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Author: Allison Dodson

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Advance Team Staff

Hannah Williams

Advance Team Member

Hannah attended the Washington Journalism and Media Conference as a student in 2013. She returned as a Junior Faculty Advisor for 2015, 2016 and 2017. This will be her first summer on Advanced Team and she is very excited to return and help both WJMC and WYSE in order to give students the same amazing experience she had. Hannah graduated with a degree in Economics and a minor in communication from the University of Toledo.

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Photographer

Chloe Bohannon

Intern, Photography

Chloe Bohannon is a rising freshman at the University of Texas at Arlington, majoring in Public Relations. In high school, Chloe was the Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook. Winning various state awards for her contributions to the photography and design of the book, including 1st Place Journalistic Photo Story and Best in Arkansas for Yearbook Special Coverage Layout. She worked for her school district for two years photographing events for the schools’ website and social media. She attended the sister program to WYSE, the Washington Journalism and Media Conference, in 2017 as a correspondent and is excited to return as a photographer this summer.

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Advance Team

Sydney Kirwan

SYDNEY KIRWAN

Advance Team Member

Sydney is the K12 Coordinator in the Office of Admissions at George Mason University.  In her role, she offers group tours of the university and college information sessions to elementary and middle school students to promote college-going opportunities. She also works closely with other K-12 Partnerships and the Washington Scholars Program. Being a part of the WSP staff is always a highlight of her year and she has been involved with the programs since joining the Advance Team in 2018. Sydney earned a B.S.Ed. in Youth and Social Innovation with a double major in Spanish from the University of Virginia and is currently pursuing a Masters in Counseling at George Mason University.

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Advance Team

Maddie Stroud

Advance Team

Maddie is a recent graduate of George Mason University.  She has her Bachelor of Arts in Human Development and Family Science with a concentration in Early Childhood Development and Services, as well as a minor in Communication.  She currently works as a Mental Health Associate at Rivermont School, an alternative school in Northern Virginia, for middle school students with emotional disabilities.  Maddie has been a part of the Washington Scholars Program family for four years now, serving as an intern during the school year, a Junior Faculty Advisory at WYSE, and Travel Coordinator for the Advance Team.  She has previously served as a volunteer leader with Young Life and works in her church’s nursery every week.  Maddie loves working with students of all ages and is extremely excited to meet the correspondents and delegates who will attend the conferences this summer!

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Photographer

Lexie Tubell

Junior Faculty Advisor

Lexie Tubell is a rising junior in George Mason University’s honors college with a major in Communication and a concentration in Journalism. Lexie has been very involved with film and journalism for a number of years, from starting an award-winning news program at her high school and working at her local newspaper, to having a film in a New York film festival and being named Videographer in her sorority, Chi Omega. Lexie attended the Washington Journalism and Media Conference in 2015 and returned as a Speaker Intern in 2016 and a Junior Faculty Advisor in 2017. She is super excited to come back again for another year as a Junior Faculty Advisor and get to work hands on with the new correspondents and make it an amazing experience.

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Faculty Advisor Staff

Samantha Oester

SAMANTHA OESTER

Faculty Advisor

Samantha Oester is a conservation biologist, coastal ecologist, and aquatic microbiologist. She is a PhD research fellow at George Mason University in Environmental Science and Policy, currently studying global change vulnerability in the Caribbean. She also examines diversity, equity, equality, and inclusion in STEM fields. Originally from rural WV, she’s a cyborg in Chicago who makes her family cosplay for their holiday cards. You can check her out on Google Street View Antarctica.

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Speakers

Rebekah Ortiz

WYSE 2011 Alumna; Founder, Detox Dandy

Rebekah Ortiz is a WYSE 2011 alumna and environmental extraordinaire. She is a Certified Nutritionist and founder of Detox Dandy, an integrated holistic health business located at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, with services in plant based nutrition, detox treatments and herbal spa therapy. Since her participation in WYSE, she has been involved in sustainability work expanding from activism, government research studies and community workshops. Detox Dandy partners with the Sierra Club Virginia Chapter to lead a monthly workshop series “Self Care & Sustainability” at our Virginia Beach location, focused on improved choices to benefit our environment and health.

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Speakers

Ralph Nader

 

Ralph Nader is an author, political activist, attorney, and consumer advocate who has worked for decades on consumer protection, environmental issues, and government reform. He focuses on empowering citizens to create a responsive government, and his activism has played an instrumental role in the passage of key environmental legislation such as the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Pure Food and Drug Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act.

Nader has founded and been involved in a number of organizations aimed at improving corporate and government accountability, and he has written more than two dozen books throughout his career. His first book, Unsafe at Any Speed, criticized the auto industry’s production of unsafe vehicles and helped pass key auto safety laws in 1966. This launched his decades-long career of investigating government and corporations to push for greater accountability. In 2006, a documentary called An Unreasonable Man was made about his life’s work establishing watchdog organizations and influencing citizens to hold government accountable.

Currently, Nader co-hosts the “Ralph Nader Radio Hour” and speaks at colleges and universities across the nation about civil justice, environmental, and consumer issues.

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Junior Faculty Advisor Staff

Jazmin Golden

JAZMIN GOLDEN

Junior Faculty Advisor

Jazmin Golden was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia and is a senior at George Mason University majoring in Environmental Science, B.S. with a minor in Public Policy and Management. She plans to use her education and research to pursue a career in Environmental Policy. Jazmin is a member of the Mason Ambassadors, a student in the Honors College, and an athlete on George Mason’s NCAA D1 Track and Field team as a 400-meter hurdler. She attended WYSE in 2014, and it enhanced her desire to learn more about the surrounding environment ever since. Jazmin believes that with the proper education and public awareness, we can have a positive impact on our environment and make it sustainable for years to come.

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Faculty Advisor Staff

Laura Swessel

LAURA SWESSEL

Faculty Advisor

Laura holds an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from MIT. She worked at Lockheed Martin as a Mechanical Test Engineer, building commercial satellites while earning an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from NJIT. She moved to Indiana in 1999 and started Lean Sigma, a consulting business for appliances, automotive, advertising, and healthcare industries and taught Physics at the local Purdue University campus. In 2012, she began as a long-term substitute Honors Physics teacher at Providence High School and found a love teaching high school. She now teaches Aviation, Physics, and Environmental Science at Mercy Academy in Louisville, KY. Laura has established STEM Clubs and Camps for elementary and middle school students in the area. She has been a volunteer with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources since 2008 as a docent at Falls of the Ohio and as a faculty member for the annual Family Paleontology Camp. She also serves on the county Native Habitat Restoration Team. She and her husband have four children, a dog and a cat.