Durham & Community Affairs
The committee for Durham and Community Affairs has purview over community service, Durham city and county governments, North Carolina state affairs, relations with local universities, Durham cultural life, off-campus mediation, and engagement in elections. As a collaborator, Durham and Community Affairs works on projects like Democracy Day to facilitate voter registration and enthusiasm on campus; fireside chats to engage Duke students and Durham residents with local politicians; and the Durham welcome box to ensure Duke students are productive and well-informed Durham residents. Durham and Community Affairs is a transformative space where you can make a tangible impact on the Duke and Durham community.
Committee Projects
Leadership
Liv Schramkowski – Vice President
As VP for DCA, Liv is responsible for leading her committee and assisting with projects, managing the DSG policy agenda, and serving as the chief advocate and administrative contact for her committee.
Nate Jones – Assistant Vice President
Nate is a sophomore from Durham, NC (go, bulls!) majoring in Economics with a finance concentration. Nate is continuing his previous roles from last year, those being DCA Senator and Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. In these roles, Nate was able to help organize programs such as Durham Days and founded the DPAC Arts Engagement Program to promote local performances in the Durham community. Nate’s main goal for this year is to work on expanding DPAC Arts Engagement Program.
Senators
Lawson President
Lawson is a sophomore from Upper Marlboro, MD, majoring in Psychology with a minor in Chemistry. Lawson has always had a genuine passion for community service and giving back, he will bridge the gap between Duke and Durham, specifically by creating initiatives to seamlessly connect first-year students with various volunteering opportunities and streamline information to get involved in the Durham community. Also, he would love to find ways to connect Duke students with local organizations or students in Durham public schools to further foster mentorship opportunities within the Durham community. He hopes to impact the Duke community by offering a creative and organized approach in providing Duke students with opportunities in a way that feels not overwhelming but rather authentic, and ensuring that they feel inspired and compelled to continue to support and give back to the amazing city of Durham.
Cooper Herrett
Cooper is sophomore from Wilmington, NC double majoring in Public Policy and undecided Neuroscience or Biology with a minor in Chinese. This is his first time serving in DSG and is excited to bring his perspective as a native North Carolinian to his projects as he works to better understand Duke’s relationship within Durham and strive to strengthen it.
Charlie November
Charlie is a junior from Boston, MA, majoring in Economics with minors in Political Science and Computer Science. His goal this year is to help foster mutually beneficial partnerships between Duke students and the broader Durham community where he is particularly focused on exploring how Duke can play a more active role in addressing food insecurity in Durham.
Emily Wang
Emily is a junior from Houston, TX majoring in Economics and Public Policy and minoring in Global Health. Emily has been a senator on DCA for two years and has spearheaded an initiative to connect students with local business owners. Her main goal for this year is to continue developing partnerships with local businesses.
Noah Bean
Noah is a freshman from Henderson North Carolina planning on majoring in Public Policy and Political Science with a Markets & Management certificate. Henderson, North Carolina N/A This year, I want to focus on breaking the bubble and building a bridge between Duke and Durham by creating more chances for students to connect with local vendors, nonprofits, and cultural organizations, and making sure those connections grow into lasting relationships. My hope is that students will leave Duke not only with strong campus memories but also with a real sense of belonging in the broader Durham community
Anson Stine
Anson is a freshman from Baltimore, Maryland planning on majoring in Philosophy and Public Policy. His goal this session is to bridge the gap between Duke students and the incredible work of local non-profits, actively working to bring more of these organizations to campus and increase awareness of their opportunities. Additionally, he aims to establish the foundational framework for a campus bike co-op.
Josh Duby
Josh is a freshman from Deerfield, IL. He is excited to help support a civically engaged student body and continue to foster relationships between Duke and Durham. In doing so, he thinks this will open exciting new opportunities for Duke students to have a positive impact in Durham!
Benjamin Kagan
Benjamin is a sophomore from Chicago, IL, majoring in Political Science with a minor in History. Throughout his time in DSG he hopes to strengthen the relationship between the Durham community and Duke. I also want to help Duke become a more civically engaged campus.
Shrihaan Chaudhary
Shrihaan is a freshman from Clarksville, MD planning on interdepartmental majoring in Chemistry and Public Policy with a Global Health minior. This year, he hopes to deepen partnerships between Duke students and the Durham community by expanding service and civic engagement opportunities, and to make local collaboration a more visible part of campus life. Through his role on DCA, he aims to strengthen mutual trust and show how Duke students can contribute meaningfully to Durham’s growth and wellbeing!
Ariel Baiye
Ariel is a freshman from Waxhaw, NC, planning on majoring in Public Policy. This is her first year as a senator, and one goal she hopes to achieve is to help provide funding for students to access community service sites off campus. A second goal he hopes to achieve is to support yearly DCA initiatives such as Democracy Day. She hopes to inform the Duke community about current Durham affairs and create ways to realistic student engagement outside campus.
David Llera
David is a freshman from Clifton Park, NY, planning on majoring in Public Policy and Economics with a certificate in Innovation & Entrepreneurship. His first goal is to help students more actively see Durham in front of them as the community they’re a part of. He wants to strengthen the Duke-Durham relationship through projects that bring local businesses onto campus and advocate for institutional purchasing that prioritizes Durham vendors. His second goal is to expand opportunities for local connection and learning through fireside chats and neighborhood history walk & talks planned for the spring.
Not pictured: Theresa Kiki, Aviv Stabinsky, Nigel Cooper