India Angana Prasad’s interest in the health field stems from her personal experience at an all-girls’ school, where she was struck by the concept of shame around the female body. A strong advocate of comprehensive sex education, she seeks to use technology to share information and create a generation of young people who are comfortable in their own skin. Rise … Read More
Jasmine Lovely George
India A lawyer by training, Jasmine is a self-declared feminist activist who uses her legal acumen to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls in India. She is interested in leveraging new technologies such as virtual reality, and seeks to create audio podcasts in Hindi for youth populations in spaces where talking about sexuality is … Read More
Nahom Teklewol
Ethiopia A recent graduate of law school, Nahom’s interests include youth development, gender-based violence, and education. He has been involved in youth development and health since the age of 13, and has extensive experience using video, radio, television, and social media to reach marginalized youth. Nahom spoke at the House of Commons in London to outline the expectations of young … Read More
Yoadan Shiferaw
Ethiopia Yoadan is a tireless advocate for youth development and seeks to “create an army of youth advocates” through her work. In addition to advocacy, her particular areas of interest include comprehensive sex education and eliminating child marriage and female genital mutilation. Yoadan believes in the power of youth and the importance of strategically engaging governments at national and global … Read More
Etsehiwot Eguale
Ethiopia Etsehiwot is committed to the prevention of gender-based violence and works directly with violence survivors in her country. In addition, she is passionate about girls’ empowerment and the importance of investing in them. Etsehiwot seeks to provide girls with leadership and empowerment training to enable them to reach their potential. Rise Up Cohort: Youth Champion 2017
Obie McNair
United States As a young black man in Mississippi, Obie works on HIV prevention and is a powerful voice for African-American men who have sex with men. Passionate about youth engagement, HIV/AIDS, and LGBTQ issues, he aims to develop programming that educates youth on sexual and reproductive health and rights of Mississippi’s diverse youth population. Rise Up Cohort: Youth Champion … Read More
Jitoria Jones
United States Currently the youngest employee in the Mississippi State Department of Health, Jitoria collaborates with youth leaders, community leaders, religious leaders, and government officials to implement programs that improve the health and wellbeing of Mississippi youth. She is interested in creating a social media campaign where youth can get clear, accurate information about sexual activity, consent, and preventing sexual … Read More
Mwende Katwiwa
United States Originally from Kenya, Mwende has lived and worked in Louisiana for many years with marginalized New Orleans youth, connecting social justice, reproductive health, and racial and economic justice. In addition to this work, Mwende is an artist and a poet. Her poems address issues of racism, violence against black women, and other critical topics. Rise Up Cohort: Youth … Read More
Joellé “Jo” Williams
United States A former foster youth and strong advocate for reproductive rights and justice, Jo values sexual and reproductive health as a means of giving a voice to herself and other foster youth. She is currently working towards improved California state legislation on teen health rights for foster youth. Jo hopes to gain youth development skills that will allow her … Read More
Sarah Hyde
United States A certified sex educator and new media organizer, Sarah is committed to violence prevention and sexual health education. She helped develop and facilitate a restorative justice program for young men who committed acts of digital sexual violence against women around topics such as power and control, and rape versus consent culture. Sarah plans to continue her harm-reduction based, … Read More
