TCRP 2010 Summer Volunteers
Travis Knoll, Administrative Volunteer
Travis Knoll is an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin in Latin American Studies. He is also part of the Liberal Arts Honors program. Travis first found out about the Texas Civil Rights Project at the recommendation of Dr. Larry Carver, head of the LAH department. Travis was adopted at age six by a gay father after two and a half years of foster care (CPS). He seeks to help this organization so that it would better provide services for those, who like he was, are the most vulnerable, and in most need of adequate systemic protection. Travis is part Cherokee Native American, and studied in Argentina with AFS intercultural programs in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires, and through these experiences and his background gained an even stronger desire to do work in Human Rights. He spends the majority of his time working with Scott Medlock and the Inmate Representation Team whose area of law is Prisoners’ Rights.
Aylin Saribudak, Development Volunteer
Aylin is a new volunteer at TCRP. She has been working on the 20th Annual Bill of Rights Dinner and is looking forward to continuing working on that and any other project that she can be helpful on. She is an undergraduate at the University of Texas with a major in English and a minor in Government. She is currently volunteering with State Representative Mark Strama on his re-election campaign. When she graduates, she would like to teach and then study law.
PDNCRP 2010 Spring Volunteers
The staff at the Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project want to thank our wonderful volunteers from this past semester for all their hard work! There is no way we would have been able to accomplish all that we did without your help; thank you for the opportunity to work with and get to know you all.
Catharine Grahm
Catharine Grahm is a woman literally willing to go wherever the road takes her. Originally from Minnesota, she came to the southwest after extended exploration of the continental United States. She chose El Paso to learn about the Chihuahuan Desert and the people/culture of our nation’s largest immigrant population. These reasons, together with her concern for the limits of the natural world, have drawn her to work that focuses on issues of social and environmental justice. She is currently pursuing opportunities in Antarctica as part of “learning about the Earth in its actual present state. We need a better way, and I want to join with others to affect the paradigm shift that will get us there.”
Felicia Flores
Born in El Paso Texas, I was mostly raised in south Texas and San Antonio. I’ve lived in El Paso all my life, and while I enjoy the borderland and its history and culture, I will always call south Texas home. Currently in my senior year at the University of Texas at El Paso, I will be graduating this spring completing my Bachelor’s of Arts in Criminal Justice with a Minor in Women’s Studies. I came to Paso Del Norte as an intern involved with the Women’s Studies Department at UTEP. I chose to help out and volunteer my time with Paso Del Norte because of my interest in civil rights advocacy. I have a firm belief that Paso Del Norte is making a great social change for the community of El Paso. Though I have only been interning for a few months, I can say that within that time I have been truly impressed with the dedication and hard work each staff member and volunteer puts forth towards equality and civil rights. I have experienced and learned so much about the impact and importance of non-profit work.
Priscilla Moreno
I am part of the 2010 graduating class of UTEP with a degree in Political Science and History. During my time at UTEP, I co-founded and was president of Students for Reform, an activist organization dedicated to informing and organizing the campus and community regarding political, social, and environmental issues. I plan on attending law school in the fall of 2011 and my legal interests include civil rights, immigration, and international law.
Ana Martinez
My name is Ana Martinez, I am currently a sophomore at the University of Texas at El Paso. I’m double majoring in Political Science and Psychology with a minor in English.
Kimberly Heredia
My name’s Kimberly Heredia and I am currently a volunteer here at Paso Del Norte Civil Rights Project. I am a junior at UTEP, pursuing my bachelors in social work. I was born here in El Paso and partially raised in California. Life has led me through many interesting paths that have crossed along the way and I have chosen to study substance and alcohol abuse counseling. There is something about working for the forgotten and underprivileged, lost and in need of re-direction, that drives me to aid in any way that I possibly can. I have that natural calling…and I think that is what you need to flourish in this particular field. My experience so far just being in the social work and “helping” environment, reassures me that this is the kind of work I was meant to do. I look forward to future exposure and experiences and to broadening my knowledge and wisdom even more.
Alfredo Tellez
I recently moved from Cd. Juárez to El Paso TX. No, I didn’t move because of the violence, it was because my beautiful wife and I decided to make our life in this city. I worked for over 10 years in a political party in Cd. Juarez Mexico. Some of my duties were to channel government aid to those who need it and we supported people’s rights when they were challenge by the same government. I love to be of any assistance and to give back to the community. One positive action is followed by another.
Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project Fiesta 2010 Volunteers
Kayla Simpson, Intake Specialist Volunteer
I am a born and bred Austinite. I spent my undergrad years with the Business Honors Program at the University of Texas, loving life in this city and helping to start a local church near campus. It wasn’t long before I realized that business, though a useful education, was not a particularly compelling field for me. I was continually drawn to public service, but wasn’t sure where I could be effective in that world. Finally, I discovered an interest in law, thanks to the guidance of a few marvelous professors and an accidental sociology minor. As I begin to pursue a career in legal service, time with TCRP has been an incredible opportunity to explore what it looks like to work out those ideals in a practical and meaningful way. Though I intend to work with different issues (international human rights situations), I have absolutely loved my time doing intake and other TCRP projects — and I love the staff. When I go to law school in the fall, I will take it all with me.
Alba Sereno, Social Work Intern
Alba Sereno grew up in the Rio Grande Valley along the U.S.-Mexico border and pursued Bachelor degrees in Finance, Economics, and Spanish at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Since graduating, she’s worked as an economist for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a foreign language teacher in Dallas and Chile, and volunteered with the International Rescue Committee as a family mentor and job developer for refugees settling into new lives in the United States. In 2009 Alba moved to Austin to pursue a Masters degree in Social Work with a concentration in Community and Administrative Leadership at UT Austin. She is excited to join the TCRP team as a Social Services Intern. Her professional interests include human and civil rights advocacy, international social work, and refugee, immigrant and border issues. In Alba’s spare time she likes to travel, learn and teach languages, attempt yoga, make jewelry and attend film festivals.
Erica Schmidt, Social Work Intern
After growing up in New Braunfels, Texas, I earned bachelor’s degrees in anthropology and sociology from Trinity University in San Antonio. Over the past few years, I have gained professional experience in refugee resettlement and the challenges faced by refugees in moving to a new country. I now enjoy providing counseling and case management services to clients in the VAWA program.
