools): I graduated from Northwestern with a degree in Religion, and my activities at NU included going on several Alternative Spring Break trips, completing the Undergraduate Leadership Program and playing percussion with various musical ensembles on campus. Currently, I work for Alumni for Public Schools, which is a not-for-profit organization that facilitates partnerships between individual Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago chapters of college and university alumni clubs. It is heartening to see alumni engaging with students and helping both to expand their learning opportunities and to expose them to college and career options they otherwise might not have considered.

Yaneth Bello (Free Spirit Media): Yaneth graduated in 2006 with a BA in Anthropology and African Studies. Her time spent researching traditional folk healing in Mexico (Summer 2005) and Chicago, fashioned her senior thesis titled: Sana, Sana, Colita de Rana; A Generational Study of Contemporary Counterborder Curanderismo. Through participant/observation with practitioners, clients, and marketers, she cultivated her academic interest in counterborder studies. While at Northwestern, Yaneth also served as a Senior Community Assistant, where she supervised a staff of Community Assistants and coordinated quarterly social, educational, and diversity programs for 500 on-campus residents. As the Fellow for Free Spirit Media at North Lawndale College Prep High School, Yaneth co-instructs video production classes and is responsible for the student professional development initiative. She enjoys working with youth in the areas of education and art, drinking coffee, and hopes to make a difference in the Chicago Latino community.

Mary Bowmann (Center for Independent Futures): My name is Mary Bowmann and I just graduated from NU where I studied sociology and volunteered with Special Olympics. I am now building on these undergrad experiences as a NUPIP fellow at Center for Independent Futures. CIF is an Evanston non-profit that serves adults with disabilities and their families by supporting individuals in accessing all of the opportunities of a full life. I contribute to this vision by tutoring individuals in life skills, coaching future planning teams, coordinating volunteer efforts, supporting research projects and even reorganizing files! At CIF I have gained not only new skills, but also an invaluable perspective on how a grassroots organization operates and how I can best contribute to the process.

Marta Flory (NU, Center for Bioethics, Science, and Society): Marta graduated from Northwestern University in 2006 with a bachelor's of arts in Religion. She wrote a senior's honors thesis titled: Death: Transformative or Evil?: Framing the bioethical debate through the theological visions of Richard A. McCormick and Paul Ramsey. Marta hopes to attend medical school while concomitantly pursuing research in medical anthropology. Her interests are in the intersection of religion and medicine, especially as it is related to identity, embodiment, and fertility. Currently, she is working as a research assistant for Dr. Laurie Zoloth at the Feinberg School of Medicine's Center for Bioethics, Science, and Society. Her main task is to investigate the social and ethical implications of nanoscience and technology, and thereby, through research, play the role of mediator between basic science research and the public. Some of her other interests include healthcare justice, Spain, soccer, cooking, and travel. Marta thinks that the Public Interest Program is a fantastic opportunity to not only for Northwestern students to get involved in building the Chicago community, but also to get to know other visionary students with motivation to create change; hence, she thinks it is an excellent investment for Northwestern and hopes to see the program continue to grow!

Patrick Keenan-Devlin (Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law): For the next year, Patrick will serve as the Health Policy Advocate at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. He will focus on maximizing the impact of the pediatric health care system for low-income children, assisting in a plan to prompt low-income parents to utilize medical services for their children, and strengthening the low-income health care coalition in Illinois. Prior to the Shriver Center, Patrick studied American History and Opera at Northwestern University. During his senior year (2005-2006), Patrick served as Study Body President.

Jon Marino (Chicago Public Schools, Service Learning Initiative): Jon's NUPIP fellowship is at the Chicago Public Schools Service-Learning Initiative where he coordinates several programs and connects community organizations with teachers in CPS high schools. In 2005-06 Marino organized NUPIP with Lauren Parnell and Professor Paul Arntson and co-founded the International Youth Volunteerism Summit and Center for Global Engagement. He currently sits on the Board of Directors for Connections for the Homeless, Inc. and University Christian Ministry in Evanston. Marino received a Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship to study abroad in South Africa, and has volunteered in Uganda, El Salvador, and Guatemala. He is very excited to see the NUPIP program grow in coming years and has dedicated his future to providing marginalized populations with support that allows them to use their gifts and capacities as a basis for achieving a better life.

Sheila McCorkle (City of Evanston): As part of its Strategic Plan, the City of Evanston has begun programming surrounding development of its Youth Engagement Initiative. I was hired by the City of Evanston to act as a liaison to the organizations, agencies and citizens concerned with the issue of youth engagement. The City is trying to engage youth and young adults in the age group of 16-24 who are currently in at risk environments, and who may not be connected to the many resources Evanston has to offer. My job has consisted on going into the community and speaking with youth and young adults about their perceptions of the assets and shortcomings of growing up in Evanston. Additionally, I have also engaged every major social agency in Evanston that is invested in youth to learn about what programs and resources are currently available. Based on my findings, I am working to create a comprehensive Youth Development programming office for the City of Evanston.

Emily Metz (Center for Neighborhood Technology): Emily graduated from Northwestern University with a BA in English. She is spending the year working at the Center for Neighborhood Technology, a research- and policy-based non-profit committed to creating sustainable urban communities. After working for her first three months on an air quality campaign called Clean Air Counts, Emily has switched to researching national and regional transportation policy. As a life-long urban dweller, Emily is fascinated by the opportunities she has at CNT to think about cities from a planning standpoint. She is inspired by her colleagues' unceasing dedication and passion to increasing awareness on environmental issues, equitable urban planning strategies, the benefits of public transit, etc.

Ronnie Percia (Coordinated Advice & Referral Program for Legal Services): I can chalk up my falling into a fellowship position at CARPLS Legal Aid to one part fate, two parts dogged determination. Working as an intern for Senator Barack Obama in the fall of my senior year, I expressed to my supervisor an interest in family law and legal aid. As exciting and glamorous as a position in the Senator's office was, I was eager to learn more about the reality of life as it is lived in the everyday and more about the issues I had become passionate about over four years of study. I was introduced to CARPLS Legal Aid in the winter of 2006, when I nearly instantaneously became immersed in the world of legal toil and trouble as it is experienced by low-income populations in Cook County. An internship has since turned into a fellowship, though not after overcoming many roadblocks and glitches along the way. After nearly 10 months of legal aid work with this organization, Public Policy and the Law has become the platform from which I have begun to approach learning about the topics of (and prospectively hope to tackle the problematic of) gendered and racial inequities in American life.

Ben Protess (North Lawndale Community News): Ben graduated from Northwestern University with a Social Policy degree in June 2006. His fellowship site is the North Lawndale Community News, a weekly community newspaper on Chicago's West Side with a circulation of 15,000. Ben is a staff reporter and assistant editor for the paper. He plans to attend journalism graduate school once he completes the Public Interest Fellowship. His journalism experience includes working for CBS News in Chicago and lecturing in the Medill School of Journalism's Summer Cherub Program. Ben was born and raised in Oak Park, IL and now lives in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. His favorite band is Wilco and his favorite professional sports team is unfortunately the Chicago Cubs.

Shaili Rajput (Midwest Palliative & Hospice Care): With the ultimate career goal of practicing medicine, Shaili Rajput decided to get her feet wet in the world of healthcare and non-profit work before selling her soul to another four years of academic hysteria and anatomy lab cadavers. A Biological Sciences major and Spanish minor, Shaili is an Intern in the Education and Performance Improvement Departments of the Midwest Palliative and Hospice CareCenter in Glenview, IL. In the field, she has had the opportunity to observe end-of-life treatment as delivered by healthcare professionals; in the office, she is learning the ins and outs of the administration and regulation of palliative and hospice care. In her spare time, Shaili loves photography and digital media, traveling, and exploiting all that Chicago has to offer. She is also taking the year to slowly learn that sharing a bed with her older sister isn't THAT bad.

Hui Sin Teo (Midwest Palliative & Hospice Care Center): Having majored in Political Science, I decided to veer away from the theoretical side of social science for a while and dabble in the practical side of public policy and non-profit work. I attended Northwestern's Public Health in South Africa Study Abroad Program in Spring 2005, which sparked my interest in public health and HIV/AIDS in particular. NUPIP placed me with Midwest Palliative & Hospice CareCenter based in Glenview, IL. I work in the Education and Performance Improvement Department of this 400-strong non-profit organization, developing internal audits, formatting educational presentations, and learning about rules and regulations in world of end-of-life care. I'm also a trained dancer, an avid sailor, and a huge fan of traveling and exploring the great outdoors.

M.Mercedes Stickler (Grand Victoria Foundation): Mercedes graduated in 2006 with a BA in Environmental Sciences, a policy concentration and an African Studies minor. She has spent time living and researching abroad in South Africa (Fall 2004) and later Kenya (Summer 2005), where her interviews with communities living near Mt. Elgon National Park formed the basis for her Senior Honors thesis entitled, "Competing Land Uses at Mt. Elgon." Mercedes also led one of Northwestern's largest volunteer groups, Alternative Student Breaks, and performed swing and salsa dances with a student-run ensemble. As Program Associate at the Grand Victoria Foundation, she is particularly inspired by the Foundation's asset-based approach to philanthropy and the creative problem-solving demonstrated by its nonprofit partners.