Join the Yale Club of Washington D.C. in partnering wi
th Serve Your City (SYC), a local nonprofit that is organizing to ensure th
at every student in D.C. can access educational resources and high-speed in
ternet today and tomorrow.
<
/span>
Moderator: Lovinia Reynolds, f
ormer Communications Lead for Ward 6 Mutual Aid and current Yale School of
Environment student
Maurice Cook, Foun
der & Executive Director, Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid
<
/li>Michael Houck, Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid
Tech Lead
Christian Sutton, Serve Your
City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid Tech and Food Distribution Organizer
Ryane B. Nickens, Founder & President, TraRon Ce
nter
Miranda Mlilo, Tutoring & Ext
racurricular Education Lead, Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid
li>
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many systemic disparities—
including Black and Brown student access to educational support, technology
and internet connectivity —these barriers have always existed for many of
D.C.’s students. To address these inequities, individuals and organizations
across the District have stepped up and built innovative solutions that ar
e rooted in the strength of local communities. Our goal is to raise $5,000 to support this important work. Help bridge the digital an
d educational divide -- make a donation today!
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strong>
About the Speakers
Maurice Cook
Raised in Maryland and Washington,
D.C., Maurice Cook was the first male in his family to attend college, eve
ntually earning a master’s degree. His love of his hometown, coupled with h
is frustration with the systemic racism experienced by Black and Brown yout
h in D.C. and throughout this country, drove Maurice to create Serve Your C
ity in 2009 and to step up as a leader with Ward 6 Mutual Aid when the pand
emic struck in March 2020. He lives on Capitol Hill with his wife, Jackie.<
/span>
Mike Houck
Michael Houck was born and raise
d in Washington, D.C. He manages Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid’s Tech P
rogram.
Christian Sutton
Christian Sutton
was born and raised in Washington, D.C. He is an organizer for Serve Your
City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid’s food distribution and Tech Program
Miranda Mlilo
Miranda Mlilo is the creator and coordinator
of the Tutoring and Youth Enrichment Program at Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mut
ual Aid, known as the Free School for Unlimited Youth. She works to end the
opportunity gap by providing academic tutoring and creative after school a
ctivities for students in historically underserved communities. As a child
of immigrant parents from Palestine and Zimbabwe, Miranda is passionate abo
ut advancing equity and works in the community to organize around indigenou
s sovereignty, and racial and environmental justice.
Ryane B. Nickens
Ryane B. Nickens, M.Div., is the Found
er and President of The TraRon Center in Washington, D.C., where she was bo
rn and raised. The center provides a safe space for families that have endu
red the pain of gun violence to find healing through the creative arts. Rya
ne is currently in the process of becoming an ordained elder in the African
Methodist Episcopal Church and is the author of “From the Gutters to a Man
sion: My Journey to My Heavenly Father.” She is a graduate of North Carolin
a Central University and Howard University.
Lovinia Reynold
s
Lovinia Reynolds is a former DC resident and a proud form
er organizer with Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid. For Lovinia, working w
ith SYC/W6MA was both an incredible community and a unique privilege. Lovin
ia is a Black environmentalist committed to rethinking traditional energy s
ystems and approaching energy issues from a justice lens. She currently liv
es in New Haven and is a first year graduate student at the Yale School of
the Environment. When she is not studying and surviving the pandemic, you c
an find her hiking or at the beach.
About Serve Your
City DC
In collaboration with partner organizations in the Ward
6 Mutual Aid network, Serve Your City provides devices, internet access, an
d tutoring to ensure all students in D.C. have access
to these critical services. The SYC Tech program trains high school and col
lege students to acquire, refurbish, and then redistribute used electronic
devices in systemically under-resourced communities.
SYC also facilitates t
he Free School for Unlimited Youth, a program designed to serve families th
at are juggling financial instability and health concerns while simultaneou
sly facing enormous pressure to manage the virtual education of their child
ren. Since the pandemic began in March 2020, the Free School for Unlimited
Youth has matched hundreds of students with free virtual tutors and extrac
urricular programs.
Taken together and combined with other ongoing
efforts, this work leverages the strength that exists already in our neighb
orhoods and supports our community from within. To learn more about Serve Y
our City and Ward 6 Mutual Aid, visit www.serveyourcitydc.org.