SmartDC - Leaders
SmartDC - Meet Our Leaders
Samaa Afoke (Reading Partners) is a second-year student majoring in Public Health with a Pre-Med concentration at The George Washington University. She is an alumna of the Women's Leadership Program's Science, Health & Medicine cohort. Her passions center around social justice, health equity, and community engagement. This year, she continues her work as a SMARTDC Site Leader with Reading Partners, where she deepens her commitment to creating meaningful change through literacy and mentorship.
Mikal Armstrong (Raising a Village) is a second-year student with a major in Public Health and concentrating in Pre-Medicine. She is excited to be working as a site leader this semester after working as a Math & Reading/Writing tutor at For Love Of Children for a year! She's looking forward to continuing to make an impact in her surrounding DC community as a site leader at Raising a Village this year.
Ferdoos Baghbanian (Horton’s Kids) is a junior double majoring in Political Science & Spanish. This will be her third year serving the greater dc community as a tutor and mentor at Horton’s Kids. As an Iranian-American, Ferdoos is devoted to ensuring equal educational opportunities for students of color.
Chloe Brooks (Higher Achievment @Brookland Middle School)
Avery Cochran (Raising a Village) is a sophomore at GW, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Law and Society. At SMARTDC, Avery worked with Raising a Village at Hendley Elementary in Ward 8. They are excited to partner with Mikal this year as co-site leaders. In their free time, they enjoy running, weightlifting, and cooking.
Elissa Colon Pan (Higher Achievement @Eliot-Hine Middle School) is a junior planning to major in Criminal Justice with a minor in Chinese. She volunteers for Higher Achievement and is the leader at this site for SMART DC. She has previously worked with students in after-school programs for 2 years and is excited to continue to make an impact.
Fartun Hassan (Raising a Village) is a second-year student double-majoring in Political Science and Psychology. She has been volunteering with SMARTDC for a year and has recently joined Reading Partners as a site leader. Fartun has previously worked with students as a tutor, volunteer, and substitute teacher. She is passionate about supporting the DC community and is eager to help students succeed while fostering strong confidence in their learning.
Annika Hedlund (826DC) is a sophomore majoring in political science and environmental science and a member of the University Honors Program. She is passionate about community engagement and supporting youth development. For the past year, Annika has worked with SMARTDC and is now excited to continue her commitment as a site leader at 826DC, where she will further her work empowering students.
Ruby Leonard (For Love of Children) is a junior majoring in Human Services and Social Justice and double minoring in Spanish and Chinese language. Ruby is starting her third year tutoring with FLOC, and this is her second year as FLOC site coleader. She is also a GW Upstart grant recipient, a Luther Rice fellow, and a Julian Chase Clement Prize for Community Impact winner for her work on reducing fast-fashion consumption with a youth upcycling program at the Latin American Youth Center. Ruby is committed to thinking about and including different cultural voices in her work, which has ranged from civic education among DC youth to community climate resiliency. She looks forward to strengthening the bridge between GW students and DC organizations to create a lasting impact on the DC community.
Lauren Patrick (826DC) is a senior majoring in English and political science on a pre-law track. She has a background in non-profit administration, volunteering, journalism, and creative writing. Previously, she has worked in areas including domestic violence prevention and survivor support, public education funding, disability support and advocacy, and food insecurity prevention and aid.
Edgar Zuniga is a junior majoring in Finance with a strong background in volunteering, consistently demonstrating his passion for community service. His commitment to Civic House, a Nashman Center program, and his role as a Community Engagement Site Leader and student tutor at For Love of Children highlight his dedication. Edgar believes that every child is important and deserves quality education both inside and outside the classroom. He advocates for guaranteed access to these opportunities and a clear path to a post-secondary degree for every child.
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gwu [dot] edu (smartdc[at]gwu[dot]edu)