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Past Fellows
Current Autry Fellow
Lauren Koehler 2008-2009
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Lauren graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in May 2008 with degrees in Spanish, government, and advanced interdisciplinary studies. She has worked with Latin American immigrants on education issues since returning from an internship at a clinic for the indigent in central Mexico in the summer of 2005, serving first as the ESL Program Director at the Eastside Community Connection, an Austin nonprofit, and then as an Americorps literacy tutor for Spanish-speaking preschool students at the Lucy Read Pre-K Demonstration Center in Austin. Because of her tutoring experience, she organized ESL and educational programs for the parents of the preschoolers and started a mentorship program in Austin for middle school girls at risk of dropping out. Lauren also volunteered as an observer for the 2006 presidential election in Venezuela; interned at The Carter Center in Atlanta, researching Bolivian politics and analyzing access to information legislation there for use at a conference; and most recently was an intern at the Corporation for National and Community Service, researching the benefits of volunteering for disadvantaged youth. She is a 2007 Harry S. Truman Scholar.
In applying for the Autry Fellowship, she wrote about the feelings she had helping children learn to read while teaching their parents English. "In helping students to advance their education and at the same time watching as parents gain skills necessary for the workforce and take leadership roles in their communities," she wrote, "I have had a privileged glance at the beginning of social change. Comprehensive initiatives aimed at people of all ages and addressing education, skills, opportunities, and leadership can be the beginning of true solutions for people in the American South."
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Past Autry Fellows
Daniel Bowes, 2007-2008
Born in Saxapahaw, North Carolina, Daniel graduated from Duke University in May 2007, majoring in political science. He was president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) at Duke and organized more than 25 events intended to educate Duke students and the Durham community about their civil rights and led four campaigns in defense of student liberties. Additionally, he served as an executive board member of the North Carolina ACLU. Serving on the Duke Undergraduate Judicial Board and as a North Carolina District Court mediator (trained at the Orange County Dispute Settlement Center) added to his store of valuable experience.
Daniel also was appointed to represent Duke students to the local community as the Duke-Durham Community Liaison. In that capacity, he organized the Duke-North Carolina Central University Unity festival and a successful employee appreciation initiative, among many other activities.
A graduate of Hugh M. Cummings High School in Burlington, North Carolina, Daniel gives credit to his parents, Renee and Douglas Bowes, for his success and interest in MDC's work. "I think MDC is about empowering people and allowing them to fulfill their potential," he says. "I watched as my parents were negatively judged by the jobs they held. Throughout my childhood, they were always depending on the next paycheck and struggling just to get by. How can you see that and not understand the importance of MDC's mission?"
After leaving MDC, Daniel went on to the New York University School of Law, where he received the Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship for students studying public interest law.
Noah Robert Raper, 2006-2007
A native of Marshall, North Carolina, Noah is a 2006 graduate of Duke University, majoring in history. Since 2002, he has worked with Student Action for Farmworkers (SAF) in a variety of support roles. In summer 2005, he was part of the Into the Field Internship and Leadership Development Program and worked with SAF building links between farmworkers and faith-based communities and supporting the efforts of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) and the Farmworker Advocacy Network. During that time, he also completed a documentary project detailing folklife traditions of farmworkers from Pachuca, Mexico, and received a $2,500 grant to study the impact of globalization on farmworkers and immigration.
Noah also has volunteered as a tutor for primary school ESL students and worked in Madison County conducting a survey of farms and helping farmers market their produce. In the summer of 2004, he attended a six-week history program at Oxford University in England.
Ann Warshaw, 2005-2006
A Cincinnati, Ohio native, Ann graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2005 with a degree in International Studies. As a Robertson Scholar, she spent summers working to halt the death penalty at The Moratorium Campaign in New Orleans; volunteering with a children?s theatre company in Havana, Cuba; and teaching English to farm workers in Newton Grove, North Carolina, with Student Action with Farmworkers. Ann also spent three months in Oaxaca, Mexico studying grassroots social movements with the School for International Training. She served as president of the UNC Campaign to End the Death Penalty and volunteered as a reading tutor with English language learners in the public schools. Most recently she worked with the Farmworker Advocacy Network to promote legislation to improve standards for migrant housing in North Carolina.
LeElaine Comer, 2004-2005
LeElaine graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2004. As an undergraduate, she was awarded the Pearl L. Calvin Scholarship and Neal Johnson Scholarship. She spent five months in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua studying social change and sustainable economic development. She served as an Americorp volunteer in San Jose, California, working on efforts to educate local youth on issues surrounding migrant farm workers. Her volunteer and public service experience include work with local female immigrants through Muheres Aprendiendo Nuevas Oportunidades; serving as an inclusion companion with autistic children; interning as a volunteer coordinator with Orphanage Outreach in the Dominican Republic; co-chairing Advocates for the Empowerment of Women of All Color, a group committed to womens rights domestically and internationally; and spending time on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Heart Butte, Montana, focusing on community revitalization efforts. At MDC, she has worked primarily on the Latino Pathways project. Educational background: Sociology and Social and Economic Justice (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill).
Alison Greene, 2003-2004
Prior to her fellowship, Alison taught fifth grade in Marianna, Arkansas, as a member of Teach for Americas Mississippi Delta Corps. A Morehead Scholar and anthropology major, Alison graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2001 with highest honors and received the Bernard Boyd Memorial Prize as Outstanding Senior in Religious Studies; Her volunteer and public service experience include interning with the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico; teaching inner-city middle-school students with Learning Bridge Richmond; and researching the role of the Free Church of Scotland in community life on the Isle of Lewis. In her undergraduate honors thesis, Alison investigated the effect of the division in the Southern Baptist Convention on Mitchell County, her home in North Carolinas Appalachian Mountains.
Tate Helms, 2002-2003
A native of Wingate, North Carolina, Tate attended UNC-Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar and graduated in 2001 with highest honors in economics and political science. After graduation, Tate worked as an investment banking analyst for Morgan Stanley in New York City and later as a business analyst for Bank of America in Charlotte. His other activities have included serving as a volunteer health worker in central Mexico; interning in the equity research division of Bear Stearns; mentoring a Hispanic child through the Carolina Hispanic Association's Chicos program; and serving as president of the Young Democrats of North Carolina. Tate is currently attending law school at UNC-Chapel Hill. He continues to work with MDC on helping low-income working families reclaim and retain their income through Earned Income Tax Credits and free or low-cost tax return preparation.
Jehan Shamsid-Deen, 2001-2002
A Charlotte, North Carolina, native, Jehan graduated from Davidson College in 2001 with a major in political science and a concentration in international studies. She was honored as a Davidson Presidential Scholar, a Leadership Davidson Scholar, and a Coca-Cola Scholar, and she studied in Haiti under a Dean Rusk grant. She also served as freshman class president and as a class senator during her freshman, sophomore, and junior years. She was a member of the Black Student Coalition, the Concert Choir, the Presidents Advisory Council on Minority Affairs, the North Carolina Youth Legislative Assembly, Crisis Assistance Ministries, and Future Leaders of the United Way. Jehan interned at Wachovia Bank in the summers of 1997-1999, and in the summer of 2000, she completed an internship in the Student Leadership Network for Children division of the Childrens Defense Fund, where she wrote a manual on grassroots organizing. She has particular interests in education, childrens issues, and health care.
John Rohrs, 2000-2001
After graduating cum laude from Duke University in 1999, John worked through North Carolina Public Allies with the Partners for Youth tutoring and mentoring program for disadvantaged youth in Durham, NC. He is a leader of the St. Philips Episcopal Church junior high youth group and a weekly volunteer at St. Philips Community Kitchen. While at Duke, John was a Robert C. Byrd Scholar and received the Chester P. Middlesworth Award for Best Undergraduate Research Paper for his historical study on the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the 1890s. He also was president of the Duke Episcopal Fellowship, founder of the Childrens Fair to celebrate children and promote child advocacy groups, a volunteer with the Student Rural Health Coalition, a participant in the Duke Work Program to Honduras, an intern with the Childrens Defense Fund in Washington, D.C., an elementary school tutor, and a computer skills teacher for the Partnership for Literacy Program.