Meet the Fellows
2011-2012 Gardner Fellows at Stanford
Pooja Yogesh Bakhai ’11
(Human Biology)
- Fellowship Placement: UN Women (New York)
- Fellowship Mentor: Nazneen Damji, Programme Manager, Gender Equality and HIV/AIDS
- Hometown: Buffalo, NY
- Service interests: international women’s rights, women’s health, global health, and community health in underserved areas
- Stanford experience: honors thesis on female adolescent sexual health in Chile; founder and president of Global Health Volunteers; patient advocate and interpreter at Arbor Free Clinic; teaching assistant “Principles and Practice of Medical Humanitarianism;” writer and events coordinator Stanford Service in Global Health Journal; student researcher Huntington’s Disease Outreach Project for Education at Stanford; Bing Overseas Studies Program in Santiago Chile; participant in the Community Health Program in Oaxaca, Mexico.
- Other service experience: intern at Muni Seva Ashram in Goraj, India (taught sexual health education curriculum to village women), participant in reconstructive surgery mission trip Interplast South
- Fellowship goal: to learn how to transform academic curiosity and personal drive into social change, how to mobilize national governments, NGOs and private organizations to fight for gender equality in all sectors, how to frame global human rights issues, and how to optimally address complex women's rights violations in developing nations struggling for economic and/or political security.
- Post fellowship plans: pursue medical and public health degrees, work as a physician influencing policy related to women’s health and reproductive rights, become a national leader in the women’s health and women’s rights fields
“I am a feminist and a public servant dedicated to improving the lives of women worldwide. My experiences as an Indian woman, Stanford student, daughter, and global health worker have not only opened my eyes to the brutalities inflicted upon women around the world, but also have fueled within me an irrepressible desire to fight gender inequality. As future physician and public health worker, I hope to employ both on-the-ground and large-scale policy approaches to influence women’s rights in the United States and throughout the world.”
Albert Gilbert '11 (Sociology;
MA Sociology)
- fellowship placement: Civil Rights Division, United States Department of Justice (Washington DC)
- fellowship mentors: Roy Austin, Deputy Assistant Attorney General
- hometown: Oakland, CA
- service interests: reducing rates of minority prison incarceration; school-to-prison pipeline; juvenile justice; civil rights; criminal justice policy reform; improving the services provided to the formerly incarcerated; and reducing the role race plays in death penalty cases.
- Stanford experience: co-president of the Black Pre-Law Society; research assistant for Stanford Law School’s Criminal Justice Center, for Stanford Law Professor Rick Ranks, and for the Mind, Culture, and Society Psychology Lab; Stanford’s Mock Trial team participant; Bing Overseas Studies Program in Oxford
- other service experience: East Palo Alto Youth Court; Americorps’ JusticeCorps program; and research assistant for Harvard Law School’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute, UC Berkeley Law School’s Thelton E. Henderson Center
- fellowship goal: to better understand the root causes and resulting consequences of racial disparities in the criminal justice system; and how policies are formulated and can reduce those disparities.
- post-fellowship plans: to spend time working directly on issues related to the criminal justice system, followed by law school.
“Our justice system should represent a social contract with all members of our society for equal access, representation and treatment if it is to receive the full support and respect of all who are subject to it. As that contract is implemented today, it does not afford all people in our society with the same protection under the rule of law. The impact of this disparity has devastating impacts on the lives of many reflected in crime, economic drain, and waste of human capital. I am committed to improving the system and addressing root causes of the disparity.”
Andy
Parker ’11 (Political Science)
- fellowship placement: White House Office of Public Engagement (Washington DC)
- fellowship mentor: Jon Carson, Director
- hometown: Corvallis, OR
- service interest: civic engagement and political participation; voter registration; electoral reform
- Stanford Experience: Vice President and Chief of Staff of the Associated Students of Stanford University; President of the Stanford Democrats; Research Assistant to Professors Gary Segura and Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar; member of the Stanford ACLU and Stanford Students for Barack Obama.
- other service experience: Assistant to the Executive Director of the National Lawyers Guild; Voter Engagement intern for the campaign of Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR).
- fellowship goal: to learn how individuals interact with political institutions and the political process, and to explore methods of facilitating and encouraging this type of engagement
- post-fellowship plans: Continue working in the area of civic engagement for an additional year or two, and then pursue graduate studies in law or public policy
“My experience with voter registration drives and campaign efforts has shown me that voting, a core component of our democracy, is difficult or even inaccessible for millions of Americans. I will work to lower barriers and remove obstacles in the registration and voting processes, thereby increasing access and promoting citizen engagement in the political process.”
