Our Sustainability Skills Initiative (SSI) participants have been hard at work creating blog posts, analyzing policy initiatives, uplifting diversity (DEEI) labor and more. Learn more about each intern and find examples of their work below!
Health and Wellness Intern
Programs Intern
Programs Intern
Ah’Shaiyah, a recent graduate of the University of Chicago, is interested in working to better the lives of marginalized communities through whichever way she can. In the past, Ah’Shaiyah has worked on issues such as criminal justice reform. At The Alliance Center, she hopes to learn more about current sustainability and environmental justice initiatives to educate communities on the impacts of these efforts. In their free time, Ah’Shaiyah enjoys playing guitar, writing poetry and solving an unhealthy amount of logic puzzles. You can view a blog post they wrote for The Alliance Center here.
Communications Intern
Girls Inc. Intern
Diversity, Equity, Equality and Inclusion (DEEI) Intern
Girls Inc. Intern
Jennalee Casias was born and raised in Southwest Denver. She is committed to living a fulfilling lifestyle that benefits not only her but her community and country as well. She attends a small neighborhood art school where she participates and takes action in Student Voice and Leadership classes. In 2019 she was awarded the Colorado Youth Citizenship Award. In her free time you can find her doing her favorite hobbies: drawing, long boarding and playing sports with her friends and family. You can view a blog post she co-wrote for the Alliance Center here.
Programs/Communications Intern
Esperanza‘s love for the natural environment and the people who take care of it first began in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where she was born and raised. She left her hometown to study at Amherst College in Massachusetts, where she became especially interested in environmental justice. After graduating, she worked abroad as a research assistant studying Peru’s tropical forest conservation program. Outside of work you can find her participating in community theatre, playing capoeira or riding her bike. You can hear Esperanza in Episode 5 of our Climate Bridges podcast and view a blog post she wrote here.
Girls Inc. Intern
Devani Dominguez was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She has participated in the Girls Inc. program for six years and is in her second year of interning in the Eureka program. Devani enjoys trying new things and meeting new people. Some of her hobbies include playing volleyball, skateboarding, drawing and painting. You can view a blog post she co-wrote for the Alliance Center here.
Programs Intern
Maria was born and raised in Honduras, where she learned to love the outdoors and developed a passion for environmental sustainability. Currently, she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Chicago. Besides her academic work, Maria participates in Peer Health Exchange as a health educator for low-income Chicago high schools. She likes to relax by drawing and painting, solving crosswords, baking or simply being out in nature. You can view a blog post she wrote for The Alliance Center here.
Programs Intern
Kavitya grew up enjoying hikes, bike rides and gardening in his native North Texas. His interest in sustainability and public policy began when he worked on growing his residential high school’s bike share program. Kavitya is a student at the University of Chicago studying Economics with a Specialization in Data Science. He is interested in applying economics to educate the complexity of issues faced by public policy in sustainability and health. When Kavitya is not digitally commuting, he likes to work on puzzles, ride his bike and cook. You can view a blog post he wrote for the Alliance Center here.
Waste Analysis and Reduction Intern
Born and raised in North Denver, Rachel has always felt a deep connection to her neighborhood and community. She is currently pursuing a BA in Environmental and Urban Studies at the University of Chicago, a field of study she feels perfectly encompasses the areas of urban design and environmental justice she is passionate about. She was very excited for the opportunity to combine those passions at the Alliance Center in her hometown. Rachel loves biking, baking and watching bad movies with her friends, especially at the Esquire Theater.
Rachel’s work at the Alliance Center focused on organizational waste reduction and included creating and disseminating a tenant survey, reviewing and developing our TRUE Credit Tracker and exploring and suggesting operational improvements.
Programs Intern
Kristin is a graduate student with the University of Wisconsin working on an MS in Sustainable Management and a Graduate Certificate in College Teaching and Learning with Walden University. Kristin is passionate about sustainability and learned about the holistic subject while working on her undergraduate degree in business administration at Colorado Mountain College. In her free time, Kristin enjoys volunteering with local food banks and food producers, reading, cooking and going on long walks with her little chihuahua mix, Sasquatch!
