2026 Cohort Update – FAO Schwarz Fellowship

FAO Schwarz Fellowship Program

2026 Alumni Newsletter

Natalia Wang ’24 leads a tour for students at the Morgan Library & Museum.

Raeva Bali ’27 engages children in a project while tabling for the Trust for Public Land.

Fellows gather at 826 Boston during the fall 2025 retreat.

Delaney Kenney ’27 presents to Fellows at the Museum of Science during the fall 2025 retreat.

Bianca Van Heydoorn ’09 speaks at a Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project event.

Michael Varlotta ’26 leads students through a food justice project.

A Message from Priscilla

Dear Supreme Fellows, Current Fellows, and Trustees,

This year marks two important milestones for the FAO Schwarz Family Foundation: the Foundation’s 35th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of the FAO Schwarz Fellowship program. These milestones offer a meaningful opportunity to reflect on where the Fellowship started, what it has become, and why it continues to matter.

The FAO Schwarz Fellowship Program was launched in 2006 with a clear and ambitious goal: to connect talented, values-driven young leaders with nonprofit organizations driving social change. The vision was to both develop the next generation of social impact leaders, while strengthening the capacity and reach of nonprofit organizations in Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia.

Twenty years later, the impact and reach of the Fellowship program speaks for itself. In that time, 84 alumni Fellows (plus 12 current Fellows) have worked with 35 different nonprofit organizations across the three cities. Sixty-two percent of alumni have completed or are currently pursuing graduate education, and 92 percent are still working in the social impact field. Over the past three years, 80 percent of Fellows have been offered permanent roles by their host organizations at the conclusion of their Fellowships.

Additionally, more than 400 college fellowship and career offices across the country recognize the FAO Schwarz Fellowship Program as a leading pathway for students interested in social impact careers. That reputation is built on the strength of the Fellows, the quality of the host organizations, and the true impact of the work being done.

None of this would be possible without the collective commitment of many people: the Trustees who believed in this program from the start and sustain it today; the nonprofit host organizations that invest deeply in Fellows; and, of course, the Fellows themselves, whose passion, resilience, and drive continue to make an impact long after their Fellowships end.

As the FAO Schwarz Fellowship Program looks toward its next chapter, it does so with the same spirit that defined its beginning: a belief in people, a commitment to partnership, and an unwavering desire to lead the change.

I am also thrilled to share the latest updates from current and alumni Fellows in this 2026 edition of our annual newsletter. It’s inspiring to read your updates and learn about how you’re contributing to your communities and continuing to grow and learn in your careers.

Click through the years below to read updates from each cohort, back to our first in 2008! We are so proud of you all and are always here to support you.

Priscilla

Priscilla Cohen

Executive Director, FAO Schwarz Family Foundation

"As I approach my 20th anniversary with Children’s Literacy Initiative (where I am now Managing Director of Marketing, Branding and E-Learning Technologies), I’m deeply reflective about the role this organization has played in my life and career. For nearly two decades, CLI has been a place rooted in purpose—committed to ensuring children have access to joyful, meaningful literacy experiences and that the educators and caregivers who support them are equipped, valued, and empowered."

Jordy Owen '08

Fellow at Jumpstart

" I have transitioned into a new role at Family Nurturing Center of MA as an impact evaluation specialist, focused on creating systems of data for the organization to drive program learning in family services while finding ways to share and amplify our organizations data to expand our scope of work and support learning for others in the field. Outside of work, I have also recently joined the mayor's office SPARK Boston council supporting increased civic engagement and outreach for young residents of Boston!"

Jasmin Norford '23

Fellow at Breakthrough Greater Boston

"I recently advanced to my second year as a PhD student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at CUNY Graduate Center. In the past year, I presented at the International Congress for Conservation Biology 2025 in Brisbane, Australia, as well as the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association in New Orleans where I and my co-panelists were recognized as Best PhD Student Panel by the Critical Urban Anthropology Association."

Jesse McLaughlin '24

Fellow at Wheelock College

Updates by Cohort

2027

Deb Camacho

iMentor

These past few months have been incredibly rewarding. I’ve supported 11th graders in building relational and communication skills while encouraging engagement in the program, and celebrated alongside 12th graders as they submitted college applications and received acceptance updates. Leading in the classroom—whether contributing to lessons or sharing announcements—has been a meaningful highlight.

Beyond the classroom, I’ve built strong relationships with iMentor staff and will be working alongside with the Organizational Learning & Impact (OLI) team, which uses data to strengthen support for students, mentors, and partners. Reflecting on my journey from mentee to program leader has been especially meaningful, and sharing the value of mentorship with today’s youth is deeply fulfilling.

Delaney Kenney

Msueum of Science

These past 6 months working at the Museum of Science have been extremely rewarding! As a member of the Youth Engagement team, I have helped lead our high school internship programs, facilitated activities on the Museum floor to visitors of all ages and backgrounds, and organized three large-scale youth events. I also have been teaching in our MEDscience program, in partnership with Harvard Medical School, where I get to lead high school students in the greater Boston area in emergency room simulations and medical skill workshops. Interacting with youth in a variety of ways has allowed me to grow immensely in my leadership skills and has shaped me to become a more confident educator. I am very excited to put on our Investigate: Biology High School Science Series event in February, and to begin planning for my second year of our Summer Youth Internship in the coming weeks. I am so grateful for the fellowship for giving me the opportunity to make a difference in the Boston community!

Jenevieve Joseph

Hudson River Park’s River Project

Working at Hudson River Park’s River Park has been a hugely informative endeavor these past eight months. As I steadily approach the one year mark, I can confidently say the skills that I’ve acquired and honed are making me a better educator and team member. Personally, I have began to lead a comprehensive update of the strategic management plan for my department, ushering in conversations surrounding institutional goals. Breathing life into such this document has grown my confidence in coordination on large organizational projects. Another large portion of my time at Hudson River Park has been conducting and analyzing teacher evaluations of field trip programs. Deciphering feedback, teaching environmental education field trips, and planning large scale community science events have broaden my view of what is possible in outdoor education. I am incredibly grateful for time at Hudson River Park, and enjoy navigating being their first FAO Schwarz Fellow with my supervisors. I cannot wait to diver deeper into my role at the Park during the remainder of the fellowship!

Raeva Bali

Trust for Public Land

My first six months as an FAO Schwarz Fellow with Trust for Public Land in Philadelphia have been incredible. I started in August by tabling at Back‑To‑School events across our Community Schoolyard sites, where I had the chance to meet and engage with the communities we serve across Philadelphia. As summer shifted into fall, I gained a deeper understanding of our TPL Stewardship program and even helped lead a volunteer event at one of our schoolyards with WSFS Bank, one of our corporate partners. In this event, we spread three yards of mulch across the schoolyard, collected four bags of litter, and planted 40 native flowering perennial plants in the schoolyard’s raingarden. Another highlight of the fall was meeting TPL’s CEO, Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, during her visit to our office in November. I’m now leading our Mini‑Grants for Stewardship program, which will provide small grants to community partners for projects that support stewardship, care, and activation at parks and Community Schoolyards throughout Philadelphia. I’m excited to see what new opportunities to connect with and support our Community Schoolyards emerge this spring.

Shoshanna Hemley

Boston Collegiate Charter School

I have just finished up the first half of the school year at Boston Collegiate Charter School, teaching 5 small groups of literacy intervention in the high school and one larger class in 5th grade twice a week using REWARDS. I have received the results from our mid-year diagnostic reading test, which indicate that the majority of my high school students grew at least 2 reading grade levels in one semester. During the first quarter, I ran a technical theatre club in the middle school for Spongebob the musical. We also hosted the current fellows for a day at Boston Collegiate during the October retreat! I have also helped write articles on our educational best practices and have been working on our various communications and disseminations efforts for tours, visits, and panels. I’m also working one on one with some of my students during office hours to help them with any homework, studying, or executive functioning/planning to get them on track in all of their schoolwork.

2026

Alex Gabriel

MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

The last year and a half as the FAO Schwarz Fellow at the Museum of the City of New York has been incredibly rewarding. Four days a week, I have the privilege of teaching k-12 students about the rich history of New York City, ranging from the lives of the Lenape to the activism of the Young Lords. It has been so special getting to witness students make connections between both the privileges and issues we have today to the fights of past New Yorkers. Outside of my time on the floor teaching, I also have been hard at work researching and integrating accessibility supports into the museum. My proudest accomplishment has been the creation of a “social narrative” for our field trips which is now available on our website. This resources allows students and teachers to better anticipate what they can expect when they visit the museum and has already gotten praise from a number of teachers. I know that as I wrap up my time in the fellowship, my heart will only become more full from all of the wonderful experiences I have both on field trips and in creating access supports that will live on beyond my two years at MCNY.

Anya Henry

826 Boston

This year I have become the lead facilitator for Rubix Literary Magazine Club, a creative writing club operating out of John D. O’Bryant High School. During club sessions, students work on poetry, group writing projects, and various forms of creative expression. It’s been so much fun working alongside our newly minted senior and assistant editors who, through developing their own writing workshop prompts, garnered a record number of submissions for the magazine this year. Outside of OB, I help turn all of our student writing into physical publications. While I had the pleasure of transforming our very own fellows writing into fully bound books after our Fall Fellowship Retreat, most of the writing I work with is done by kids in grades 5-12. This year, we are publishing another College Essay Anthology, a libretto, and a variety of other exciting projects. Lucky for me, I get to be there for every step along the way.

Emily Lu

The Clay Studio

I have been putting together the final pieces of my special project, which is focused on strengthening socio emotional learning (SEL) in the Claymobile curriculum. Over the past year, I’ve written an SEL toolkit that outlines our SEL philosophies and best practices. I’ve worked with TCS’s graphic design team to create a workbook for our Teaching Artists that includes exercises and reflections on each of the nine SEL competencies in the SEL framework that I designed specifically for Claymobile. Lastly, I’ve been leading professional development sessions with Claymobile Teaching Artists where we thoroughly examine each SEL competency and share our own pedagogies and teaching practices to enhance our ability to promote SEL in the classroom.

In addition, I’ve led two Claymobile residencies: one with an autism support class at a local elementary school, and one with a group of elementary and middle schoolers in our After School Program.

Jacob Jeong

Reading Partners

The past year and a half as an FAO Schwarz Fellow at Reading Partners has been filled with plenty of growth and responsibility! As the fellow leading our Powered By Reading Partners program in NYC, I’ve supported the expansion of our partner tutoring sites from 1 to 10. Through this work, we’ve been able to reach students beyond the traditional school setting—in afterschool, weekend, and summer programming. I also partnered with the Office of Family and Community Empowerment (FACE) under NYC Public Schools to facilitate family engagement workshops for 1,260+ participants, training community members and FACE staff on how to best support children’s literacy development at home. I also co-lead our regional social media along with the national organization’s AAPINH affinity space. While I’m sad to be nearing the end of my fellowship, I’m excited to attend law school this upcoming fall!

Julie Kleaver

Audubon Mid-Atlantic

This past year has brought immense growth and change: In my direct service with local partner schools, I expanded on in-class conservation education lessons by planning and leading extra-curricular stewardship opportunities for students and parents at each school. From block cleanups and tree plantings to native pollinator garden installation, planting, and care, these events strengthened my relationship with students and staff and encouraged them to take a direct role in caring for the ecosystems around them. Following these opportunities, I re-vamped my lesson offerings to focus more on school-specific contexts – incorporating nature journaling and outdoor exploration – to further build students’ appreciation for and sense of responsibility to the green spaces they had a hand in shaping.

One thing I’m especially proud of in the last year is the growth and expansion of my Nature Journaling program at the Discovery Center. These events welcomed over 200 new visitors to the center and built a sustained audience who not only appreciate nature in all its seasons, but feel empowered to take an active role in caring for it through accompanying workshops and volunteer opportunities. This year I am continuing the Nature Journaling series, but building upon it to offer a new accompanying series called Seed Stewards. Monthly Seed Stewards events combine a Nature Journaling session with a hands-on activity designed to guide native seeds through their entire growth cycle. From seed packet filling, to seed starting, to planting, participants build their knowledge of what it takes to increase biodiversity by growing more native plants. We had our first event on Saturday, January 10th where the Seed Stewards prepared nearly 250 packets of native seeds to be distributed through our Native Seed Library where visitors can plant them in their own neighborhoods. I’m excited to see how these events continue to reach new audiences and engage them in caring for the ecosystems around them.

Michael Varlotta

The Food Trust

I am very grateful to have reached year two of the fellowship. More and more I am witnessing, experiencing, and learning from the power of community building/organizing. While we have been figuring out how to navigate slashes to funding and federal programs, like SNAP and SNAP-Ed, we have seen resilience continue to blossom. I was part of a couple pop-up no cost farm stands recently. These were done in partnership with local farmers, urban growers, schools, and community orgs. I am also continuing to meet with the same schools I was in last year providing lessons and activities on food justice, nutrition, and cooking. Year two has been one of growth and transformation, which I appreciate greatly, and am looking forward to see what the rest of the year has to offer.

Shraddha Patel

Reading Partners

The last year and a half as a fellow with Reading Partners have presented me with several opportunities for growth, and I am nearing the end of my time here much more prepared for a career in social impact! This year, I have supported the recruitment and onboarding of over 100 work study students and interns from colleges and universities across New York, New Jersey, and New Hampshire. This group accounts for 25% of all of the tutoring sessions Reading Partners has delivered this year. In addition to my strategic project work, I manage the social media and lead the org-wide AAPINH affinity group with my co-fellow, Jacob. I have also taken on the responsibility of co-charing the Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) Committee. Overall, my second year as a fellow has come with a lot more responsibility, and I am thankful to have been challenged to grow as a professional.

2025

Avery Trinidad

Year Up United New York | New Jersey

As of this past August, I’ve relocated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for full-time study at Carnegie Mellon University. I’m pursuing the Public Policy & Management at Heinz College under the Data Analytics track. Our curriculum is actually fairly distinct from many MPP equivalents, and perhaps more of the technical material you’d expect from Carnegie Mellon: that means a lot of time in Data Science, Economics, and Management Science classes– wish me luck in Econometrics, please. (Also open to thematic suggestions for this semester’s Machine Learning project!)

I’m still seeing friends and family back in New York as often as I can. On the move for this summer as well: at Capital One, I’ll be a Product Management and Analytics Intern at their McLean, VA headquarters… which means shuttling through Arlington and D.C. fairly often as well. Analytics continues to be a personal and professional passion, and I’m glad to be applying all my new classroom knowledge so immediately. In the meanwhile, I’m engaging my ESG interests from the strategy side, working as a Research Fellow with the boutique social impact consulting firm KM Strategies Group. That isn’t accounting for the work I’ve undertaken as a Heinz Fellow at Carnegie Mellon, or another part time job as a Graduate Fellow supporting campus-wide student initiatives. (On top of all of that, I took up running!)

Jocelyn Poste

Museum of Science

I am currently working as a Bilingual Education Associate at the Museum of Science in Boston (my FAO host org), while serving as an Alumni Fellow Mentor to the newest FAO Schwarz Fellow at MOS, Delaney!

Sabrina Abreu

Jumpstart NYC

I am a first-year law student at Duke University School of Law pursuing a JD/LLM in International and Comparative Law. After a strong first semester, I am concluding a very early law firm recruitment cycle and finalizing my summer plans, which I expect to split between legal work at a firm in Brazil and later at the Leiden Institute in The Hague.

Sarika Doppalapudi

Whitney Museum

I’m now working as a museum educator at the Art Institute of Chicago.

2024

Jahmali Matthews

Breakthrough Greater Boston

After working at the International Institute of New England where I assisted with refugee and immigrant services as the Program Operations Coordinator, Jahmali is exploring “opportunities that will allow me to merge my creative and analytical skills to foster meaningful change. With a background in sociology and creative writing, I specialize in crafting narratives that illuminate cultural identities and community experiences. My work in the nonprofit sector has honed my skills in program evaluation and strategic communication.”

Jesse McLaughlin

NYC Audubon

I recently advanced to my second year as a PhD student in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at CUNY Graduate Center. In the past year, I presented at the International Congress for Conservation Biology 2025 in Brisbane, Australia, as well as the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association in New Orleans where I and my co-panelists were recognized as Best PhD Student Panel by the Critical Urban Anthropology Association. I recently completed an internship at the Environmental Defense Fund where I supported behavioral social science research on climate technology acceptance. As a naturalist, I continue to lead LGBTQ-inclusive birding events with NYC Bird Alliance, where I worked as an FAO Schwarz Fellow 2022-2024.

Juan Mojica

Breakthrough Greater Boston

My title has recently shifted from Manager of Development and Operations to Manager of Development and Finance Strategy. My role has shifted away from operations and now holds more of a focus on development. One of my new responsibilities includes data management used for grant proposals, reporting, and external audiences.

Kayla Johnson

The Clay Studio

I am wrapping up the fourth year of the ceramic arts after school programming I created during my fellowship. We are seeing dynamic growth in the ages we serve as well as the number of students served.

Natalia Wang

Museum of the City of New York

I’m still working as a Museum Educator at the Tenement Museum and Morgan Library and loving it! I’m excited to share that I’ve joined the Center for Architecture as a Design Educator, facilitating in-school programs for K-12 students about architecture, urban planning, and social justice. This experience has been an incredible opportunity to for me to grow in a new leadership area, engage with students in a different setting, and build on the skills and experience from my fellowship at MCNY.

Sophie Becker-Klein

Audubon Mid Atlantic

Since completing the fellowship in 2024, I have been in the role of Senior Coordinator for Conservation Education with Audubon Mid-Atlantic. I continue to be involved with cat rescue in my spare time.

Vanessa Barragán

The Food Project

I am continuing in my position as an Associate Extension Agent in 4-H Youth Development with Virginia Cooperative Extension! This past year I was also given an additional role as the Unit Coordinator for the City of Alexandria, VA’s Extension Office, where I manage our collaborative relationship with city government and other partners in Youth Development, Agriculture & Natural Resources, and Family & Consumer Sciences.

2023

Jasmin Norford

Jumpstart

In the last few years, I have completed my Masters in Educational Policy Studies from BU! It was an amazing learning experience to delve deeper into data analysis within the policy field and has motivated a lot of my professional transition to supporting community-based data for change. I have transitioned into a new role at Family Nurturing Center of MA as an impact evaluation specialist, focused on creating systems of data for the organization to drive program learning in family services while finding ways to share and amplify our organizations data to expand our scope of work and support learning for others in the field. Outside of work, I have also recently joined the mayor’s office SPARK Boston council supporting increased civic engagement and outreach for young residents of Boston!

Kira Azulay

Museum of Science

I am working as part of a small team at The Philanthropic Initiative, part of the Boston Foundation, to support donors in making impactful charitable decisions. Most of my work is in college success programs. I’ve facilitated the scholarship application & selection process, award disbursement, event coordination, and a student loan reduction effort for our program alumni. Outside the scholarships, I’ve appreciated taking part in lots of professional development opportunities offered, such as volunteering at and participating in a conference about international grantmaking! I have also joined the TBF Sustainability Committee.

In personal updates, I recently moved into a new apartment with my old roommates in Somerville which has been a lovely change. I have also been volunteering more and have joined Youth Enrichment Services (YES) as a volunteer ski instructor! This winter will be my 2nd season and I’ve loved being outside and getting to know the kids while improving my own skiing by getting out on the slopes more often.

Nia Atkins

Year Up United New York | New Jersey

I am currently a second year PhD student at Princeton University, studying political science. I am also a diversity fellow with the American Political Science Association, and I presented a paper at the National Conference for Black Political Scientists in 2025.

Ryan Telingator

Jumpstart

After serving as Massachusetts State Representative Marjorie Decker’s Chief of Staff for two years, I left the office to pursue a Master of Public Administration at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. I will graduate in August of 2026, and will return to legislative and political work in Massachusetts that fall.

2022

Adriana Moran Garcia

Mural Arts Philadelphia

After working at El Museo del Barrio for three years, I am now at the Affordable Art Fair as the Fair Coordinator for NYC and Boston.

Charlotte Blackman

Museum of the City of New York

Recently, I served as a summer educator at Dyckman Farmhouse Museum.I am looking forward to starting a new role in February as an assistant in the Learning and Engagement department at MoMA.

Clara Monk

Reading Partners NYC

Currently I am the Community Engagement Director of Eastern Regions at Reading Partners. I graduated from Baruch in May 2025 with MPA and Advanced Certificate in Quantitative Methods for Policy and Equity Analysis.

H’Abigail Mlo

Trust for Public Land

I’m in my last semester of my MFA at UW Madison! I’m teaching Intro to Creative Writing this semester, taking a comics class with Lynda Barry (!!!), and completing my thesis.

Serena Salgado

Breakthrough Greater Boston

After more than two years working at the Bridgespan Group in NYC as an Associate Consultant for nonprofit organizations and foundations, I am now working as a Strategy Analyst at the Marin Community Foundation in California.

2021

Angela Ortiz

Generation Citizen

This year will be five years at the Peabody Museum for me. It’s been a privilege to be part of the support system that gets ancestors and sacred items back to their home communities. The museum has changed a lot in my time there in hugely positive, while oftentimes challenging, ways. I attribute a lot of feeling like I have the tools to navigate my daily job responsibilities and advocate for ways to do our work in a more ethical, responsible, and kind way to my time in the fellowship. On a personal note, I am forever working on the balance between work and life- one of the ways I’ve been making sure to also live life has been taking up rollerblading / ice skating this year. It feels great to learn something new that uses a completely different part of my brain and body.

Emily (Hynes) Rakos

Year Up United New York | New Jersey

I am the Manager of Programs at the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance. A highlight of my year was that I got married in April 2025!

Marielena Fernandez

DREAM

Mari works as a Scholar Counselor at Oliver Scholars. Mari writes, “I support high-achieving students from underserved communities in their academic and personal growth. I leverage my communication and mentoring skills, as well as my degree in Urban Studies/Affairs from Queens College, to help them navigate the challenges and opportunities of pursuing higher education and career goals. Before joining Oliver Scholars, I worked as a Youth Development Specialist at DREAM (formerly Harlem RBI), where I designed and delivered programs that fostered social-emotional learning, civic engagement, and leadership among young people. I am passionate about urban education, youth empowerment, and social justice, and I strive to make a positive difference in the lives of the scholars and the communities I serve.”

Meredith Jones

Jumpstart

I am currently completing my full-time School Psychology internship with Boston Public Schools and excited to graduate with my Ed.S. at the end of this school year and pursue a permanent position in a school district!

Taylor Reese

Year Up United Philadelphia

This past year I started a new role as Senior Digital Marketing Manager at Jobs for the Future. I am now responsible for our website, from wireframing pages to building and optimizing them. It’s really fun to see a project go from a dense report to a readable and engaging page/website. There’s always a new puzzle to solve, and sense to make of noise.

In my free time I’ve been playing a lot of tennis; I went 6-2 in the fall season which is a much better result than I was hoping for. Looking ahead, I’ll be finishing up my MBA in digital brand communications at Clemson in August. Really looking forward to having some free time again, but I’ve learned a lot during my time in the program, and I’m glad I did it.

2020