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Profiles! Stride Rite Postgraduate Fellows

	Fellow: Toby Nicholas Romer Class: 1994 Project: "Creating a mentoring program at Brighton High School with a biotech partner." Today: Principal, Brighton High School Impact of Professional Life: "It started me in my career in the Boston Public Schools and taught me how to leverage community resources to support student achievement." Impact on Personal Development: "It helped me see the commitment necessary to achieve change through programming work."
	Fellow: Farah Stockman Class: 1996 Project: "I worked with a group of teachers in Machakos, Kenya to run an informal classroom for street children. I probably overestimated what I could accomplish in one year. I said I would set up a school in a year. In fact, it took several years. It is now a full-fledged program with a $50,000 budget. Our board in the U.S., which I head, raises this money. Our staff in Kenya run the program, with help from a local advisory board from the community." Today: Foreign Affairs Reporter for the Boston Globe Impact of Professional Life: "I was able to live in Africa, learn Swahili, and learn how to speak to people. Those were key skills in getting my first job as a journalist." Impact on Personal Development: "I can’t imagine my life without those five years I lives in Kenya and Tanzania, or without the kids whose impact me every day of my life. Some of the kids I started teaching are now in high school. One has just been admitted to the best high school in the country. A big honor."
	Fellow: Aaron Keita Tanaka Class: 2005 Project: "I was the Coordinator of Fund the Dream Campaign, working for D7 Roundtable, which is an anti-war coalition built on economic needs of poor communities of color. It is in the process of becoming an independent nonprofit." Today: Staff/director for the Boston Workers’ Alliance. Impact of Professional Life: "It allowed me to work with incredible community activists, organizers and mentors. I have had the opportunity to invest my energy in building a grassroots political organization from ground up. The process and political framework has been ideal. I do not feel like I have had to compromise my commitments in the course of the work. It’s been incredibly inspiring and challenging. I’m grateful for such a great postgraduate start. I hope to continue to work as an organizer in the future."