Meet The Team
Staff
Anika Manzoor
Chief Executive Officer
Fatou Dia
Deputy Executive Officer
Joy Brungardt
Chief Operations Officer
Amina Hossain
Strategic Messaging Lead
Team Members
Carolanne Briscoe
Noel Mills-Odoi
Obse Abebe
Lumina Zhang
Design and Technology Lead
Interns
Yasin Ibrahim
Mya Ambrose
Lucas Meseret
BOARD MEMBERS
The current list of board members is:
Jacob Smith (Any Pronouns)
National Organizations for Youth Safety
Jacob Smith is a diehard visionary movement builder! He has his own consultancy in road safety and mobility justice; delivering high-impact community organizing for transforming mobility access in BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities and is also the Executive Director of National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS). Since 2014, he has presented at over 190 conferences and led projects in 12 states, mobilizing youth for safe and sustainable communities. Today, he also serves as the Regional Leader of the Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety, working across the nation to mobilize young people to meaningfully engage in participation for road safety and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through his experience as a nonprofit executive, organizer, activist, and strategist, Jacob recognizes that all the most pressing road safety issues can be solved and transformed by youth activists.
Aria Miles (she/her)
Senior Consultant at UPD Consulting
Aria is a proud Maryland-based YAP Board Member. She is passionate about doing work to strengthen educational and social systems that enable people to thrive. After graduating from the Prince George’s County Public School system, volunteering in Ghana, and earning her BSE in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University, Aria began her professional career in operations in education in Washington, DC. Her increasing interest in the policies and systems that affected the lives of students and families led her to earn a Master in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard Kennedy School. Aria worked in the nonprofit sector in Memphis, TN and returned home to Maryland a few years ago. There, she started the next chapter of her career as a consultant supporting public sector agencies to engage their stakeholders, use their data, and develop and implement plans to make their organizations more equitable.
She currently lives in Baltimore City and enjoys trying new foods and restaurants, live music events, hearing people’s stories, hanging out with friends and family, and traveling.
Naina Soni (she/her)
IP Litigation Associate at Cooley LLP
Naina was born and raised in Montgomery County, Maryland. She was in the Math, Science, and Computer Science Magnet Program at Montgomery Blair High School, where she also was active in community service and a member of the Mock Trial team. For undergrad, Naina attended the University of Maryland in College Park. She was in the Honors College and graduated with a BA in Government and Politics with High Honors and a BS in Cell Biology and Genetics. Knowing that she wanted to be a lawyer from the time she could talk (thanks to her mom's Law & Order obsession), Naina went on to law school at Duke University and added on a MA in Bioethics and Science Policy. She then began her legal career as an associate in the Intellectual Property group at international law firm, Cooley LLP. She has been with the firm for over 6 years and specializes in patent litigation matters.
Throughout her education and her time at the firm, Naina has been dedicated to community service and pro bono efforts, serving as Duke Law's community service chair and handling asylum, civil rights, and child services matters as an associate. Outside of work, Naina enjoys reading, everything pop culture, dancing, and traveling. She also loves to spend time with her husband, Joshua and their two cats, Camembert ("Bear") and Manchego ("Chego"); family; and friends.