Meet Our 2021 Summer Fellows!

Ravita Choudhury

Hello! My name is Ravita Choudhury and I am an anthropology student at the University of Rochester. I am the daughter of two Bangladeshi-American immigrants who raised me in Queens, NY. I am deeply interested in the ways race functions within our society and how it helps us to destabilize racist and classist institutions like mass incarceration, criminalization, and the school-to-prison pipeline. If I could describe myself in a few words it would be hopeful, encouraging, abolitionist, dreamer, and student. I hope to one day be able to give back to NYC as much as it has given me.


Cheyanne Deopersaud

My name is Cheyanne Deopersaud, I am 19 years old and I am a freshman at John Jay pursuing a major in Human services and Community Justice. I decided on this major because I am passionate about advocating for myself and other foster youth. At the moment I advocate for Fair Futures, FYSA, for CASA’s Youth Leadership Council and I also work with Teens Take Charge; these are various organizations that strive to make a change and impact on youths’ lives whether they be foster youth or youth in general.


Ishrat Jahan

Ishrat Jahan is a first-year, first-gen student at NYU studying political science. Growing up in Brooklyn, NY she developed a passion for civic engagement and community involvement, continuing to exercise it in professional and personal settings. She looks to expand her skills in the fields of law and government, hoping to translate it into a legal career in the nonprofit sector. Outside of these interests, she enjoys exploring the city, playing badminton, and taste-testing cuisine from all over the world.


Stefany Quiroz

Stefany Quiroz is a Stuyvesant High School graduate and now attends the Macaulay Honors College at John Jay College of Criminal Justice as the class of 2024. She discovered her passion for combatting educational inequality when applying to high school when she noticed the lack of resources and knowledge in marginalized communities. As one of the few Latinx students in the school at Stuyvesant, she became committed to tackling this issue and playing a small part in equalizing a broken education system. She is the Director of Communications at RISE, an organization founded by Stuyvesant students that aims to create a more diverse educational community in order to allow students from all backgrounds equal access to the resources and opportunities that NYC’s prestigious schools have to offer. Outside of RISE, she was a tutor and board member for Sparks Within Reach, a tutoring organization that serves students in homeless centers, the Senior Assistant of Media Outreach & Branding at Project Reach Youth, a teen health and youth empowerment organization, and is a member of the Honors Scholars Council, the Committee on Diversity Inclusion and Equity, and the Latinx Honors Committee at her college. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, discovering new food spots, and fashion.


Bless Reece

My name is Bless Reece. I am a junior at Williams College with a double major in Psychology and American Studies. As the chair of student organization Converging Worlds, I am a passionate prison abolitionist and have been striving to educate those in my community on the extensive harm the carceral system inflicts on primarily low-income people of color. I have conducted research on disenfranchisement, mental health, reentry, and reparations and look forward to utilizing these findings in local communities.

Our 2021 application is NOW CLOSED. Please check back next year to apply for our 2022 Summer Fellowship.

Each student will receive $525 per week of full time work, plus unlimited MetroCards (or equivalent value). Internships are 10-weeks long, $5250 for the length of their summer internship. If you are a Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior in college and wish to apply please click this link

*Due to Covid-19 restrictions this fellowship may be in-person, fully virtual, or a hybrid.

Hope’s Got Talent

Join us for an afternoon of free entertainment for a great cause!

We are hosting a virtual variety show with a diverse line-up of talent including actors, singers, comedians, composers, and more! Support our 2021 Summer Fellowship cohort and enjoy an incredible show from the comfort of your living room!

What: Join us for our very first virtual variety show: Hope’s Got Talent! 

When: Sunday October 25th 4:00-5:30pm

Who: We’ve got a talented lineup of actors, dancers, singers, and comedians 

Where: Virtual Show via Zoom

Free Admission!

Check Out Our Talented Line-Up

Meet 2020 Summer Fellows

Our 2020 Fellows have been working remotely at their Brooklyn based organizations. We are so proud of how adaptable they’ve all been through this unique reframing of their summer fellowship.

Here are some of the incredible projects they’ve been working hard on:

Essence Deras, Smith College

Essence is spending her Fellowship in the Education Rights Department at Brooklyn Defender Services

“I am going to be the technical support for Brooklyn Defender Services’ Circle of Support session next week. The Circle of Support  is a support group that formerly incarcerated folks can join and speak about their challenges and emotions related to navigating a society post-incarceration. Service providers will attend the sessions to be a listening ear as well as provide resources. The main goal is to allow folks to have a safe space to talk freely about what they are experiencing. I am honored to be able to participate because I see and valuthe importance of how support circles can be a form of healing and relief for folks.”


Amandi Perera, Swarthmore College 

Amandi is enjoying a fulfilling summer at Brooklyn Community Services.

“For the Community Conversations project, I worked on creating the sign up sheets for each neighborhood and researching about how the participants would be able to receive virtual visa gift cards. I’m excited about the first conversation and getting to hear from community members more directly even if it’s through Zoom.”


Kayla Rennick, Brooklyn College

Kayla’s enriching summer experience is being hosted by The Hope Program.

“This week involved learning about case story summaries and how we will use the client information to hopefully afford them with a grant which could really allow them to continue to progress on their journey.  In addition to this, my week also consisted of census calls, outreach calls, and continuing to help prepare resumes. I love being able to not only learn from my mentor but  to learn from the other interns because they are graduate interns, so I feel like that brings a unique perspective for me. I think this whole experience is teaching me so much and already helping me gain new skills I did not previously  have.”


Nuzhat Wahid, Hobart and William Smith Colleges 

Nuzhat is spending her summer with Legal Aid Society.

“On Wednesday, another intern and I attended a meeting with the rest of the training staff in order to resolve all issues with Zoom prior to the scheduled Zoom Mock Trial. This meeting made evident to me again, the amount of effort LAS trainers were inputting into our virtual time together, as the manner in which they translated the tangible world into the virtual world seemed to be incredible difficult. Their efforts were entirely admirable, and my increased comprehension of Zoom technicalities is something I will be using in the future.”


Alan Zhou, Columbia University 

Alan’s engaging summer Fellowship is being hosted by Uprose.

“This week I was able to work on a debate UPROSE was hosting for the Assembly person race in District 51. I helped with the wording of the questions being asked and participated in run-throughs prior to the event. Leading up to the event, I was able to reach out to various media outlets to try to get them to cover the event. During the event, I helped with the social media and live-tweeting of content from the debate. It was a very informative experience to be able to work on the backend of an event like a live debate.  I also continued to make calls and conduct surveys on the underlying health vulnerabilities and affect of COVID in Sunset Park.”


Come Together for Hope!

Watch Come Together for Hope

We are so inspired by the importance of togetherness even during a time of social distancing, so in lieu of our annual “Run for Hope” race, we are excited to invite you to:

Come Together for Hope

This is a live stream gathering where we will connect virtually to chat, sing, and remember Hope and the legacy she left.  We’d be so pleased if you could join us and we will be inviting all registered race participants and the Hope Reichbach Fund community at large.

When: Sunday April 26th 10am

We hope to see you (virtually) there

Click Here on Sunday April 26th at 10am to join virtually