Meet The Fellows 2014


Lendsey Achudi

University of Rochester
Lendsey Achudi is a native of Teso, Western Kenya. She will receive a dual Bachelor's Degree in International Relations and French from the University of Rochester. She has developed a keen interest and
understanding in Cyber Security and is currently learning Cryptography. Her long-term career goal is to be an expert in International Peace and Security with a special focus on Cyber Security. She also worked as a temporary adviser at the Kenya Mission to the United Nations between January and June 2012. Lendsey organized the Annual African Youth Assemblies in Nairobi, Kenya in 2013. Lendsey founded the Young Technopreneurs Organization. An active member, her organization is currently setting up a technological resource center which will provide the marginalized Teso community in western Kenya with access to
information through books, internet, training workshops and entrepreneurial support for the youth. She hopes to spend the rest of the summer after the Humanity in Action Fellowship hosting the Youth Assembly in South Africa.


Katarzyna (Kasia) Balas

Jagiellonian University
A student of Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Katarzyna Balas is currently enrolled in a Master’s French program. Apart from her studies, Katarzyna participates in the development of local nongovernmental
organizations, notably Amnesty International Cracow. For two years she has coordinated Amnesty International’s projects and conducted workshops on human rights for groups of different ages and interests, especially in high schools in Cracow. After her studies, Katarzyna plans to pursue a career in diplomacy. In her spare time, she contributes to translations for cultural projects such as cooperation between the city of Cracow, Poland and Orleans, France on the common historical heritage.



Sudip Bhandari

St. Olaf College
Growing up during the decade long Nepali civil war, Sudip Bhandari became both a witness and victim of violence. As a teenager, he was forced to leave his hometown of Chitwan because of the rebel shutdown in all local schools. His family decided to move to the capital Kathmandu to keep his education uninterrupted. Although the Nepalese government publicly declared the end to the civil war in 2006, youth violence continued. The ongoing violence in Nepal motivated Sudip to start an educational program called the Anne
Frank Project Nepal (www.annefranknepal.org). The AFPN’s aim is to inculcate values of tolerance and mutual respect among Nepali youth, and to promote sustainable peace. Sudip taught over 5,000 students over two summers about the importance of upholding human rights by using the story of Anne Frank and the Holocaust (which are major and important events of world history missing from Nepali textbooks). He also established the Anne Frank Peace Library for 250 war-affected students enrolled at the school established by Humanity in Action Senior Fellow, Subhash Ghimire. Sudip is a graduating senior from St. Olaf College. He plans to return to Nepal in the future and expand his peace initiatives.


Jasmine Burton

Georgia Institute of Technology
An Atlanta native, Jasmine was raised in an African and Native American household by two ex-military parents. Jasmine is a senior Honors Industrial Design student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In 2011, Jasmine learned that half of the world does not have access to basic sanitation, thus hindering their ability to achieve education and advanced careers. Since then, she has been inspired to creatively rectify social injustices and global health disparities by leading the 2013 Georgia Tech Women’s Leadership Conference,
which focused on designing improved feminine care products and toilet designs for the developing world. She also conducted asthma research at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene through the 2013 Columbia University Summer Public Health Scholars Program, and facilitating gender related think tanks as a Georgia Tech Resident’s Assistant as well as during the ACC Leadership Conference on Social Change. Jasmine hopes to pursue a Masters in Public Health with a focus on global maternal health.



Milicent (Mil) Dranoff

Washington University in St. Louis
Mil Dranoff is graduating from Washington University in St. Louis this May with a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and Jewish, Islamic, and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. She is the Midwest Representative to the J Street U National Student Board,
representing thirteen campus chapters and advocating for a two state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mil has studied abroad in Jerusalem and has led tours through Israel and the West Bank to raiseawareness of the realities of the conflict. She has also worked at the Education for Peace in Iraq Center to promote peace and youth empowerment in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan. This year at Wash U, she was a proud participant in The Vagina Monologues and continues to fight to end violence against women. In her free time, Mil enjoys  playing the flute in Wash U's Pops Orchestra, cooking delicious vegetarian food and riding her bike through Forest Park. She is planning to move to Washington D.C. after graduation to work in Public Policy.


Kathrin Fischer

University of Amsterdam
Born in Northeast Germany, Kathrin Fischer graduated with an MSc in International Development Studies at the University of Amsterdam, before attaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences from University of Stuttgart in Germany and the Institute of Political Studies in Bordeaux, France. Her research interests are Philosophy of Science, International Politics, Disability Studies, and Human Geography. She is also pursuing a transactional training for teamers of intercultural exchanges in France, Poland and Germany. In her spare time, Kathrin enjoys reading literature on post-2nd-World-War period, biking without purpose, carpentry and pottery. She also enjoys traveling to Iceland, rain, and dogs.


Katarzyna Gerula

University of Warsaw
Kasia has been engaged to diverse cultural and social projects since her high school years. She began her experience within the NGO sector as volunteer at the Short Film Festival in 2007. She also contributed to Młode Kadry as a PR and Organizing Assistant. She isaffiliated with The Institute of Western and Southern Slavic Studiesat the University Of Warsaw with the specialization in Slovenelanguage. She also had the opportunity to study as a scholar studentat Faculty of Arts at University of Ljubljana twice on scholarships.Kasia is interested in issues on national and ethnic minorities andminorities differing in language, especially the question of Deafminorities. She helped organized a series of events integratingimmigrants with Polish society. She was also one of the coordinatorsof an international forum “Our Strategy 2020 – European Ethnicminorities playing an active role in the Europe Strategy.” Kaisacooperates with several active NGOs in Poland such as FundacjaInstytut Innowacji among many others.



Dylan Kitts

St. John's University
Born and raised in New York City, Dylan Kitts is a Summa CumLaude graduate in History and Philosophy at St. John's University.He studied abroad in France, Italy, and Spain during his sophomoreyear. In Paris, he witnessed protests about the French ban on Islamicveil covering, which ignited his interests in activism and humanrights. Before graduating, Dylan worked as a freelance journalist forthe New York Daily News, a writing consultant at the St. John'sWriting Center, and interned with the Bill, Hillary and ChelseaClinton Foundation. He also presented academic papers at theInternational Writing Center Association Conference and the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Conference. Dylan worked forIzizwe Projects in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where he helped thecommunity organize by gaining more volunteers and donors, as wellas created new programming for volunteer activities. Dylan was aFulbright English Teaching Assistant in Tanjungpandan, BelitungIsland, Indonesia, where he teaches high school English, as well asstarts after-school activities. Dylan will help organize environmentalcampaigns across the United States as a Green Corps fellow.


Julia Katarzyna Konieczna

University of Warsaw
Julia Konieczna is graduating in May with a double major in GermanStudies and Media Studies. She has also spent three semesters abroadat the University of Konstanz in Germany contributing to theKonstanz Media Lab projects. She is currently working in the PublicRelations Department for an international company. Having workedin a communication department, she has gained many differentcommunication tools and strategies. However, the projects sheenjoys the most are particularly connected with corporateresponsibility issues. She is looking forward broadening her interestsin the human rights field through the Humanity in Action Fellowshipand promoting ideas of diversity necessary to successfully lead CSRprojects.In her free time Julia loves traveling, climbing and diningout.


Adrienne Le

Yale University
Adrienne is a first-generation Vietnamese American from Raleigh,North Carolina. She will be graduating from Yale with a B.A. inHistory this May. At Yale, Adrienne has been heavily involved in themusic scene. She was a founding member and former President ofthe undergraduate music record label, 17O1 Records, and served asthe Operations Director for Yale Spring Fling, the annual campusmusic festival. After graduation, Adrienne plans to pursue a career inthe social justice world. In her free time Adrienne enjoys sharingstories with friends, singing with her guitar, dining out, and napping.She loves learning languages and going on adventures in foreignplaces. In her daily life, Adrienne strives to be fully present in everymoment because this is what brings her true happiness.



Andrzej Mikolajewski

The Nicolaus Copernicus University
Andrzej graduated in 2011 from the Graduate of the Institute ofPhilosophy. He is also an alumnus of the Visegrad School of Political Studies at European Academy of Diplomacy. He is currently affiliated with the Institute of Politology and International Studies at the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń. Andrzej is asocial and political activist, journalist, manager and fundraiser. Heworked with the Marek Edelman Dialogue Center and the StabiloFoundation. A founding member of the Megafon Association andmember of Polish Fundraising Association, he currently works forthe Civil Affairs Institute in Łodź where he runs the initiative“Citizens in charge” (“Obywatele rozliczają”) and the FundraisingTeam. Andrzej is an enthusiast of social change, politics andtechnology.


Nadiia Mykhalevych

Ukrainian Catholic University
Nadiia studies Media Communications at the Ukranian CatholicUniversity. For three years, she was a member of the InternationalAssociation of Students in Economic and Commercial Sciences (AIESEC), and also obtained an internship at the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. A Ukrainian native, she was able to witness theUkrianian protests where she was inspired to co-found Map of Protests in Lviv, an informationational platform. She is a member ofvarious NGOs such as Na Chasi, Action in Ukraine, and NewEducation. In her leisure time, Nadiia likes to draw, write and takephotos. In the future, she plans to create her own organization/startupthat would bring changes into society.


Anna Mykytenko  

National University: Yaroslav the Wise Law Academy of Ukraine
Born and raised in Alchevsk, Anna graduated last June from theNational Law University of Ukraine with a Bachelor's degree in law.Throughout her studies, Anna completed a number of researchprojects focusing on functioning of the government authorities in thecontext of human rights in Ukraine. She spent the additional timedeveloping a project on children rights and non-discrimination forthe Council of Europe as a member of national team. Aftergraduating, Anna has raised a web-project on the protection ofwomen's rights. She is looking forward to continue her education inhuman rights and plans to begin graduate school to pursue a Master'sdegree in human rights.



Lukasz Niparko

European University Viadrina
Łukasz Niparko, from Poznań, Poland, is a human rights activist anda master of laws student at the European University Viadrina inGermany. At Viadrina, Łukasz specializes in International HumanRights and Humanitarian Law. Łukasz graduated from St. LawrenceUniversity (USA), where he studied Global Studies as well as Asianand European Studies. He is also an alumnus of The United WorldCollege of The American West in New Mexico (USA). His interestsinclude international human rights law, European integration, socialand cultural anthropology, and media studies. He has conductedvarious academic researches on topics including socio-economicdevelopment model of Kerala (India), Poland’s post-1989transformation, and minority rights in China. Łukasz studies Chineseand loves to explore Chinese culture. He also had a chance to lead asummer peace studies course in Zhejiang Province in China and toteach English to migrant Chinese children in Shanghai. In the future,he hopes to become a human rights lawyer and an activist working tostrengthen worldwide adherence to human rights.



Lukasz Posluszny

Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
Łukasz is a Ph.D. candidate at Sociology Department in Poznań,Poland, where he investigates the influence of material culture on thelives of concentration camp prisoners. He has been conductinginterviews with former prisoners and a part of this research hasresulted in publishing a book. He also worked as a volunteer on thepreservation of remnants of concentration camp infrastructure, andlater co-organized similar educational activity for youth at MajdanekState Museum in Poland. Łukasz tries to sensitize to problems of theothers also at university, where he teaches students about the politicsof equality. At the same time, he supports major local initiatives,mostly concerning housing, work conditions, and women rights. Heenjoys spending time with others and one of his life’s passions iscontemporary dance.


Weronika Romanik

University of Warsaw
Born and raised in Warsaw, Weronika graduated in Cultural Studies(Hebrew Studies, B.A. and M.A.) at Faculty of Oriental Studies -University of Warsaw. Currently she studies Social Science andAnthropology (Mediations, Negotiations, M.A.). Weronika isworking on her Ph.D. thesis, which focuses on testimonies of theUnderground Białystok Ghetto Archive. She is combining historical,sociological and linguistic perspectives. During a two-year stay inJerusalem, she studied at Hebrew University, pursuing her researchproject and interviewing Holocaust survivors. In this period she wascooperating with Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel (ICCI)and “ADAM le’ADAM” (Human to human) Project. Weronika isinvolved in the “School of Dialogue”- an educational programtargeted at Polish middle school and high school students to broadenyoung people's knowledge about the long presence of Jews in Polandthrough self-exploration and commemoration of the pre-war Jewishhistory in the place they live. In her work, Weronika would like tocombine educating on history and human rights issues.


Jarmiła Rybicka

University of Warsaw
Jarmila was born and raised in Gdańsk, Poland. In 2011 she beganher travel in Asia and visited India, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos,Vietnam, Thailand, China and Philippines. Her experiences sparkedher interests in social activism, mostly connected to human rights.Jarmiła is involved in the international "No Hate" campaign whichmission is to promote human equality through education, advocacyand social media. Recently, she organized "International Roma Community Day", series of debates "Warsaw for refugees" andpetitioned to Polish Prime Minister and President against violence happening in Ukraine. She is also co-author of "Alternative WarsawGuidebook" for participants of International March for Climate andSocial Justice. She participated in a few programs organized byInstitute of Global Responsibility and Polish Green Network fordebates and public events makers. She is active in Warsaw’s FoodCooperative and the Polish annual Food Cooperatives Convent.Jarmiła is pursuing her Master’s in Sociology at University ofWarsaw. She has held two research conferences at JagiellonianUniversity. Later this year, she will attend the University of Utrecht,to study with its program about Human Rights and War.


Arne Semsrott

Free University Berlin
Arne was born and raised in Germany. He is a student at FreeUnveristy Berlin where he majors in Political Science. In addition, heworks as a freelance journalist and works for TransparencyInternational Gemrnay- an NGO that focuses on Lobbyism inGermany. At TI Germany, Arne is responsible for an online platformon the relationship between business and science. In his spare time,Arne enjoys watching a variety of films.




Daniel Slomka

Polish Academy of Sciences
Daniel was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel, raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, andmoved to Warsaw in 2011. He holds degrees from Tel-AvivUniversity and the University of Warsaw. Dainel is currently a PhDcandidate at the Graduate School for Social Research of the PolishAcademy of Sciences where he studies anthropological andsociological aspects of national identity and collective memory.Daniel is interested in questions of personal and collective identity,culture, values, and means of communicating and constructing them.As a result, he is actively engaged in the fields of education andcommunication. He works as a Communications Officer at thePermanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies, andpreviously cooperated in educational work with the Museum ofHistory of Polish Jews, the Moses Schorr Foundation for JewishCulture, and the Israeli Ministry of Immigration.



Joanna Socha

University of Warsaw
Born and raised in a small town in Poland, Joanna Socha is a firstgenerationuniversity student. She graduated from the University ofWarsaw with a degree in Journalism and Communication in 2012.During her years as an undergraduate, she took part in an exchangeprogram at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, IL where sheattended media and communication classes. In addition, she internedfor Congresswoman Shelley Berkley from Nevada at hercongressional office in Washington, DC. As an student she foundedand implemented a journalism project titled “Masters of a Word”directed to high school students interested in Human Rights,democracy and preventing discrimination. Currently, Joanna worksas an editor for the Polish edition of Harvard Business Review andshe is finishing her graduate documentary journalism studies at theUniversity of Warsaw in Poland. In her free time Joanna enjoyssearching for a new alternative music and watching documentaries.


Joel Vargas

Lafayette College
Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, Joel is a graduating seniorat Lafayette College with a double major in Film and Media Studiesand International Affairs with a concentration in International filmand Activism. He also spent two semesters abroad at GoldsmithsCollege in London and at the Film and Television School at theAcademy of Performing Arts in Prague. Joel is a co-founder of theLafayette Association of Film Students and is a volunteer filmmakerat Judith’s Reading Room, a non-profit organization. Joel is also afilmmaking workshop leader at local public schools and has recentlytraveled to McAllen, Texas to explore issues of immigration reformin conjunction with ASB, Lafayette and LUPE. In his spare time,Joel contributes to Lafayette faculty led filmmaking initiatives as aresearch assistant, having a film he contributed to screen at the AlvinAiley Dance Theater in NYC in 2012. After Lafayette, Joel willparticipate in a Fulbright program to the UK where he will pursue anMA in documentary film and upon returning to the US, an MFA innarrative film and television Production at the USC: School ofSchool of Cinematic Arts.


Michael Williams

University of Michigan
Michael Williams is a native of Detroit and a recent graduate of theUniversity of Michigan. His academic, professional and extracurricularinvolvement have centered around his passion for thenexus of urbanism and social justice, including community-basedurban planning, public health, and environmental justice initiatives.He is a Spirit of Detroit recipient for his outstanding achievementand service to his community, and credits civic engagementexperiences in his hometown, Vietnam, and South Africa fordeepening his resolve for equity and justice in urban spaces. Michaelcurrently participates in the New York City Urban Fellows Program– a fellowship sponsored by The City of New York to introduceAmerica’s young leaders to urban policy and public service throughworking in New York City government. His long-term vision is toreturn to Detroit, where he will help build more sustainable and selfempoweredcommunities, and advocate for the global, urban humanrights struggle – the right to the city.


Sylwia Wodzinska

Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
Sylwia is a recent graduate from Adam Mickiewicz University inPoznań with a Master's Degree in Cultural Anthropology andLinguistics. Over the course of her studies, she investigated theformation of transnational identity and its relationship withlanguage(s) and culture(s). Awarded with various grants, Sylwia hasbeen travelling uninterruptedly for the last five years through Europeand Asia, carrying on different research projects, all concerning theself-excluded (social enclaves), limits of freedom, social movements,non-standard ways of living, and forced migrations. She volunteeredat a refugee camp in the West Bank, lived in bohemian communities in Israel, worked in a circus in Austria, and observed the life of a polyamorous family. Currently, she is working in a hostel in Lisbon, listening to personal narratives of single travellers and researching onther social function of pub crawls (in cooperation with CES Nova).She is planning to commit herself soon to PhD research scrutinizing social movements in Israel.



Klaudia Wolniewicz

University of Warsaw
Born and raised in Poland, Klaudia graduated form University ofWarsaw in Social Policy. She is a PhD student at the Faculty ofJournalism and Political Sciences. She also spent a semester abroadat Law and Political Science in Liège, Belgium. Moreover, shecompleted an international exchange programme in Belfast, NorthernIreland. Klaudia works in the scientific project, which is recognizedat the University of Warsaw. She is also a Member of InternationalWomen's Forum and editorial office of scientific quarterly focusedon social affairs. She is interested in human rights in context ofsocial policy. She speaks English, French and has intermediateproficiency in Russian. She loves traveling.

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