The West Fund is so excited to announce that through some generous grants, including the Third Wave Fund (a fiscally sponsored project of the Proteus Fund) and the National Institute for Reproductive Health, we were able to hire our first class of reproductive justice interns! Continue reading to get to know more about them:
Samantha West Fund Summer Fellow
Samantha Ortega was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. She currently studies at El Paso High School where she is passionate about her studies and her musical career. With her leadership role in the Gay-Straight Alliance Club, as well as her participation in her debate team and mock trial team, she for-sees a career in civil rights activism and contributing to her community. Her life revolves around volunteer work ranging from teaching young children how to play instruments to helping out in any way to promote women's rights. She loves her two dogs, playing the viola and reading poetry.
Want to contact Sam about a project for the West Fund? Email her at samantha.o@westfund.org.
Lili West Fund Policy Intern
Lili was born and grew up in El Paso. She is currently a student at the University of Texas at El Paso and is working on a degree in Linguistics with a minor in Women’s Studies. She hopes to go on to receive her Master’s in Speech and Language Pathology. She is a part of Triota, a Women’s Honor Society on campus, and served as Historian but is now Vice President of the organization. She is a firm believer and supporter of equal and safe access to reproductive healthcare. After this internship, she hopes to continue to work with West Fund in order to bring reproductive justice to West Texas.
Get in touch with Lili about local policy work at lili@westfund.org.
Vianni West Fund Outreach Intern
Vianni currently a Secretary Receptionist at two local mental health provider offices and a student at the University of Texas at El Paso.She has always been fascinated by the human mind, social interaction, and how we all as individuals play significant roles in society, and this has influenced her to pursue a degree in Organizational and Corporate Communications with a minor in Psychology.
She is passionate about being involved; from social justice advocacy to expressive arts to volunteer work in clinics and shelters, she loves immersing herself in the multitudes of cultural expression within the community.
She is a proud born and raised El Pasoan and am grateful to be a part of the West Fund and all the amazing opportunities and collaborations that lie ahead!
Want to contact Vianni about ways to get involved? Email her at vianni@westfund.org.
Sarah West Fund Intake & Patient Storytelling Intern
Sarah Walker is an activist, feminist and storyteller from El Paso, Texas. She has been involved in a wide variety of social justice projects ranging from organizing documentary screenings to registering student voters to assembling demonstrations in response to legal policy. Sarah's passion and drive are geared towards effecting meaningful change and being able to provide safe and supportive spaces. Sarah is the founder and director of FrontEra Poetry Slam, a literary organization which provides a platform for the local community to speak on personal experience and social justice issues. She also works as a content creator with the Border Theater for various projects and is a volunteer with the Glasbox, an artistic collective in El Paso.
In her free time, she dreams about having free time.
Want to contact Sarah about getting involved with our patient storytelling program? Email her at sarah@westfund.org
