Meet Our Leadership
Book office hours with our Leadership Group members. Our organization is run as a partnership between the optiMize department in the University of Michigan College of LSA and the optiMize student organization at the University of Michigan. Our first guiding principle is student-led education, youth-led change, and all decisions for the organization are made by consensus among our student leaders and full-time staff. We are proud of the democratic, participatory model we are creating together — hopefully illuminating possibilities for more just, sustainable, and joyful ways of building institutions and working collaboratively.
You can learn more about us and schedule time to meet with any of our Leadership Group members below. Click on their picture to read their bio.
Not sure who to meet? Email us at optimizemi@umich.edu and we’ll help you find the right person to speak with!
Peer Mentors
Social Innovation Challenge (SIC) Leads
Sahej Rayat
(she/her)
SIC Creative Lead
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Bridge Scholars Plus (BSP) Leads
Al Taylor
(he/him)
BSP, Wellness
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Faith Smith
(she/her)
BSP, Creative
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Asmah Bah
(she/her)
BSP, eMerge Lead
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Dawn Jula
(she/her)
BSP Lead, Org Culture
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Zoey Stanton
(she/her)
BSP, Org Culture
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Transfer Bridge Fellows
Amy Rodriguez
(she/her)
Transfer Bridge Fellow - Multimedia
Bilal Elayan
(he/him)
Transfer Bridge Fellow - Tech ops
Maria Choi
(she/her)
Transfer Bridge Fellow -
Design
Annahi Peralta-Sorto
(she/her)
Transfer Bridge Fellow - Admin Asst
Glenn Doss
(he/him)
Transfer Bridge Fellow - Org Culture
Meichi Wu
(she/her)
Transfer Bridge Fellow - Social Media
Baktash Jamil
(he/him)
Transfer Bridge Fellow - Logistics
Hanny Izquierdo
(she/her)
Transfer Bridge Fellow - Wellness
Nasma Ibrahim
(she/her)
Transfer Bridge Fellow - Resource
optiMize Leaders
Adhi Kunju
(he/him)
Tech-Ops, SAHIL
Carter Bell
(he/him)
Accessibility & Inclusion
Even Birhane
(he/him)
TechOps Lead
Kavya Doshi
(she/her)
Creative Lead, TechOps
Matthew Matola
(he/him)
ALA facilitator, Org Culture, Innovation Theme Community
Rishika Tannan
(she/her)
Mentorship, Accessibility & Inclusion
Valeria Olvarado
(she/her)
Creative
Ava Himelhoch
(she/her)
SAHIL Lead, Mentorship Lead
Casey Lupariello
(she/her)
ALA Lead facilitator, eMerge, Support Team
Destiny Williams
(she/her)
Innovation Theme Community Graduate Intern
Ingrid Soracco
(she/her)
ALA facilitator
Kwadwo Dankwa
(he/him)
Transfer Bridge Coordinator - Podcast
Nadwa Atwi
(she/her)
Grad Assistant
Marissa Kintz
(she/her)
Transfer Bridge Coordinator - Partnerships
Anne Li
(she/her)
TechOps, Accessibility & Inclusion
Anabella Weiss
(she/her)
Accessibility & Inclusion Lead, eMerge
Chris Ghersi
(he/him)
Transfer Bridge Coordinator - Mentorship
Emma Retter
(she/her)
eMerge, Org Culture
Gianina Medina Neste
(she/her)
Org Culture Lead + Accessibility and Inclusion, Transfer Bridge Coordinator - SIC
Jada-Lynn (JP) Pledger
(she/her)
Creative Lead, Transfer Bridge Coordinator - Program Development
Noah Spicer
(he/him)
Transfer Bridge Coordinator - CC Outreach
Full-time staff
Dallas McGhee-Henry
(he/him)
Community Partnerships Manager
Not sure who you want to connect with?
Email us at optimizemi@umich.edu and we will help you find the right person!