Sanford Students interested in Social Justice
Rachel Bojanski
rachel.hews@duke.edu
Rachel Bojanski is a dual MPP/MBA student who aims to leverage policy analysis and business strategy to make nonprofits more effective. Rachel’s background is in philanthropy, where she worked with large institutional funders and nonprofits to amplify their impact in operations and compliance roles. Rachel holds a certificate in Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine Law, has lived in Argentina and Uganda, and enjoys spending weekends with her husband and their rescue dog, Arlee.
Aysia Gilbert
aysia.gilbert@duke.edu
Aysia Gilbert was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. She attended the University of Florida (UF), where she majored in History and minored in African American Studies. At UF, Aysia served on the Presidential Task Force for Honorary Namings, supporting the university’s racial equity initiatives encompassing the honorary naming process of campus buildings. After graduation, Aysia moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where she became an educator and community activist. Aysia is the Co-Chair of the Jacksonville Community Remembrance Project’s Research Committee in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative. As Co-Chair, she worked diligently to uncover her communities history of racial terror and to educate civilians. Aysia also serves as a board member for a non-profit called 904Ward, which has a mission of creating social justice and fostering racial reconciliation within the community.
Aysia is excited to join the Duke community and plans to use her Master of Public Policy to fulfill her life purpose of community advocacy and social justice. Aysia’s interests include education/social policy, creating racial equity, and poverty alleviation. In Aysia’s free time, she enjoys spending time with her loved ones, watching movies, and, most things, nature, and plants!
Caitlyn Leary
caitlyn.leary@duke.edu
Caitlyn grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, and attended the University of South Carolina, where she graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communications and a Graphic Design minor. Caitlyn worked in several marketing roles in sports and entertainment, financial services, and telecommunications before shifting her focus to public policy. Caitlyn is a dual-degree student at the Sanford School and Duke Law School and is interested in environmental and social issues. Caitlyn is passionate about animals and regularly volunteers to foster senior dogs from her local animal shelter. In her free time, Caitlyn enjoys exploring the outdoors, doing yoga, sewing, reading, and relaxing with her husband and their dog, Toby.
Jasmine Lorenzo
jasmine.lorenzo@duke.edu
Jasmine is from Miami, Florida and received her B.A. in Political Science with distinction from Yale University. In that time, she has worked on various marketing and public relations consulting projects while volunteering with domestic violence nonprofits. Through this, she grew an interest in areas of social policy and advocating on behalf of women’s and children’s rights. In her free time, she enjoys working out, watching romantic comedies, and painting.
Nicole L. Ma
nicole.ma@duke.edu
Nicole Li Ma (she/her/她) is a proud daughter and sibling of Chinese immigrants pursuing an MTS Theology and Ethics/MPP dual degree.
While attending Baylor University, Nicole actively partook in advocacy and stewardship with the administration to promote equitable consideration and resourcing for underserved student populations. She also worked extensively with the addiction and recovery center on campus. Upon graduating with degrees in psychology, economics, and a minor in Spanish, she served at a grassroots organization in Texas called Woori Juntos- advancing the full agency and vibrancy of all Asian, immigrant/migrant, and marginalized communities through local, state, and national organizing and policy efforts. During her first year at Duke Divinity School, Nicole partook in opportunities with non-profits in Colombia (Witness for Peace Solidarity Collective) and Perú (Paz y Esperanza), learning from and working with grassroots communities resisting violence, poverty, and oppression to engage more with human rights through the intersection of theology and public policy.
Nicole firmly believes that the most vulnerable should be at the forefront of policy creation and society’s minds. Her dual degree allows her to engage with political theology by exploring how moral and ethical questions within theological, ecological, political, social, and economic contexts influence policies that must shift to achieve collective thriving for all.
Outside of class, you may find this proud Texan entertaining her competitive spirit by training for triathlons, breathing in fresh air from new hiking trails, indulging in new recipes to cook, dancing and belly-laughing with loved ones, and engaging her inner creative, which includes adding to an archive of unfinished poetry and buying books at a quicker pace than she is reading. Otherwise, she is likely wishing for a nap.
Carla Naranjo
carla.naranjo@duke.edu
Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Carla Naranjo (she/her/ella) is a first-year MPP Student at the Duke Sanford School for Public Policy. Prior to Sanford, Carla was a community organizer and policy advocate with experience managing political campaigns related to fair housing, racial justice, and economic equity. She most recently was the Strategic Partnerships and Campaigns Coordinator for Unemployed Workers United, a national grassroots organization dedicated to empowering workers and building the largest multiracial working-class coalition in the United States.
Carla holds two Bachelor’s Degrees in Political Science and Justice Studies from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University, where she was a Spirit of Service Scholar, Congressman Ed Pastor Civic Leadership Medallion Awardee and Moeur Award Recipient.
Kalysta Strauss
kalysta.strauss@duke.edu
Kalysta is a JD/MPP dual degree student. She graduated magna cum laude from Florida State University in 2021 with a B.Sc in psychology, a minor in statistics, and a certificate in SAS Programming and Data Analysis.
Kalysta has professional experience as a projects and data analytics coordinator for a start-up hedge fund, the development coordinator for ReThink Energy Florida a 501(c)(4) organization, a recruiting manager intern at ISGF, a caregiver for a woman with special needs, and a legal assistant at a criminal defense firm. She has spent time volunteering as a Guardian Ad Litem, an adult literacy tutor, and a data analyst for the Florida Restorative Justice Association.
Kalysta hopes to pursue a career as a legislation consultant for nonprofits, political organizations, and advocacy groups.
Demia Tucker
demia.owens@duke.edu