Youth Organizing Fellowship
The Youth Organizing Fellowship is a paid opportunity to grow as a leader, build power with a national cohort of youth organizers, and advocate for the separation of church and state and inclusive religious freedom, including the issues that depend on them like abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights, strong public schools and a functioning democracy.
Meet the 2025-2026 Youth Organizing Fellows
Sabene Rizvi (She/They) is a fourth-year triple major in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Political Science (pre-law) at Purdue Fort Wayne, focusing on safe, equitable access to reproductive healthcare and the intersection of AI with social justice. She has applied this interdisciplinary focus on campus by leading advocacy with Generation Action and Every Campus A Refuge. In these roles, she has distributed thousands of menstrual and emergency contraception kits and co-developed digital resource-accessibility platforms for low-income, immigrant, and refugee families.
Rani Balakrishna (she/her) is a 2025 graduate of Brandeis University, where she studied Politics, Journalism, and Spanish. A student government leader and varsity softball player, Rani is strongly interested in using her advocacy and organizing skills to work in government and politics to help people.
Rachel Ledoux (she/her) is a second-year honors student at Simmons University, where she studies Political Science and Economics with a focus on education policy. Through the fellowship, Rachel aims to encourage interfaith conversations and achieve a greater understanding of church-state separation issues among her peers. In addition to her work advocating for religious freedom, Rachel’s organizing priorities include political representation, economic reform, and queer liberation.
Mehar Thakur is a sophomore at San José State University majoring in Political Science. She currently works in estate planning law, but she hopes to move into legal and policy work focused on gender reform and immigration rights. She is especially passionate about how separation of church and state shapes these issues because real equality depends on keeping personal beliefs out of our laws. Through the Americans United Youth Organizing Fellowship, she is learning how advocacy and law can come together to make that vision real.
Maya Henry is a student at Columbia University studying history and theoretical statistics. She enjoys defending democratic socialism, the free press, and the Oxford comma.
Lexi Duffy (she/her) is a senior at Pomona College studying Public Policy Analysis with a concentration in Politics. On campus, she serves as her student government’s Vice President of Academic Affairs, competes with the Mock Trial team, organizes with the Sustained Dialogue Institute and League of Women Voters, and sits as a panelist on the Judicial Council. Having grown up as the daughter of a preacher and public school teacher in rural Iowa, Lexi is passionate about church-state separation issues ranging from protecting the Johnson Amendment to countering religion’s influence in education. She hopes to use this fellowship to challenge Christian nationalism and promote inclusive, pluralistic democracy.
Ishan Kanaskar is from San Antonio, Texas, and studies Government and Plan II Honors at the University of Texas at Austin. After working in the Texas Legislature and seeing firsthand how policy decisions shape issues of rights and equity, Ishan became passionate about protecting the separation of church and state. He hopes to continue promoting inclusive and constitutional governance through advocacy and public service.
Imani Laird is pursuing a BA in Political Science at Hampton University. She aspires to a career in law or public service and, through this fellowship advocating against White Christian nationalism, seeks to expand her advocacy to the national level.
Daniel Geary (he/him) is a senior undergraduate student at the University of Tulsa studying Political Science and Economics. Daniel is very involved in organizing students on campus, working with YDSA and Students For Justice in Palestine to promote broader transparency with the university and to educate students about injustices and the power that workers have. At AU, Daniel hopes to build on his organizing potential and spread awareness for the discrimination felt by LGBTQ+ teachers and students within the Oklahoma education system.
Ashlyn Edwards is a student at Capital University studying Sociology and Criminology, where she serves as Student Government President and leads several campus organizations dedicated to advocacy and empowerment. Originally from Ohio, she is passionate about educational equity, youth justice reform, and creating accessible pathways for underrepresented students. Through the Fellowship, she hopes to strengthen her policy leadership skills and develop initiatives that bridge education, community, and justice.
Alliyah Rumbolt-Lemond was born and raised in Evanston, Illinois. She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for her Bachelors and Masters. She is currently a Middle School History Teacher and part-time law student in Houston, Texas. She is passionate about the separation of church and state in the education system and educating teachers on their rights in the classroom.
Alex Guo (she/her) is a third-year student at Michigan State University dual-majoring in Humanities Pre-Law and Experience Architecture, with minors in Business and Leadership in Integrated Learning. She currently serves as the Outreach Assistant for the Gender and Sexuality Campus Center and holds over ten committee and student support roles focused on equity, accessibility, and inclusion. As an openly trans Asian woman and LGBTQ+ researcher, Alex has delivered guest lectures and research talks on queer identity, belonging, and inclusive design in higher education. Through the AU Youth Organizing Fellowship, she aims to advance national conversations on faith, freedom, and the protection of queer and trans rights.
Alan Chen (he/him) graduated from Columbia University in May 2025 with a B.A. in history and philosophy. Raised in a single-parent household, he is interested in child care, marital protections, public education, and the child welfare system. Alan currently works for the New York City Independent Budget Office as a New York City Urban Fellow, supporting the agency’s nonpartisan research and review of the City’s social services and education policies.
Aiden Minton (he/him) is an educational professional and Master’s student at Indiana University, and he is a 2024 graduate of Oklahoma State University. Based in Southern Indiana, Aiden is very active in political organizing and education advocacy. Aiden’s goal is to attend law school after he finishes his Master’s to become an attorney for teachers and schools.
