Full Staff Bios The Opportunity Agenda

The Opportunity Agenda - Expanding Opportunity in America



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Staff Biographies



			*Alan Jenkins, Executive Director:* Before joining The Opportunity Agenda, Jenkins was Director of Human Rights at the Ford Foundation. Previously, he served as Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he represented the United States government in constitutional and other litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court. Prior to that, he was Associate Counsel to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., where he defended the rights of low-income communities suffering from exploitation and discrimination. His other positions have included Assistant Adjunct Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School, Law Clerk to Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, Law Clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Carter, and Coordinator of the Access to Justice Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. Jenkins serves on the Board of Governors of the New School and the Board of Trustees of the Center for Community Change and the Legal Action Center, and is a Co-Chair of the American Constitution Society’s Project on the Constitution in the Twenty-First Century. He holds a law degree from Harvard Law School, a Master’s degree in Media Studies from New School University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Social Relations from Harvard College.



			*Brian D. Smedley, Research Director,* served most recently as a Senior Program Officer in the Division of Health Sciences Policy of the Institute of Medicine (IOM), where he was Study Director for the IOM report, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. Previously, Smedley served as Study Director for the IOM reports, Promoting Health: Intervention Strategies from Social and Behavioral Research; The Right Thing to Do, The Smart Thing to Do: Enhancing Diversity in the Health Professions; and The Unequal Burden of Cancer: An Assessment of NIH Research and Programs for Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved. Smedley came to the IOM from the American Psychological Association (APA), where he worked on a wide range of social, health, and education policy topics in his capacity as Director for Public Interest Policy. Prior to working at the APA, Smedley served as a Congressional Science Fellow in the office of Rep. Robert C. Scott (D-VA), sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Education Policy Division of the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, N.J. Among his awards and distinctions, in 2003 and 2000 Smedley was awarded the National Academy of Sciences’ Individual Staff Award for Distinguished Service, was awarded the Congressional Black Caucus “Healthcare Hero” award in April 2002, and in August, 2002, was awarded the Early Career Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest by the American Psychological Association.



			*Jason P. Drucker, Director of Development,* has worked as a development professional at a number of non-profit organizations in New York City including the Rudolf Steiner School, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, and the Legal Action Center. In this capacity, his work has included strategic planning and overseeing the annual fund, special events, capital and endowment giving, foundation relations, and major gifts. He has a doctorate in European philosophy with a focus on language and rhetoric from DePaul University where he was a university fellow and visiting assistant professor from 1993-1999.



			*Julie Rowe, Communications Coordinator,* has worked in communications for non-profits on a range of issues, including affordable housing, community development, family support, immigration, and the arts. At Prevent Child Abuse America, Julie worked on a project to reframe child abuse prevention and family support messaging for the organization’s network of state and local programs. She also has managed brand development, public service announcement campaigns, opinion research, media relations and analysis and strategic communications planning. .



			*Beatrice Alvarez, Research Associate,* most recently served as Deputy Research Director for the Democratic National Committee's Independent Expenditure office during the 2004 presidential campaign. In a prior position, she staffed Congresswoman Maxine Waters in the Washingon DC office. Before moving to Washington from Los Angeles, Betty worked as a Legal Assistant in a boutique immigration law firm, where she specialized in acquiring temporary visas and permanent legal status for academics, medical professionals, and artists from all over the world. Betty graduated from UCLA with B.A. in Sociology and Italian.



			Kisha Parks, Office and Fiscal Manager, brings over ten years experience in accounting, human resources and office administration in both the non-profit and private sectors to her new role at the Opportunity Agenda. Kisha spent five years in Workplace Financial Services at JP Morgan Chase Bank before leaving to serve as Finance/Payroll Manager for the non-profit Dance Theater Workshop in Manhattan. Most recently, she handled human resources and general accounting for a software development firm in Atlanta, Georgia. Kisha studied business at the State University of New York at Delhi and earned her degree in Accounting from the Borough of Manhattan Community College.



			*Micky Hingorani, Web Strategist,* most recently worked at Doctors Without Borders in their Communications department. His work consisted of research and writing for their print publications and working on an assortment of projects for their website. Prior to this Micky worked on the marketing of a blog produced jointly by the Century Foundation and the Center for American Progress. Micky is also pursuing his doctoral degree in Global Affairs at Rutgers University. His dissertation focuses on the impact of the internet on political organizations. He received his Bachelors degree from New York University in Psychology and his Masters in Political Science from Rutgers University.



			Kevin Hsu, Associate Counsel and Robert L. Carter Fellow, holds a J.D. from Georgetown Law Center and a B.A. in Ethnic Studies and Political Science from the University of California – San Diego. While at Georgetown, he served as Editor of the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy. He worked on transit equity litigation as a law clerk at Public Advocates, Inc. in San Francisco and was a law clerk in the Special Litigation Division of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. Before law school, Kevin gained organizing experience working on the Dean for America campaign and the No on Proposition 54 Coalition. He was also active in advocating for greater access to higher education through the University of California Student Association and the United States Student Association, where he served as a member of the Board of Directors.

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