Speakers

Image of LEAP 2024: Advocacy Across Avenues: Expanding Community Care & Resource Coordination - Abstracts

LEAP 2024: Advocacy Across Avenues: Expanding Community Care & Resource Coordination - Abstracts

Panel 14: Advocacy Across Avenues: Expanding Community Care & Resource Coordination

What does advocacy look like? How can we engage in community care, providing necessary services to the public, and through our Mount Holyoke degrees? How might careers in advocacy-related work look differ from what we imagine for the typical “activist?” Our panel discusses how engagement across a variety of arenas—providing direct aid to individuals and communities, contributing to legal investigation and representation, and developing policy—allows us to participate in the kind of advocacy work to which we are drawn. Many people feel personally or morally compelled to take on careers that give back to their local and global communities; this panel discusses some of the many forms that action, advocacy, and community care work may take.

Moderator: Sabra Thorner, Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Investigative Advocacy: VT’s Carceral System and Prisoners’ Rights
Ariah Holliman ’25, Sociology & Politics double major Law, Public Policy, and Human Rights Nexus

My Summer with NHPD: Public Defense Outside The Courtroom
Ainsley Morrison ’25, English major Politics minor / Law, Public Policy & Human Rights Nexus

Domestic Violence Advocacy and Community Care
Eleanor Commons ’25, Psychology & Education major/ Anthropology minor

Together from the Start: Exploring Resettlement and Community Services for Newly Arrived Refugees
Natasha Nagarajan ’26, Politics Critical Race & Political economy double major

Connecting Communities: Service Provider to Legislative Intern
Naoise Grybko ’25, Politics & Sociology double major/Law, Public Policy, and Human Rights Nexus

Speaker name: Ainsley Morrison
Title: My Summer with NHPD: Public Defense Outside The Courtroom
“Public Defenders provide representation to adults and children facing criminal charges who are unable to afford an attorney. Today, public defense work is expanding beyond formal legal representation and independent investigation to include social services advocacy and resource coordination.

I spent last summer with the New Hampshire Public Defender as an Investigator Intern. Though my primary responsibilities centered around interviewing witnesses, reviewing evidence, and obtaining and documenting records, I also worked closely with social services advocates to coordinate clients’ access to resources before, during, and after periods of incarceration. The New Hampshire Public Defender’s commitment to zealous advocacy in every sense is inspiring and humbling, and my internship reaffirmed and solidified my long-held commitment to a career as a public defender.”

Speaker name: Eleanor Commons - DUPLICATE
Title: Domestic Violence Advocacy and
This presentation provides an overview of my internship experience as an advocate at a Domestic Violence organization, and the many lessons learned over the course of the summer. During my time, I engaged with survivors, offering emotional support, resources, and legal assistance, aiding them in their various needs. Through direct client interactions, I developed crucial skills in crisis intervention, active listening, and empathetic communication. This experience deepened my commitment to advocacy and social justice, illuminating the importance of providing holistic support to those affected by domestic violence. Ultimately, I aim to share my reflections on the transformative power of advocacy work and the vital role organizations play in fostering resilience and empowerment among survivors.

Speaker name: Eleanor Commons
Title: Domestic Violence Advocacy and Community Care
This presentation provides an overview of my internship experience as an advocate at a Domestic Violence organization, and the many lessons learned over the course of the summer. During my time, I engaged with survivors, offering emotional support, resources, and legal assistance, aiding them in their various needs. Through direct client interactions, I developed crucial skills in crisis intervention, active listening, and empathetic communication. This experience deepened my commitment to advocacy and social justice, illuminating the importance of providing holistic support to those affected by domestic violence. Ultimately, I aim to share my reflections on the transformative power of advocacy work and the vital role organizations play in fostering resilience and empowerment among survivors.

Speaker name: Ariah Holliman
Title: Investigative Advocacy: VT’s Carceral System and Prisoners’ Rights
In this presentation, I discuss my role as an investigative intern with the Prisoners’ Rights Office of Vermont, advocating for the rights of incarcerated individuals in VT prisons and working to hold penal systems and institutions accountable for ensuring prisoner’s rights are not infringed upon. In my role, I conducted death investigations, listened to incarcerated individuals about their issues inside correctional facilities, and examined the relationship between the carceral system and mental health crises. Throughout my work, I identified where system impediments lie, where points of concern reside for inmates and facility staff, and how specific policies impact the day to day lives of those working for, and held in, VT prisons. Through my experiences, I gained a deeper understanding of the impact individuals working in corrections and in state policy have on the prison system, and how advocacy work can ameliorate the faults in our criminal justice system.

Speaker name: Natasha Nagarajan
Title: Together from the Start: Exploring Resettlement and Community Services for Newly Arrived Refugees
This panel will explore my experience as a Community Services and Resettlement Intern with the International Institute of New England, a resettlement agency and non-profit organization. From the time a refugee arrives in the United States, IINE is there to pick them up at the airport and bring them to their apartment. My internship allowed me to work directly with case workers to better understand the reality of working in refugee resettlement, seeing both the rewarding aspects and the daily challenges. As an intern I had the opportunity to meet many of the clients that IINE serves, and my interactions with them lie at both the heart of this panel and my overall summer experience.

Speaker name: Naoise Grybko
Title: Connecting Communities: Service Provider to Legislative Intern
As a legislative intern with Senator Ed Markey, I connected my experiences working at a local homeless shelter in Western Mass to the wide world of policy in Washington, D.C. In this presentation, I describe my experience as a legislative intern on the judiciary team, and my work on issues such as housing and homelessness, incarceration, and immigration. I also unpack the challenges I faced along the way, such as navigating an entirely new social landscape and remaining rooted in community needs when at times the work seemed so abstracted. I also aim to highlight the valuable background that I brought to my summer experience because of my background in human services and community organizing. This panel will offer advice for people who are interested in working in policy, community engagement, and human services.