2007 Summer Interns

Layla Amjadi ~ STAND

Layla Amjadi is a rising sophomore at Harvard University. She is double concentrating in Government and Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations. Her interest in human rights took off freshman year when she received a research position at the Kennedy School of Government’s University Committee on Human Rights Studies. Layla now works on the STAND National Leadership team as the Regional Conference Coordinator.

Jessica Anderson ~ Membership

Jessica graduated from Northwestern University in 2006 where she earned dual degrees in History and Math. She became interested in genocide after hearing General Romeo Dallaire speak at Northwestern during her sophomore year. She hopes to eventually be able to travel to Rwanda in order to study the reconciliation and rebuilding process among the next generation of Rwandans.

Trevor Bakker ~ Sudan Divestment Task Force

A native of Holland, Michigan, Trevor Bakker will begin his sophomore year at Harvard University in the fall. As the Political Advocacy Chair of the Harvard Darfur Action Group, Trevor joins the Sudan Divestment Task Force with the experience of putting pressure his university over the past year to adopt its targeted divestment model. His academic focus is on human rights and developmental economics within Harvard’s Social Studies concentration. Tennis, hiking, and human rights advocacy comprise Trevor’s primary activities outside of school.

Lauren Boboco ~ Development

Lauren Bocobo is from the Bay Area, California and is an incoming freshman at University of California, Berkeley. Thanks to a few good friends at Notre Dame High School, her eyes have been opened to the genocide in Darfur, the "Invisible Children" of Northern Uganda, and human trafficking; and also she was awakened to the movement of people who are doing something about it. She is a proud member of Amnesty International, the STAND movement, and Invisible Children movement and intends to major in Peace Studies.

Rachael Goodman ~ Education

Rachael is originally from fabulous Madison, Wisconsin. She is a rising senior at the University of Chicago where she studies Anthropology and International Studies with a concentration in Human Rights. When she's not fighting genocide, Rachael is very involved in campus theatre at her university. She hopes to get a master’s degree in International Relations or Human Rights and to then continue working in the anti-genocide movement.

Courtney Han ~ Protection

Courtney Han is a student at Duke University planning to study Public Policy and Philosophy. She became interested in investigating genocide cases as well as conflict mediation after writing a paper about the Darfur situation in a course on globalizing protests. She found it fascinating to begin to see the sheer magnitude of players and history involved in creating a genocide crisis. Courtney hopes to join STAND when she returns to school in the fall, and will enjoy writing and dancing in her spare time.

Ashley Kroetsch ~ Membership

Originally from the coast of North Carolina, Ashley is a rising senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she studies International Studies, Spanish, and Social and Economic Justice. She became involved in human rights and anti-genocide activism after joining her local STAND chapter at UNC. She now continues to play an active role as both a local chapter leader and as the STAND Southeast Regional Outreach Coordinator.

Joanna Naples-Mitchell ~ Advocacy

Originally from Highland Park, New Jersey, Joanna Naples-Mitchell is a rising sophomore at Harvard College. As the Publicity Chair of the Harvard Darfur Action Group, she has been involved with political advocacy and campaigns for Harvard and Massachusetts state divestment. She is also a member of the Harvard Democrats, the Harvard Crimson, and the Harvard College Advocates for Human Rights. She is considering a major in History, Government, or Social Studies. Her interests include politics, human rights, international relations, peace and conflict studies, and changing the world. She plans to attend law school after college.

Tarik Pierce ~ Internet Technology and Web Development

Tarik was born in Washington, DC. He now studies Economics and Computer Science at Dartmouth College. His interest in genocide prevention developed after watching Hotel Rwanda, a film which documents the past genocidal atrocities in Rwanda. He hopes to spread awareness on genocide in Darfur by harnessing the power of the internet to provoke global change.

Karen Rustad ~ Internet Technology and Web Development

Karen is a rising senior at Scripps College in Claremont, California. She is majoring in Media Studies with an emphasis in Digital Art. While she is new to anti-genocide advocacy, she has experience in online campaigning from other movements which she is using to boost the Genocide Intervention Network's online presence. When not attached to her computer, Karen works as a cashier at Panera Bread and does freelance web design.

Anna Seigel ~ Sudan Divestment Task Force

Anna Siegel is a rising sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh where she is studying Politics and Philosophy. She is the vice-president of her school’s STAND chapter and the president of The University of Pittsburgh’s Divestment Coalition, a group composed of student organization leaders who are working to make Sudan divestment a campus-wide priority. She first became involved with Darfur activism at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Maryland.

Naomi Sully ~ Education

Naomi is a rising senior at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts where she studies International Development and Social Change, and Holocaust and Genocide Studies. She has been active on a range of issues of social injustice for several years. After her return from Rwanda last summer, she immediately connected with the STAND chapter at Clark and became intensely active, filling a leadership role as a co-director during the spring semester.

Lauren C. Virnoche ~ Public Relations and Executive

Lauren, 19, is a rising sophomore at Northwestern University double majoring in Theatre and Journalism and minoring in International Studies with a concentration in Africa. She committed herself to the anti-genocide movement after visiting and experiencing Terezín, a former Nazi concentration camp in the Czech Republic. As an artist, Lauren has acknowledged that it is no longer enough to just hold a mirror up to society and reflect back the flaws and virtues of the world, one must take action. An active member of her school’s STAND chapter NU Darfur Action Coalition and a strong believer in the power of communication on an international level, Lauren will continue to advocate an end to genocide by the combined mediums of journalism and the stage.