National Youth Transportation Equity Fellows
We are excited to announce the 2023 cohort for the National Youth Transportation Equity Fellowship (NYTEF). This initiative is dedicated to empowering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) youth leaders aged 17-29 from across the nation to participate in a 10-month educational and community engagement experience aimed at addressing transportation inequities in their local communities. NYTEF harnesses the power of digital storytelling, advocacy, and community engagement to design interventions that prioritize transportation equity and justice for all.
We believe that the NYTEF program provides a unique opportunity for passionate youth activists to make a real impact in the transportation equity space. It offers a platform to effect positive change, collaborate with like-minded individuals, and contribute to the creation of a more accessible, safe, sustainable, and equitable transportation system, particularly for young people.
We are excited to announce the group of outstanding candidates to join the fellowship, making a meaningful impact in the realm of transportation equity.
Meet the Fellows
Fatima Elkott is a first-gen American, urban planner, facilitator, community organizer, and activist focused on pathways for community connections and action. Fatima is passionate about facilitating community groups through processes that allow them to share their stories, collectively envision their futures, and connect to the resources or power structures needed for action. Fatima is always working in her community to expose and enrich local youth with opportunities to be involved in local urban planning and policy decisions. Alongside these youth, powerful community initiatives that promote transportation equity have been accomplished such as a traffic calming mural, Vision Zero walk and protest, and the "My Transit Story" project with stories collected in 2021 with the Hillsborough County Planning Commission.
Calah Gipson is a Memphis native with a passion for safe, sustainable, and accessible communities. They are a recent college graduate with a bachelor's degree in Social Work. During this time, Calah researched car culture and its impacts in the US, participated in internships in both Memphis and Nashville, and they are currently working with the non-profit Walk Bike Nashville as an Open Streets Coordinator. As someone who primarily walks as their main mode of transportation (and greatly prefers this over a car), Calah hopes to work towards a society that values and invests in all forms of transit- especially highlighting the benefits of multimodal transit and infrastructure. Calah believes that safe streets for all can look like many things, and regardless of age, ability, or any other factor- everyone can benefit from them.
Shayanna Hinkle-Moore is a recent graduate from Ohio State University where she majored in Public Affairs and City and Regional Planning. Her first experience in transportation equity was in high school where she advocated for Columbus City Council to install sidewalks around her school. Shayanna is passionate about creating and expanding affordable public transportation options to underserved areas of Columbus.
Mia Lewis is a second-year Master of Urban Planning student at UCLA, concentrating in Transportation Planning and Policy. Throughout her academic journey and career experiences, she has consistently focused on the themes of data, equity, and urban development, driven by her fascination with travel, access, and emerging technologies. Currently, Mia works as a graduate student researcher at the UCLA Labor Center, where she studies workforce empowerment programs. Her prior roles include serving as a Data Analytics Consultant for the National Aging and Disability Transportation Center and serving as a GIS researcher for the Center for Neighborhood Knowledge. Originally from Florida, Mia is deeply intrigued by the multifaceted social, cultural, economic, and political dynamics of California and the West. In the NOYS fellowship, Mia hopes to focus on empowering youth facing the impacts of gentrification and neighborhood change, allowing greater access to decision-making, and community benefits. After completing her master's program, Mia plans to pursue a career in public service centered on planning, sustainability, or transportation.
Andrew Leung is a community designer, facilitator, and urban strategist. He is deeply interested in exploring meaningful urban accessibility approaches to foster a more just mobility network for vulnerable populations. In the past, he has worked with a creative community development firm named Public Matters, which is known for their deeply rooted community work in unincorporated East LA - a predominantly Latino community historically affected by intrusive highway planning. During his tenure at Public Matters, he co-facilitated workshops, webinars, and high school educational programming for a public engagement series that collected mobility stories of East LA community members. His ultimate goal is to facilitate and implement asset-based community development events and strategies for a more accessible and inclusive public realm. These initiatives will focus on fostering communities of care and belonging, destabilizing existing hierarchies of spatial discrimination, and creating a world that all populations can navigate with equal autonomy. In his leisure time, Andrew enjoys being active—be it swimming, boxing, or hot yoga. He also finds joy in playing sax, walking dogs, and writing.
Stellan Knowles is a changemaker, community organizer, and activist born and raised in Memphis, TN. For over the past 7 years, he has been actively engaged as an ambassador and activist for various local, state, and national organizations advocating for safer roads, safer road users, and safer communities. Organizations include; Toyota, Students Against Destructive Decisions, AAA, and National Organizations for Youth Safety. His work is a unique approach to organizing youth digitality for safer communities. More recently, Stellan has blossomed into a forceful advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in Memphis and nationally, as well as ending youth housing insecurity. He is currently serving as the Chair of the Memphis Youth Action Board at Community Alliance for the Homeless and Youth Project Management Lead for More for Memphis.
Joseph Pires is a Boston native with a Kabu Verdianu (Cape Verdean) ethnic background. He is a seasonal cyclist, a leader in my community, and a mobility justice advocate. He currently works at Bikes Not Bombs, in Jamaica Plain, where he serves in an associate role for their Bicyclist Organizing for Community Action (BOCA) department: the civic and social justice education branch of the Youth Pathways program. Joseph has led, organized, and spoken at various protests for social justice & equity. His vision for mobility justice looks like affordable housing and transit options that enable economic mobility; cyclist infrastructure, be it lanes, places to park/lock up, and accommodations on public transit; and finally, programs that provide people free assistance in financial counseling to increase financial literacy.
Prem Subedi is a Bhutanese refugee who immigrated to the US from Nepal in 2010. He is currently studying Computer Science and Sociology at Highline College. Prem’s Transportation Equity journey started in high school when he started taking college-level classes and faced difficulties as a transit rider and pedestrian. Living in a greater Seattle area, as a wheelchair user has been challenging. While there is a robust network of buses, a lot of service has suspended or remains unusable. This fuels Prem to be active in local cities, and to influence good investment in Transit, Biking, and pedestrian infrastructure. He has been lucky to be part of the King County Transit Advisory Commission and Access Paratransit Advisory Committee, Sound Transit Citizens Accessibility Advisory Committee, Kent Bicycle Advisory Board, and Covington Equity, Cultural, and Social Justice Commission.
Brandon Zuo is passionate about creating spaces that give us the opportunity to belong and to exist safely. He believes that connecting with our neighbors -- seeing each other's faces and sharing conversations -- are amazing opportunities for building a wonderful community.
At NOYS, we unite, equip, and build the capacity for young people to lead in addressing the most pressing health and safety issues affecting them today. Our commitment to empowering youth advocates is at the core of our mission, and we continue to seek innovative ways to create a safer and more equitable world for young individuals.