I am beginning the MPP as a recent graduate of Sarah Lawrence College where I concentrated on Politics, History and Policy. My studies specifically focus on the intersection of race, justice, mass incarceration and education. I’m particularly interested in the criminal justice and educational policies that perpetuate inequality and the marginalization/disenfranchisement of people of color in the USA. Outside of the classroom, I am an active member of the Black Lives Matter movement, acting as the Northeast Outreach Coordinator for the nonprofit Together We Stand which aims to dismantle racism, discrimination and police brutality. I have also previously interned at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law where I assisted in conducting extensive research on criminal justice reform. Moreover, I've worked for a variety of nonprofits, including Givology, which works to provide scholarships for students globally, and TeamChildren, a nonprofit aimed at bridging the digital divide in Philadelphia. As a Weidenfeld-Hoffmann scholar, I hope to bring the knowledge I acquire at the Blavatnik School back to the US to improve the lives of marginalized people through policy and reform, with the long-term goal of running for office on the federal level.

Paige Julia Fernandez is an Oxford-Weidenfeld and Hoffmann Scholar 2017-18.