Managing Committee

STAND Student Director

Daniel Solomon

Georgetown, 2013
director@standnow.org

Daniel grew up in New York City and is now a junior at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, in Washington, DC, where he is majoring in international politics with a concentration in international security studies. Daniel first became involved with STAND when he was appointed National Burma Education Coordinator in June 2009, and subsequently served as National Advocacy Coordinator during the 2010-2011 school year. Outside of STAND, Daniel is an active member of the Georgetown International Relations Club, a contributor at PolicyMic, and an enthusiastic patron of the cheese counter at Zabar's. Back to top

Advocacy Coordinator

Maria Thomson

Swarthmore College, 2014
advocacy@standnow.org

Hailing from Minnesota, Maria is a current sophomore at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and plans to major in Anthropology with a Peace and Conflict Studies minor. Maria's participation in Swarthmore's Sudan Radio Project led her to STAND during her freshman year of college, and the dedication and enthusiasm she saw from STAND students at the spring conference inspired her to become a more active member in the anti-genocide movement.  When not discussing policy, Maria enjoys napping outdoors and having conversations about the Midwest, words and grammar, and Annie Dillard books. Back to top

Communications Coordinator

Shomya Tripathy

University of Texas, 2012
media@standnow.org

Born and raised in the great state of Texas, Shomya is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, studying Government and African and African Diaspora Studies with a minor in History. She first learned of STAND her freshman year of college at an organization fair and has been involved with her school chapter ever since, serving as Co-President her junior year. She looks forward to taking her involvement in STAND and the anti-genocide movement to the next level. In her spare time she loves to play basketball, dance, read blogs about hipsters, and most importantly, keep it real - by randomly breaking out into the Dougie whenever possible.  Back to top

Programming Coordinator

Cassie Wiegmann

American University, 2014
programming@standnow.org

Living most of her life in North Carolina, Cassie now goes to school at American University, in Washington D.C., where she will be a sophomore. Here, she is pursuing a degree in International Studies. Cassie first learned about the conflict when she attended a Save Darfur rally in 8th grade and has been involved ever since. She founded a chapter at Apex High School in North Carolina, served on the Outreach team in 2009, and will now be Co-President of the STAND chapter at American University. Outside of her love for all things STAND, she enjoys drawing robot people, being a DJ on her school radio station, and learning about different cultures. Back to top

Education Coordinator

Sean Langberg

University of North Carolina, 2014
education@standnow.org

Sean grew up in Asheville, North Carolina and is now a sophomore at the University of North Carolina where he is majoring in African studies and human geography with a concentration in central Africa. He became interested in the anti-genocide movement after reading about George Washington Williams, E.D. Morel, and Patrice Lumumba in Adam Hochschild’s King Leopold’s Ghost in high school. Sean got involved with STAND during his freshman year of college when he joined the chapter at UNC. Outside of STAND, Sean is the vice president of an aid group called Save the Horn and a member of Students for a Democratic Society, which fights cuts to the U.S. public sector.  In his free time, he likes to hike, bike, and read. Back to top

Regional Organizer

Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan

Zach Ackerman

University of Michigan, 2015
zackerman@standnow.org

Zach is a freshman at the University of Michigan, where he hopes to study public policy with a focus on international development. Zach has been involved with STAND at the local level since 2009, becoming more active nationally last year as Outreach Coordinator for the central U.S. This coming year, as a regional organizer, he looks forward to continuing his work with the well-established anti-genocide community to extinguish and prevent present and future atrocities worldwide. In his free time, Zach enjoys playing ultimate frisbee. Back to top

Regional Organizer

Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont

MJ Engel

Phillips Academy Andover, 2013
mengel@standnow.org

MJ Engel is a junior at Phillips Academy Andover, a boarding school near Boston, MA, but is first and foremost a homegrown Wisconsin girl. She has been interested in human rights since she was young but became actively involved in the movement freshman year when her history teacher spent a week describing his experiences in Rwanda in the horrific aftermath of the genocide. The following year, MJ joined her school's STAND chapter and has been getting more and more active ever since. MJ loves participating in student government, learning about religion and philosophy, studying Chinese, experimenting with cooking, and doing triathlons. She's looking forward to an awesome year with her Northeast CCLs full of action and activism!
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Regional Organizer

Kentucky, North Carolina

Katie Chal

Bellarmine University, 2013 kchal@standnow.org

Katie is a junior at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY where she studies international politics and history, with minors in French and philosophy. Since her senior year in high school, she has gotten more and more involved in the movement, founding the first chapter in Kentucky at her university freshman year. As a pacifist, she hopes that STAND will move towards a totally non-violent movement, even in its messaging and overall approach to activism. “Simply by speaking more positively, focusing more on hopeful outcomes, and having a non-combatant mentality, peace is that much more attainable.” In addition to working for peace in her community and with amazing students around the country, Katie loves ballet, yoga, farming, travel, baking, supporting sustainable agriculture by eating delicious local food, and sitting beneath the trees. Back to top

Regional Organizer

Florida, Georgia

Alexandra Johnson

St. Pius X High School, 2012
ajohnson@standnow.org

Alexandra Johnson is a senior at St. Pius X High School in Atlanta, Georgia. But despite being born in North Carolina and living in Georgia most of her life, she persistently claims she doesn’t have a Southern accent.  Alex first learned about the genocide in Darfur in 2009 and first heard of STAND at a youth conference. She then founded a chapter at her high school. Alex also enjoys traveling and is a major film buff. Most importantly, she is excited to be working with such amazing chapters this semester!  Back to top

Regional Organizer

Arizona, California, Coloradi, Hawaii, Minnesota, Oregon, Utah, Washington

Kaelee Krege

University of Minnesota, 2012
kkrege@standnow.org

Kaelee is a senior at the University of Minnesota, studying Anthropology and Arabic. She went to her first STAND meeting her freshman year after being invited to a movie-showing that the group hosted and quickly realized that STAND was just about the coolest group in town. She was Education Chair and then President of her chapter and still found time to dance in a nationally ranked hip-hop team. She loves music and travelling, and especially loves when she can combine the two. After a semester in Israel, she is excited to re-enter the world of fantastic student activism that captured her interest 4 years ago. Back to top

Regional Organizer

Connecticut, Indiana, Pennsylvania

Carly Prater

DePaul University, 2015
cprater@standnow.org

Carly, originally from Boston, Massachusetts, will now be a freshman at DePaul University in Chicago. Here, she will be pursuing a degree in Political Science and Peace and Conflict studies, with a minor in African and Diaspora Studies. She originally became interested in the movement after following Darfur on the news and being frustrated by the amount of apathy and lack of knowledge surrounding the cause. She started a STAND chapter her junior year at Algonquin Regional High School and will once again found a new chapter at DePaul University. Outside of STAND, Carly is also heavily involved in music, having played the violin for ten years and being involved in three different orchestras in high school.           Back to top

Regional Organizer

Washington D.C., Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia

Aaron Alberico

American University, 2012
aalberico@standnow.org

Aaron grew up in the Chicago Suburbs of Illinois and is now a senior at American University’s School of Public Affairs, in Washington, D.C., where he is majoring in Political Science with a concentration in American Government. Aaron first became involved in STAND after hearing about the atrocities in Darfur, which then prompted him to start a chapter at Augustana College - where he spent freshman and sophomore year before transferring to AU. In 2010-2011, Aaron served as the Sudan Education Coordinator for STAND. In addition to STAND, Aaron holds an unhealthy obsession with politics, the outdoors, and technology. Back to top

Regional Organizer

New York

Brianna Blackwood-Mallory

Vassar University, 2012
bblackwood-mallory@standnow.org

Brianna was one of a trio of students who co-founded the STAND chapter at Shaker Heights High School in Ohio. She was also instrumental in the revival of the anti-genocide movement at Vassar College and has served at various times as Chapter Secretary and President. A major in Chinese Literature and Classical Studies, Brianna intends to pursue graduate studies in international law and human rights. She says, "those of us who work for peace know that there is no simple, quick, or comprehensive response to conflict resolution. Our response as citizens in a free society must begin with action that builds collective concern over genocide, wherever it occurs. Our challenge is to build a movement that spearheads humanitarian intervention and that eliminates violence in a milieu that respects the sovereignty of directly affected states, so that they also participate in achieving peace." Back to top

Grassroots Coordinator

All Non-Core Chapters

Matthew Lloyd-Thomas

Phillips Academy Andover, 2012
grassroots@standnow.org

Matt hails from just outside Washington, DC in Fairfax, Virginia, although he goes to Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts where he is a senior. He first became involved with STAND when he founded a chapter after learning about the Darfur genocide and furthered his involvement after taking a class on the Holocaust. Matt has also worked as an intern on the Obama campaign and several other campaigns, from which he brings his enthusiasm for grassroots organizing. Outside of STAND, Matt loves to debate, cycle, scuba dive, and sail. Back to top