Voqal Welcomes New Class of Media Ideation Fellows

From immersive alternate reality gaming to a smart platform to organize higher education opportunities for first generation college students, Voqal’s second class of Media Ideation Fellows are taking on a diverse array of social issues to make a difference. Voqal has selected four innovative leaders for this round of the fellowship. They are:

Alexandrina Agloro will build The Resisters, an immersive transmedia game focused on social justice movements in Providence, R.I. She is a scholar/activist who sees her work as social movement quilting: weaving together people, organizations and resources to create a more just world. Agloro is a Ph.D. candidate at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, and a National Co-Director of Imagining America’s Publicly Active Graduate Education (PAGE) Fellowship. Follow Agloro on Twitter: @a_game.

Debra-Ellen Glickstein will build a platform for connecting and organizing public housing communities. She has spent her career working to expand economic opportunities with and for low-income residents and communities. She is a co-founder and served as the founding Executive Director of Urban Upbound (formerly the East River Development Alliance), and a co-founder and member of the Urban Upbound Federal Credit Union. Glickstein earned a bachelor’s degree with honors from Wesleyan University, her MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business and her MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Called a 2012 Rising Star in New York City Government and Politics by City and State, Glickstein is a proud City Year Alumni.

Luis Hernandez photo

Luis Hernandez will work on EdTrail, a platform that will democratize the higher education application process for first generation college students. A web application developer residing in Chicago, IL, Hernandez is a first-generation college graduate who hopes to make an impact in college access and attainment through technology. Hernandez managed Chicago Public School enrollment and outreach initiatives at DePaul University from 2010 to 2013 and currently serves as a software developer at Columbia College Chicago. Hernandez has a passion for learning and categorizes himself as a lifelong apprentice. Hernandez received both a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from DePaul University.

Nikki Zeichner

Nikki Zeichner will work on the Parole Hearing Data Project, an open repository of New York State Parole Board hearing data based on scraped public records and crowdsourced parole hearing minutes. Specifically, she will develop a streamlined method for gathering and storing parole hearing minutes digitally for analysis. Nikki is a lawyer and M.S. candidate in Integrated Digital Media at NYU’s Engineering School where she is a Women in Technology Graduate Fellow. Her research focuses on intersections between law and technology. Follow her on Twitter: @nikzei

Each fellow has been awarded a stipend and paired with a mentor, allowing them to focus intensively on their specific issue-based project over the coming months. Voqal is excited to partner with the following individuals to mentor fellows:

  • Derek Eder, owner of Datamade
  • Sabrina Hersi Issa, CEO of Be Bold Media
  • Justin Massa, founder and CEO of Food Genius
  • Abigail Seldin, co-founder and CEO of College Abacus

Voqal launched the Media Ideation Fellowship in 2012 to provide young innovators the support and mentorship necessary to bring early stage progressive social innovations to life. The Fellowship’s goal is to build a pipeline of social innovators committed to social justice and the public good.

Over the next year, fellows will work with Voqal to bring their big ideas to life. Voqal is proud to support them in their vital work.