Assistant Cohort 2021- Impact Division

Kelsey Barnick

Kelsey Barnick is a Master of Public Health Student in Community Health Science at UIC. She has studied the social determinants that inequitably influence an individual’s ability to make choices that impact their well-being and security. Her educational and professional experiences have cultivated her dedication to health, economic, and environmental justice. She is looking forward to utilizing her experience with community-driven projects, public health, and spatial analysis in her time with the Social IMPACT Research Center. In her free time, she enjoys eating, cooking, and baking new foods. She also loves spending time outside gardening, running, playing soccer, and taking walks.

Margaret Dorokhina

Margaret Dorokhina joined Heartland Alliance in June 2021 as a Policy Intern in the Research and Policy Division. In this role, she is responsible for supporting advocacy related to subsidized employment legislation and other policy priorities in the Economic Opportunity portfolio. Margaret is passionate about addressing disparities in communities across the country through structural changes, so she is excited to have the opportunity to promote the organization’s mission of equity. Prior to this position, Margaret graduated cum laude from American University with a BA in Public Health and a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. While completing her undergraduate degree, she worked on a research project and interned at several nonprofits, including the American Heart Association. Currently, she is pursuing her Master of Public Health at the University of Illinois- Chicago in the Health Policy and Administration division. In her free time, Margaret enjoys yoga and live music events.

Anna Forte

Anna Forte is a second-year graduate student at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy, where she is pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy. She is interested in urban policy – specifically related to health, housing, and equitable investment and development. Before interning with Heartland Alliance, Anna worked as the policy project coordinator at Equal Hope, a Chicago not-for-profit dedicated to eliminating racial disparities in cancer-related healthcare and outcomes. She has also worked on initiatives promoting fair and affordable housing and at the Tennessee State Department of Health. Anna received her B.A. in Public Policy from Vanderbilt University. Outside of work, Anna enjoys trying new food, seeing new places, and hanging out with her senior cat, Lana

Kiara Hinkle

Kiara Hinkle is a first-generation UIC student majoring in Psychology. She is on track to graduate in December with goals of working for a nonprofit organization or doing volunteer work in the Peace Corps. She is passionate about music, mental health, racial justice, women’s reproductive rights, children and violence, and LGBTQIA youth and homelessness. She is currently a part of the Pathways Initiative as a student program evaluator. As a young multiracial woman, she advocates for marginalized communities and helps amplify those voices.

Rita Jefferson

Rita Jefferson is a Research and Policy Intern with the Social Impact team. She is a Master of Public Policy student at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago focusing on local and state policy, urbanism, and housing. She is an avid baker, baseball fan, and film awards season watcher.

Ximena Morales

Ximena Morales is a summer intern working for the National Initiatives team. She is excited for the opportunity to be a part of an organization that believes in helping marginalized communities, like the one she comes from. Her personal experiences and background drive her passion for doing the sort of work Heartland Alliance does. In her free time, she loves to read, listen to music, and recently got into embroidering tote bags.

Ryyan Pritchett

Ryyan Pritchett is a Junior at Harvard College from Greensboro, North Carolina. She is concentrating in Sociology with an intended secondary in African/African-American Studies and a citation in American Sign Language. On campus, Ryyan serves as President of the Association of Black Harvard Women, Communications Intern for the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, a team leader for the First-year Retreat and Experience (FYRE), and a board member for the Harvard Black Health Advocates. She has also been involved in several programs at the Harvard Institute of Politics. Her career interests lie at the intersection of public policy, economic equity, and racial justice.

Ana Vasquez

Ana works as a Research Assistant at the Social IMPACT Research Center focusing on data collection, mining and analysis, database and dashboard design, data entry, quantitative and qualitative analysis, literature reviews, fact sheet development, infographic design, report writing, and research dissemination for READI Chicago. She has worked in program evaluation in violence prevention, reconciliation and polarization studies, peacebuilding and mediation studies in Nigeria and Sierra Leone, and local development. She joined Heartland Alliance because she believes in applying global perspectives to understanding and supporting the work of violence prevention in Chicago and learning more about the evidence-based approach. Ana holds a bachelor’s in economics from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (Venezuela), and expects to receive her MPP degree from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

Betty Wong

Betty Wong is an intern with the Research and Policy Division of Heartland Alliance. She is interested in community empowerment and poverty elimination and believes that adequate housing is a human right. She has experience in nonprofit development and program coordination work and is currently pursuing her master’s degree in public policy at the University of Chicago. In her free time, she likes to hike, visit art museums, and watch movie musicals.