OUR TEAM
Meet the Yale UNICEF Board.
Daniela Macaya
Senior Advisor
Year: Class of 2025
College: Morse
Hometown: San Jose, Costa Rica
Major: Environmental Studies
Why UNICEF: I have previously worked with UNICEF Costa Rica (published my children’s book on single-use plastic) and I'm very interested in early environmental education!
Gloria Kim
Co-President
Year: Class of 2026
College: Berkeley
Hometown: Buford, GA
Major: MCDB
Why UNICEF: I have taught in Syrian refugee camps in Turkey and Lebanon, and I became passionate about educational and medical access for Syrian refugees and North Korean defectors. I am also involved with Demos, THiNK, and Baram.
Fun Fact: I was born exactly on midnight, so I consider myself having two birthdays.
Angelica Sanchez
Co-President
Year: Class of 2025
College: Benjamin Franklin
Hometown: Weehawken, NJ
Major: E&EB & Education Studies
Why UNICEF: In the face of climate change, I am very passionate about ensuring that children have access to clean water, air, and a healthy world. I’m also very passionate about community involvement and have volunteered at the pediatric emergency room and worked at Calvin Hill Daycare for two years.
Abigail Lopez Freire
Co-President
Year: Class of 2026
College: Berkeley
Hometown: PG County, MD
Major: MCDB
Why UNICEF: I am passionate about access to education and healthcare for all children. I specifically have a strong interest in education access for children of indigenous communities within the Andes Region. I’ve volunteered within the region, directed fundraising for the UNICEF chapter in highschool, and ran initiatives for access to books & education for youth at my local library system.
Amadie Gajanaike
Vice-President
Year: Class of 2026
College: Ezra Stiles
Hometown: Colombo, Sri Lanka
Major: Electrical Engineering
Why UNICEF: I love being involved in public service, whether back home, in New Haven or beyond. I taught children who lost their families to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and am currently part of the Dwight Hall Student Executive Committee.
Lauren Cho
Conference
Co-Director
Year: Class of 2026
College: Benjamin Franklin
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Major: Political Science & Data Science
Why UNICEF: I love service work and have been heavily involved in community service for families under the poverty line, disability centers, and refugee centers. At Yale, I want to use my experience and resources to help children in need around the world.
Tenzin Youdon
Conference
Co-Director
Year: Class of 2028
College: Saybrook
Hometown: New Haven, CT
Major: Political Science & Education Studies
Why UNICEF: Being a previous New Haven Public School student prompted my deep passion for educational equity and curriculum
development, understanding firsthand the disparities in resources and opportunities that many other New Haven youth face. My goal is to start from within New Haven to locally support underrepresented students and help foster a more inclusive learning environment.
Bryant Li
Community
Outreach Director
Year: Class of 2027
College: Trumbull
Hometown: Houston, TX
Major: EP&E & Education Studies
Why UNICEF: I’m passionate about arts education and educational policy in underserved communities, and have raised over $40K for UNICEF initiatives through organizing benefit concerts. I’m also involved with research at Yale on socio-emotional learning and equitable school redistricting.
Thien Dao
Advocacy
Events Co-Director
Year: Class of 2027
College: Timothy Dwight
Hometown: Vietnam & NC
Major: Economics & History
Why UNICEF: Growing up in Vietnam, I came into contact with the incredible work that UNICEF does as its recipient. This experience motivated me to establish a UNICEF club during high school once I immigrated here to America, which was instrumental in cultivating my interest in children's rights. As I embark on my journey at Yale, I wanted a place that would allow me to pursue this passion further, and I saw Yale UNICEF to be the perfect place that would help me achieve this goal.
Sabina Babaieva
Advocacy
Events Co-Director
Year: Class of 2027
College: Silliman
Hometown: Kupyansk, Ukraine
Major: Global Affairs
Why UNICEF:
I'm drawn to the cause of Yale UNICEF because I believe the empathy gap on college campuses can be even more damaging than elsewhere. For me, advocating for children's rights is a task that holds a two-fold value. By joining the board, I hope to help promote empathy and social activism across our campus community.
Samantha Saenz
Fundraising
Co-Director
Year: Class of 2027
College: Benjamin Franklin
Hometown: Queens, NY
Major: Global Affairs & French
Why UNICEF:
I am passionate about contributing to a caring and equitable future for children all over the world.
Antonia Baudoin
Fundraising
Co-Director
Year: Class of 2027
College: Benjamin Franklin
Hometown: Cape Charles, VA
Major: Film & Media & Global Affairs
Why UNICEF: As a young Latina and Native women, I am
passionate about aiding marginalized communities. In the past, I have tutored children in cooperation with my area’s refugee relief program, worked at a local food pantry and school, and produced a short documentary addressing the inequity that immigrant families face.
Tirsit Gessesse
Treasurer
Year: Class of 2027
College: Benjamin Franklin
Hometown: Ethiopia & USA & South Africa
Major: EP&E
Why UNICEF:
My experiences in these different countries sparked my deep passion for improving children's access to education and addressing the effects of poverty on young people. I'm excited to be a part of UNICEF and help build a strong UNICEF community that advocates for children's rights and mobilizes our campus to create impactful change.
Wilhelmina McQuarrie
Publicity Director
Year: Class of 2027
College: Grace Hopper
Hometown: United Kingdom
Major: Political Science
Why UNICEF:
I worked with UNICEF during high school, and am so excited to continue contributing to this cause. I'm especially passionate about raising awareness for issues like girl's education, FGM and access to healthcare.
PAST CONFERENCES
Check out previous conferences that Yale UNICEF has hosted in the past.
Fall 2024
Speakers:
- Kyle Pruett, Early Childhood Peace Consortium
- Angelica Ponguta, Yale Child Study Center
Spring 2024
Speakers:
- Directors of Another Kind of Girl Collective
- Kim Miller, Blue Dragon Children's Foundation, Vietnam
- Brigid Kennedy Pfister, UNICEF Senior Advisor, Child Protection in Humanitarian Action
- Ann Marie Wilcock, UNICEF Staff Member
2019
Speakers:
- Joanna Rubinstein, President and CEO of World Childhood Foundation USA
2018
Speakers:
- William Casey King, Director of the Capstone Program and a lecturer at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs
- Zoë Root, Policy Counsel at the Justice Programs Office
- Yvette Young, Licensed Professional Counselor
- Victoria Curbelo, U.S. Fund for UNICEF (UNICEF USA), Fair Trade USA, the International Rescue Committee, and Jabalna
- Sarala Nagala, Visiting Clinical Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School
- Kirsten Bechtel, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at Yale School of Medicine
- Jillian Gilchrest, Director of Health Professional Outreach for the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence
- Raymond Bechard, Author, Producer and Human Rights Advocate
- Norma Flores Lopez, Governance and Development/Collaboration Manager at East Coast Migrant Head Start Project
- Wendy Bowersox, FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children Squad
- Erin Williamson, US Survivor Care Program Director for Love146.
2017
Speakers:
- Dr. Nicholas Alipui, Former UNICEF Director of Programmes
- Dr. Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, Yale School of Public Health Professor
- Dr. James Leckman, Yale School of Medicine Professor
- Mick Hirsch, refugee trauma specialist
- Othman Shibly, dentist and humanitarian
- Maya Prabhu, Yale psychiatry professor and refugee mental health specialist
- Claudia Connor, President, the International Institute of Connecticut
- Jennifer Nagda,lawyer at the Young Center & University of Pennsylvania professor
- Selcuk Sirin, NYU Applied Psychology Professor
- Chris George, Director of IRIS
2015
Speakers:
- Richard Skolnik, Professor of Global Health at Yale University
- Deidre Moskoff, Humphrey Fellow (South Africa) at Syracuse University
- Rami Nakhla, Syrian Activist and Yale World Fellow
- Andrew Beer, Board of Directors for UNICEF USA
2014
Speakers:
- Dr. Stephanie Goins, Executive Program Director of Love146
- Dr. Monzer Yazji, Founding Member of the Union of Syrian Medical Relief Organizations
- Dr. Ehsan Hoque, Founder and Executive Director of Distressed Children and Infants International
2013
Speakers:
- Ishmael Beah, Founder of the Ishmael Beah Foundation
- Nicholas Rees, Policy Analysis Specialist at UNICEF New York HQs
- Joanne Goldblum, Founder and Executive Director of National Diaper Bank Network
- Cheryl Perera, Founder and President of One Child Network and Support Systems Inc.
- Dr. Joan Kaufman, Director of Child and Adolescent Research and Education (C.A.R.E) at Yale School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry
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Click the button below to donate to UNICEF USA's Every Child Fund. Want to find other ways to donate to UNICEF's humanitarian relief? Learn more here.
