Farian Rabbani

Farian is a Political Science major at UConn. He is the founder of Students for Jahana Hayes, CT’s first African-American Congresswoman and 2016 National Teacher of the Year.

Faith Pesci, EMT

Faith is a recent UConn alum, currently enrolled in Sacred Heart University’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science Nursing Program. She is a Husky Reads youth mentor.

Ethan Werstler

Ethan is a Political Science and Communications major at UConn. In Spring 2020, he was elected by the student body to serve as Student Trustee on UConn's Board of Trustees.

Jenny Pehota

Jenny is a Digital Media and Design major at UConn. She is a member of Pi Beta Phi, and served as Vice President of Communications. She advises CT nonprofits and small business with through the UConn Social Media Analytics Command Center.

Brooke Seymour

Brooke is Psychological Sciences major at UConn with a focus in cognitive science, women, gender, and sexualities studies. She is a member of Community Outreach and acting manager for Mansfield Youth Services COPE.

Kate Kelly

Kate is a Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology major at Yale. She is a staff member of Yale Scientific Magazine, the nation's oldest college science publication. She speaks fluent Spanish and a long-time volunteer in New Haven.

Lexi Spencer

Lexi is a senior and double major in Psychology and Interdisciplinary Science at The New School. She is a co-founder of an activist collective called Roots Rising, the co-editor of the Be (A)Part Newsletter, and a writer for the Science, Simplified column.

Mason Holland

Mason is a Political Science major and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies minor at UConn. He’s the President of UConn NAACP, the Public Education and Outreach Chair of UConn Collaborative Organizing, and the Community Service Chair of Brother Reaching our Society.

Noah Frank

Noah is a Political Science and Economics double major at UConn. He’s the External Affairs Director for the Undergraduate Student Government and the President of the Pi Sigma Alpha Honors Society.

Kurtis Duggan

Kurtis is an Actuarial Science major at UConn. He is SOA certified in Financial Mathematics and Probability and has been trained in C++, javascript, python and R. Kurtis now works as Technical Advisor and Video Editor for Be (A)Part.

Anne Wyllie, PhD

Anne is a medical microbiologist and Associate Research Scientist at Yale University. She is the Lead Researcher of SalivaDirect, the new COVID-19 testing method developed by Yale and the National Basketball Association. In summer 2020, she was named a U.S. World News & Report Hospital Hero.

Carlos Chirinos, PhD  

Carlos is a public health and communications expert, having won awards from the White House, the US Dept of Defense, and the CDC for developing Africa Stop Ebola in 2014. Carlos is currently designing a certification course for Public Health Communication. He is an Associate Professor at NYU.

Mari Armstrong-Hough, PhD

Mari is an epidemiologist, sociologist, and published author who studies the interaction between disease, human behavior, and evidence-based medicine. She is leading the design of a Be (A)Part’s research and community action plan for CT. She is a long-time CT resident and an Assistant Professor at NYU.

Maikel Boot, PhD

Maikel is a microbiologist at Yale Medical School, researching viruses that infect the lungs and the diseases they cause. Maikel is an advisor to senior state officials in CT as well as top NGOs and companies. He is Chair of the Yale Postdoctoral Association.

Rohan Verma, MPH

Rohan is a digital strategist working as Vice President of Ogilvy’s DC office, which has 30+ years of experience creating social impact campaigns for non-profits, federal agencies, and NGOs, including the Ebola, Zika, and HIV/AIDS epidemics.

Chelsea Strandberg, MPH

Chelsea is a public health and education campaign strategist and health and wellness coach for teens and young adults. Currently with Ogilvy, she has held management positions at Rescue Agency, the Public Health Institute, and Chemonics International.

Chris Dunaj

Chris is a disability advocate, educator, and digital curriculum designer currently working for StudySync and McGraw-Hill Education. He is a Teach For America alumni, having taught in public schools for 10 years. Chris has served as a board member of the NO/AIDS Task Force, founded in 1983.

Tim Dzurilla, PhD

Tim is an economic and community development expert, having led dozens of youth entrepreneurs to create social enterprises in the CT and across the globe. He is the former CEO and Chair of the UConn Co-op Bookstore.  

Una Moore, EMT, MPIC

Una is a humanitarian aid professional with 10 years experience designing large public health emergency response projects for top NGOs and UN agencies, which included responding to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. She is currently completing her final year of training as a Family Nurse Practitioner.

M. Jay Cummings, LCSW, LADC, CCS

Jay is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor, and a Certified Clinical Supervisor. Jay is Vice President of the Executive Board of the Connecticut Certification Board. His private practice is located in Fairfield County.

Todd Johnston

Todd is a disability advocate, counselor, and former business executive, having worked for the North Central Area Agency On Aging in Hartford and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. He is the treasurer of of Be (A)Part’s Board of Directors.

Sean Choun, MBA

Sean is a business and IT leader with experience working for Yale University, Albertus Magnus College, and Axa XL. Sean is currently Vice President of Reinsurance IT and Security for Arch Capital Group. He is a member of Be (A)Part’s Board of Directors.