Macaulay Diversity Initiative (E-board): Brianna Krummenacker, Avi Mikhaylov, Laila Gad, Jessica Ifeanyi, Iman Siddiqui, Nia Clement

Opening remarks by MDI Co-President, Brianna Krummenacker (Hunter ’24)

Brianna (she/her) is a third-year undergraduate student at Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College and is Co-President of Macaulay Diversity Initiative. She is double majoring in Sociology and English-Spanish Translation and Interpretation and pursuing a minor in Public Policy while following the Pre-Law track. Her dedication to diversity and inclusion stems directly from the obstacles she’s constantly overcoming as a young Black woman within the professional world. Her experiences have motivated her to want to prevent this for future generations by acknowledging and eliminating racial biases within society so that young children of color can grow up feeling proud of who they are. Aside from the work she does with MDI, Brianna dedicates much of her time as an intern at the Urban Outreach Center where she and her team address the issues of food insecurity, homelessness, and poverty. She aspires to become an attorney to promote policies and services that assist the next generation of students emerge into strong adults with promising futures.

Keynote speaker: Sasha Ahuja (Hunter ‘09)

Sasha Neha Ahuja (she/her) is a community organizer and social worker with almost 15 years of experience in advocacy and politics in New York City. Sasha has built her career driving racial and gender justice and facilitating community-centered policy change in government and local and national progressive organizations. Sasha most recently managed a New York City mayoral campaign and previously served as chief of staff at Girls for Gender Equity, a Brooklyn-based organization that centers women and girls of color and gender-expansive youth of color in the movement to end gender-based violence. She also served as chair of the New York City Equal Employment Practices Commission and is a commissioner at the New York City Commission on Gender Equity. Sasha is an adjunct professor at a number of schools of social work across New York City, where she teaches at the intersections of racial equity and social policy and serves as a trainer for a number of progressive leadership pipeline programs across the country. Sasha holds a BA from the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College and an MSW from the Columbia School of Social Work. While a student at CSSW, Sasha served as president of the Student Union Executive Board and worked to shift CSSW’s curriculum to center on anti-racist practice. She was an intern with the Undoing Racism Internship Project (URIP), housed at the New York City chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, where she later served as a Steering Committee member, supporting student organizing efforts to codify anti-racist education within social work schools across New York City.

Workshop Host: New York City Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit (PEU)

The NYC Public Engagement Unit (PEU) was created to develop a new model for government outreach, using community organizing principles to re-envision how the City provides services to its most vulnerable communities. Rather than expecting constituents to navigate a complex City bureaucracy to get the help they need, PEU adopts grassroots tactics to meet residents where they are – at their doors and on their phones, in their social media feeds, and in their communities. PEU combines this proactive outreach with comprehensive case management, and in doing so, combats disillusionment and builds long-term relationships between New Yorkers and their government.

 

Resources:
Macaulay Diversity Initiative: Instagram – @macaulaydiversity; Email – diversityinitiative@macaulay.cuny.edu

PEU: https://www.nyc.gov/site/mayorspeu/index.page

Creative conversations: Weekly event hosted by Macaulay Diversity Initiative and Macaulay’s Student Inclusion Coordinator Ilyanna Garcia Alicea, to create a safe space for Macaulay students to discuss polarizing topics. Please join us on Thursdays at the Macaulay Building!