National youth Advocacy Corps
Who are our advocates?
Our fellowship cohorts reflect young people from all over the nation including California, Connecticut, Georgia, Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio, Texas and Washington, D.C. Our graduates attend colleges including but not limited to: Bowdoin College, Cal Poly State University, Case Western Reserve University, Chapman University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Duke University, Emory University, Fordham University, Georgia State University, Loyola Marymount University, Morehouse College, Northeastern University, Spelman College, Stanford University, Tulane University, Tuskegee University, UCLA, University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill, University of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin, and Yale.
Visitors to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights witness the bold legacy of young trailblazers like 19-year-old John Lewis, Catherine Burks-Brooks, Rabbi Israel “Si” Dresner, Stokely Carmichael, and Mae Francis Moultrie—students and young adults who fearlessly challenged injustice across the American South. These young activists, trained in the discipline and power of nonviolent resistance, ignited movements that changed the course of history. From Claudette Colvin’s early role in bus boycotts to the schoolhouse courage of Ruby Bridges and the Little Rock Nine, youth have always been the driving force behind our most powerful movements for justice.
Yet, too few cultural institutions today actively invest in preparing the next generation of changemakers. We believe that must change.
Launched in 2023, the LGBTQ+ Institute’s National Youth Advocacy Research Corps is already three cohorts strong, and growing. This dynamic, year-long fellowship empowers young leaders ages 15 to 25 with mentorship, training, and a national network of support to bridge their social justice passions with real-world professional pathways. It’s not just for LGBTQ+ youth—it’s a collaborative space where a diverse cohort of Gen Z advocates come together to tackle urgent social justice issues, from racial justice and public health to education access and workplace equity.
The National Youth Advocacy Corps is rooted in 4 pillars our scholars integrate:
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We ground all of our work in an intersectional framework, recognizing that systems of power and oppression—racism, classism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, and more—do not operate in isolation. Our fellows are encouraged to examine every issue through a multifaceted lens that honors the complexity of identity, lived experience, and systemic inequity. This pillar ensures that our advocacy is not only inclusive but also deeply informed and justice-centered.
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We believe that bold ideas are made stronger when built on a foundation of knowledge. Fellows engage deeply with existing research in their area of focus—not to replicate what's already been said, but to understand the landscape and offer innovative, forward-thinking insights. By connecting passion with scholarly rigor, our fellows produce work that is both visionary and credible.
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Rooted within the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, we know that today’s movements are part of a larger continuum of struggle and progress. Our fellows examine their topics with a historical lens, drawing lessons from past civil and human rights efforts to inform the strategies of today. This connection to advocacy history ensures that our work honors legacy while driving toward liberation.
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Every research team is challenged to consider the real-world impact of their work. Is there a local, state, or national policy that needs to change? A new recommendation that could spark meaningful reform? This pillar empowers our fellows to translate their research into action—contributing to tangible solutions through informed, equity-driven policy proposals.
TEAM NYAC
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Tim’m West is an educator, youth advocate, poet, hip-hop artist, and author of several books. Tim’m has been a Culture Connections Team Member with The National Center for Civil and Human Rights since 2020 and came onboard as Executive Director of the LGBTQ+ Institute in January of 2023. As the Institute’s Executive Director, they are focused on the mission of advancing LGBTQ+ equity in America through research, education, and strategic action.
Prior to joining The Center, Tim’m led Teach for America’s national LGBTQ+ Community Initiative (also called TFA Prism), advancing safer and braver classrooms for LGBTQ+ educators and students preK-12. He was previously Director of Youth Services at Chicago’s Center on Halsted, served on the inaugural faculty at Oakland School for the Arts, taught English and coached basketball at Cesar Chavez Public High School for Public Policy. Tim’m has a B.A. from Duke, and M.A.s from The New School for Social Research and Stanford University.
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Hailing from New York City, Melodi Ford (she/her) holds a Master of Science degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from California University of Pennsylvania. She owns and operates a successful fitness consulting business that offers health and wellness services focused on the prevention of disease by using a variety of strategies that include physical, mental, spiritual and nutritional aspects of health; thereby creating a seamless environment of wellness for all ages and stages of life.
Passionate about health and well-being programs which foster positive lifestyle changes, her 30+ year career has evolved from fitness instructor to a leader in health. Some of Melodi’s former employers include; American Cancer Society, Atlantic Records, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Cigna, Dekalb Medical Center, now Emory, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Ford Motor Company, The Coca-Cola Company and Verizon Wireless. Some of her many certifications include aerobic dance, arthritis, kickboxing, pharmacy technology, prenatal exercise, sports nutrition and tobacco cessation.
She was selected by the State of Georgia to serve as Worksite Chair for Georgia’s Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Initiative and wrote the Worksite Toolkit for the State. In addition, she was selected to represent the State of Georgia on the National Advisory Panel for Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA);one of the highest honors in corporate health.
Recently semi-retired, but always striving to make a difference in her community, she works part-time at her local YMCA and volunteers with several organizations including Alvin Ailey Camp Atlanta, the Atlanta Women’s Foundation and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.
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Zayn Azoulay (he/they) is a multidisiplinary researcher, educator, and musician currently living in Chicago, IL. With an academic background in both queer and trans studies and music, Zayn’s interests and research explore the entanglement of queerness, art, and self-actualization. Zayn is currently a Research Assistant with the Williams Institute, helping to conduct LGBTQ+ public policy and healthcare research through UCLA’s School of Law. Building on his experience as a music educator of over 5 years, he is also assisting in music history research to help create a new standardized curriculum that uplifts artists of marginalized identities for the global School of Rock music education program. As a musician, Zayn has performed in venues across the East Coast, including Lincoln Center’s Festival of Firsts, 54 Below, and the Academy of Music, to bring to life new works created by and for queer and trans people. When not researching or playing music, you can find him passionately discussing the usage of electronic pitch-shifting techniques by trans musicians.
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Morna Gerrard (she/her) is the archivist for Women’s/Gender and Sexuality Collections at Georgia State University. In this role, she collects, preserves, and makes available the records and oral histories of women and the LGBTQ+ communities in Atlanta, Georgia, and the South.
A native of Scotland, Morna was educated at Edinburgh University, Western Washington University, and Clark Atlanta University. She is a fellow and past president of the Society of Georgia Archivists, a long-time board member of the Georgia Archives Institute, and serves on the advisory board of the Historic Atlanta LGBTQ HPAC. She is also a past vice president and current member of the Georgia LGBTQ History Project. Among Morna’s published works are chapters “No Fame Required: Collaboration, Community, and the Georgia LGBTQ Archives Project,” in Appraisal and Acquisition: Innovative Practices and Special Collections, “Silenced Voices Lesson Plan” and “Exploring Gender Roles in Society, Literature and Film,” in Gender Studies in the Library: Case Studies, Programming, Outreach, and an article, “ACTing UP Down South,” in Alexander Street Press’s Women and Social Movements in the U.S., 1600-Present electronic journal.
One of the projects that Morna is most proud of is the two-year-old Georgia Transgender Oral History Project, which was created and supported by an outstanding group of trans advisors and volunteers. Morna lives in Decatur with her husband and two cats.
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Nhan Truong (he/him) is a public health researcher, educator, and advocate with over 15 years of experience leading culturally responsive research and evaluation initiatives centered on LGBTQ+ youth, communities of color, and intersectional equity. A first-generation college graduate and former McNair Scholar, he earned his Ph.D. in Social-Personality Psychology from the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in public health at San Diego State University. His work bridges rigorous research with grassroots advocacy, amplifying marginalized voices through trauma-informed and community-engaged approaches.
Nhan has directed national studies on school climate, youth well-being, and HIV risk, and authored 15 peer-reviewed academic journal articles, 3 book chapters, and 11 community-facing reports. He currently serves as a program analyst at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine, where he evaluates the Human Dimension program—a three-year curriculum designed to train medical students to provide holistic care by emphasizing social, environmental, and biological determinants of health, as well as fostering community engagement throughout New Jersey. In addition to his institutional role, Nhan continues as an independent researcher and consultant, drawing on prior leadership experience at GLSEN and AARP, as well as at My Brother’s Keeper, Inc., where he managed multi-site HIV prevention studies and evaluated healthy eating intervention programs in the Southeastern United States.
In addition to his academic and research contributions, Nhan served as Assistant Professor of Psychology at Tougaloo College, mentoring students and supporting IRB governance. His most impactful work includes the CDC-funded Partnerships to Improve Community Health, addressing food insecurity, healthcare access, and tobacco cessation in underserved Mississippi communities. Outside of work, he volunteers with The Audre Lorde Project, supporting grassroots organizing and strategic fundraising efforts to advance LGBTQ+ racial and economic justice in New York City. He lives in Jersey City, NJ with his partner.
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As Librarian for the Behavioral Sciences and Open Knowledge, Charlene Martoni supports the research endeavors of faculty, students, and staff in the disciplines of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Sociology. Charlene provides customized library instruction to meet the needs of students and educators, and she advises other faculty on course transformation. By leading a working group of open education specialists and coordinating an annual symposium in celebration of Open Education Week, Charlene champions the university’s initiatives that promote open and affordable education and support student success.
Charlene Martoni attained her Master of Information Science from the University at Albany, State University of New York. She also completed her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and her Bachelor of Arts in Adolescence Education through the State University of New York at New Paltz. Her research investigates faculty experiences using open and affordable online learning resources, as well as information seeking behavior in conflict-affected environments.
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Ayla Hamilton (she/her) is a 15-year-old high school student located in New York’s Hudson Valley and is an IB Diploma candidate. She is a passionate musician, photographer, and activist. Playing in Woodstock’s Rock Academy, Ayla sings and plays guitar at a variety of local venues. She is currently working at Thrift 2 Fight in Tivoli, NY, a second-hand sustainable thrift store where proceeds go to a variety of grassroots social justice organizations. A participant in Woodstock Film Festival’s Youth Film Lab, her short film will premiere at the 2025 Woodstock Film Festival. Her photography, which is focused on the female perspective, has been featured in several publications and galleries, including Monochromica, The University of Pennsylvania Journal of Arts and Sciences, Schweinfurth Art Center and Monmouth University Art Center. She is passionate about protecting women’s rights, queer liberation, and racial justice. Ayla also happens to be interning at the LGBTQ+ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.
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Olivia Schulhof (she/her) is spending her junior year in Spain studying with School Year Abroad and will return to The Spence School in Manhattan this fall. She is passionate about education and literacy, particularly for underserved communities. In addition to running four separate tutoring programs, Olivia interned for Project Baala writing a paper on adolescent women's health and advocating for educational opportunities for girls. Olivia is currently authoring a research paper, with the guidance of Harvard Professor Dr. Flavia Perea, on “best practices” of educating and integrating immigrants within the New York City public school system. She’s a member at her local synagogue and takes pride in her judaism. In addition to being a fellow in the 2025-2026 NYAC cohort, Olivia serves as an intern for the LGBTQ+ Institute, which supports the coordination of youth experiences. Her hobbies include cooking and playing tennis. She looks forward to supporting a project at the intersection of antisemitism and immigration.
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Noah Chang (He/Him) is a sophomore at UNC Chapel Hill in North Carolina studying Data Science and Computer Science. He is deeply interested in the intersection of technology, research, and creative practice. As a passionate musician, Noah has played the violin for over 16 years and currently performs with the UNC Symphony Orchestra. In addition to music, he enjoys playing tennis and is a big animal lover. Academically, he is currently working under the guidance of Professor Boyce Griffith at UNC, contributing to data processing for computational cardiovascular models focused on heart valve optimization. He currently serves as an NYAC Research Assistant, mentoring peers and students engaged in interdisciplinary work that blends music, data, and technology.
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Arnav Dhar (he/him) is a service-oriented Duke University student leader with hands-on experience in community volunteering and public-impact initiatives. He has organized and led volunteer events focused on air quality awareness and pulmonary health with the nonprofit organization Breathe California. He is strongly committed to the betterment of public health, community education, and building systems that help diverse groups work together effectively.
The National Youth Advocacy Corps is centered around collaborative learning opportunities where scholars are paired with fellow cohort members to develop a project addressing a shared social justice issue. The Institute’s Executive Director, Tim’m West, with the support our Advisory Board, will guide the fellows through a year-long experience that will:
Connect students with seasoned advocates who guide their strategic proposals
Illuminate connections between our historical civil and human rights issues
Offer an introduction to subject matter experts in advocacy education
Apply areas of interest to data and research (e.g., LGBTQ Institue Southern Survey).
Provide opportunities for students to gain fundamental DE&I learning and development
Nurture a strong camaraderie between emerging leaders who collectively actualize their thought leadership to shift both perspectives and public policy.
Through partnerships with Georgia State University, Georgia Tech University, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, students gain hands-on experience in advocacy work rooted in research and interdisciplinary thinking. NYAC students present their projects at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights’ IGNYTE symposium, where they create partnerships and receive invaluable feedback from community organizers, non-profit leaders, and scholars in their respective fields.