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Application Process |
Past Fellows
Current Autry Fellow
Breanna Detwiler, 2010-2011Bre is a graduate of Elon University and a native of Warrenton, VA. She has a bachelor's in Environmental Studies and minors in Non-violence and Religious Studies. During her time at Elon, she was awarded the Truman Scholarship for her outstanding public service work and the Udall Scholarship for her environmental scholarship. She founded Elon's Community Garden, which directly supports an organization that provides meals for homeless families. As part of her work with the community garden, Bre created a nutrition program for at-risk families in the local community. She was also a mentor at Elon Academy, a 3-year college access program for first-generation, underrepresented, low-income high-school students. She also worked as an intern with the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, where she focused on outreach efforts and urban Children's Zones.
She spent the 2009-2010 academic year in Belfast, Ireland as a Mitchell scholar. The Mitchell Scholarship is a highly selective national program that recognizes outstanding leadership, academic achievement and public service with one year of fully-funded graduate study in Ireland. During her time in Belfast, Bre completed her master's in Environmental Management at Queen's University Belfast.
In addition to her impressive academic credentials and her strong record of public service, Bre brings to MDC a dedication to helping rural communities struggling throughout the South. As a fifth-generation farmer, Bre understands the economic challenges many rural locales face as they strive to replace the traditional manufacturing and agriculture jobs that once sustained their communities and supported their families.
In her application and interview, Bre spoke about her deep gratitude to the community that raised her (Warrenton, VA), and her devotion to family and community comes from an agricultural heritage. She explained how the Community Garden was a way for her to put down roots (literally) somewhere new. It allowed students and community members to connect to the ground and to connect to each other. She described spending her ideal year as a Fellow figuring out how to create innovate solutions for communities, then, how to scale and replicate these solutions across the South. She spoke about positioning the "Southern Community" to lead progress for the whole nation. This quote from her application sums up Bre's unique perspective:
"Inspired by my work with the community garden and the Elon Academy, I completed an undergraduate Honors Thesis in which I examined how community gardens in the Piedmont of North Carolina function to empower individuals and communities. I specifically looked at what aspects of these gardens worked to promote bridging social capital, where participants interacted across lines of racial, educational and economic difference to create change in their community. I observed how gardens helped members develop valuable skills and feed their families. In my work with the gardens I came to better understand that social change can only really begin to occur as we break down barriers formed by stereotypes. In one interview, a garden member explained the power of getting to really know one another saying, 'And they are then no longer Mexicans, they are then Jose, and the boys, and the daughter . . . they become people and so we're breaking down those stereotypes.' In the garden I witnessed that once we begin to bridge our differences we can address the needs of our communities, such as the need for fresh, whole food."
Past Autry Fellows
Alyson Zandt, 2009-2010
Alyson grew up in Raleigh, N.C., and graduated from the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2009 with degrees in political
science and international development.
As a student, she was
co-chair of the UNC Chapter of Nourish International, a student
organization that explores innovative solutions to global poverty by
connecting socially engaged college students with entrepreneurial
developing communities. Throughout the school year, undergraduate
students run fundraising ventures and promote awareness on campus. These
students then lead sustainable development projects during the summer
by working in partnership with community-based organizations that have
identified a development need and established a locally grown solution.
Alyson
was part of a team of Nourish students that worked with the community
of Ciudad de Dios, Peru, and the organization MOCHE to construct a
potable water system spanning over three kilometers and promoted a
continued partnership between MOCHE and Nourish to improve the health
and sanitation of the area. In addition to her project involvement and
role as chapter leader, she worked to represent the student voice as
Nourish International expanded from a student group that began at UNC to
a national nonprofit with 30 chapters.
Alyson also completed a
field study program in Vienna and the Balkans on the role of
international organizations in post-conflict societies, and spent a
semester interning with the City of Cape Town's Office of Social
Development while studying global health in South Africa.
In her
application for the Autry Fellowship, Alyson wrote: "At times I feared
that any type of development work, no matter how participatory it is or
how responsibly it is conducted, is inherently paternalistic. But when
the water was turned on in Ciudad de Dios, I came to realize something: I
have been given a bounty of resource and opportunity, and I am
obligated to leverage my own assets to work towards a more equitable
society. My vision of social change is simple. By acknowledging our
shared humanity and common dignity, we must also accept responsibility
for the condition of others."
After completing her Autry Fellowship, Alyson joined the MDC staff as a program associate working in the program areas of workforce development and postsecondary education. She continues to assist in the research and editing of the State of the South report.
Lauren Koehler, 2008-2009
Lauren graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in May 2008 with degrees in Spanish, government, and Plan II. 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 an Austin nonprofit, and then as an Americorps literacy tutor for Spanish-speaking preschool students. 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 interned at The Carter Center in Atlanta, researching Bolivian politics and analyzing access to information legislation. 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."
After two years at MDC, Lauren is pursuing a Master's degree at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
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 prestigious Root-Tilden-Kern Scholarship for students studying public interest law.
Noah Robert Raper, 2006-2007
A native of Madison County, N.C., Noah graduated from Duke University in 2006, majoring in history. Noah completed a senior honors thesis about the social issues incident to the birth, growth and development of the cotton textile industry in North Carolina, with particular emphasis on a textile mill community, Lawndale. While at Duke, Noah worked with Student Action with Farmworkers (SAF) in a variety of support roles; in the summer of 2005, he took part in SAF's "Into the Fields" Internship and Leadership Development Program, building links between farmworkers and faith-based communities and supporting the efforts of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC). Noah also volunteered as a tutor for elementary school ESL students and during the summer of 2003 worked in Madison County under the auspices of the Program for the Rural Carolinas conducting a survey of farms and helping farmers market their produce.
Since completing his fellowship, Noah has stayed on as a Program Associate at MDC, where he focuses primarily on MDC's work with philanthropies.
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 theater 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.
During her Autry Fellowship, Ann worked primarily on the EITC Carolinas program, the State of the South 2006 report on philanthropy, and the Program for the Rural Carolinas. Since 2006, Ann has been a paralegal at Legal Aid of North Carolina's Farmworker Unit, which provides free civil legal representation to farmworkers with employment related claims. As part of the Farmworker Unit's outreach program, Ann travels throughout North Carolina visiting farmworkers in their homes, providing legal rights information, and answering questions. She also assists in the litigation of cases related to a variety of claims, including unsafe housing, minimum wage violations, and work related injuries. In 2008, Ann had the opportunity to apply what she learned through MDC's EITC Carolinas program when she coordinated her office's Volunteer Income Tax Preparation site in Benson, N.C. Ann plans to attend law school and continue working to protect the rights of low-wage and immigrant workers.
LeElaine Comer, 2004-2005
LeElaine grew up in Statesville, N.C., and received her B.A in sociology, with a minor in social and economic justice, at UNC-Chapel Hill. During college, she spent time in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua studying social change and sustainable economic development. She served as an Americorps member in San Jose, Calif., working on efforts to educate local youth on issues surrounding migrant farm workers. Her public service experience included work with female immigrants in Orange County, service with autistic children and their families, volunteer coordination at an orphanage in the Dominican Republic, chairmanship of a student group committed to the advancement of women?s rights domestically and internationally, and service on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Heart Butte, Mont.
During her time at MDC, LeElaine worked primarily on the Latino Pathways project and the Program for the Rural Carolinas. She continued to work at MDC for the three years following her fellowship year. In 2008, she received her master's degree in city and regional planning with a concentration in community economic development from UNC-Chapel Hill. She currently lives in Washington, D.C., and works for the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) as its state policy specialist. Building on her experience at MDC, she helps manage a network of state policy partners and provides technical assistance to states related to a range of policies focused on assets, entrepreneurship, and social insurance. Her years at MDC equipped her with a model of community-based change that she now applies to her work with states across the U.S.--one that focuses on the development of the leadership, knowledge and capacity needed to share and advance prosperity and opportunity for families and communities in the South and beyond.
Alison Greene, 2003-2004
Alison grew up in Bakersville, North Carolina, and attended UNC-Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar. At UNC, Alison was co-chair of Habitat for Humanity and played club Ultimate Frisbee. A religious studies and anthropology major, Alison graduated from UNC in 2001 with highest honors and received the Bernard Boyd Memorial Prize as outstanding senior in religious studies. Prior to taking the Autry Fellowship, Alison taught fifth grade in Marianna, Arkansas, as a Teach for America corps member.
At MDC, Alison worked on State of the South 2004, "Fifty Years after Brown v. Board of Education." She also assisted with Achieving the Dream and the Program for the Rural Carolinas. After her year as Autry Fellow, Alison received a Mellon Fellowship to begin work on a Ph.D. in American History at Yale University. She currently lives in Starkville, Mississippi, where she is completing research for her dissertation, "Religion and the Great Depression in Memphis and the Delta."
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. Tate has also served as statewide president of the Young Democrats of North Carolina.
As an Autry Fellow, Tate established the EITC Carolinas campaign to publicize the Earned Income Tax Credit and to assist low-income taxpayers with obtaining free or low-cost tax preparation services. He also devised a self-replenishing "Individual Development Account" to promote savings and homeownership by the working poor. Tate's other activities as a Fellow included researching kenaf as a replacement crop for North Carolina's tobacco farmers and assisting in the implementation of the Duke Endowment's Program for the Rural Carolinas. Following his fellowship, Tate attended UNC Law School, graduating in 2006 with honors. Following graduation, Tate volunteered as a translator and assistant at Schiller Lexconsult, S.A., a law firm based in Madrid, Spain. Tate later worked as an assistant district attorney in Monroe, N.C., and then as an assistant public defender in Charlotte, N.C. He recently established The Helms Law Firm, PLLC, in his native Union County.
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, a Coca-Cola Scholar, and a Craig G. Wall Fellow. While at Davidson, she studied abroad in London, worked at an orphanage in Haiti, and did research in Belgium under a Smith-Richardson Security Studies Fellowship. She also served as freshman class president and as a class senator in Student Government during her freshman, sophomore, and junior years. She was a member of the Black Student Coalition, the Union Board, the Presidents Advisory Council on Minority Affairs, and the Committee on International Affairs.
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 Children's Defense Fund, where she worked to increase the involvement of young people in efforts to address educational access, juvenile justice, and access to health care. During her time as an Autry Fellow, Jehan received broad exposure to all of MDC's work: she worked on the site selection for the Program for the Rural Carolinas, provided technical assistance to youth-serving organizations in Jacksonville, FL, assisted with research and data analysis for the Shadows Revisited and State of the South reports, assisted with the start-up of the Latino Pathways, and helped coordinate the Southern Grassroots Leadership Development Program. She has particular interests in poverty alleviation, youth development, and increasing access to health care, both in domestic and international contexts. She currently serves as a Program Officer with the Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation where she helps direct funding to address critical needs in underserved communities in North and South Carolina.
John Rohrs, 2000-2001
A native of Stillwater, Oklahoma, John graduated with honors in 1999 from Duke University, earning degrees in history and economics. After college, he participated in North Carolina Public Allies and worked with Partners for Youth, a tutoring and mentoring program for disadvantaged youth in Durham, N.C. As the first Autry Fellow, John had a wide-ranging experience at MDC, eventually focusing his time on the Program for the Rural Carolinas and on drafting an updated version of the Building Blocks of Community Development. John left MDC to attend Yale Divinity School, earning a Master in Divinity degree with honors in 2005. He was ordained as an Episcopal priest in February 2006 and now serves as an Associate Rector at Christ Church in Raleigh, N.C., where he frequently draws on insights and skills he learned while at MDC. He is married to the dashing Andie Wigodsky, and they have one child, the delightful and mischievous Anna Stewart.