D'Ondre Swails

D'Ondre Swails is a PhD candidate in the Department of Africana Studies at Brown University, where he specializes in African American culture, cultural history, and cultural politics. He is a native of Vallejo, California in the San Francisco Bay Area and a graduate of Morehouse College. He is currently completing a book-length study on the political importance of the African American gangsta figure.

David Painter

David is a Class of 2024 medical student at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. He graduated with a degree in Biology from the University of Richmond in 2018, where he worked as an undergraduate research fellow to expand a differential equations mathematical model of pathogen-host dynamics during bacterial infection. David then spent two post-graduate years researching the entry and trafficking mechanisms of human adenoviruses while working in a viral pathogenesis laboratory within the Department of Ophthalmology at Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School. Outside of virology, his current passion is in orthopaedic injury prevention for amateur athletes.

Francesca Raoelison

Francesca Raoelison is originally from Madagascar and is currently studying sociology and entrepreneurship at Brown University. She has instigated a movement called Omena, committed to increasing emotional abuse awareness worldwide. Francesca initially focused on solving this problem in Madagascar, but she quickly discovered that this is a global issue to solve. Omena currently has over 100 volunteers scattered around the world (13 countries and counting) and their work has been recognized by MTV, supported by the Clinton Foundation, as well as Forbes Under 30. In her spare time Francesca likes visiting new places and enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, swimming or biking.

Victor Hunt

Victor M. Hunt has strived to reshape the academic landscape of Providence. He is the founder of the nonprofit Sprout and STEM—a program which provides free tutoring in science and math—and has worked to enhance the learning experiences of students in disadvantaged school systems. As an advocate for education reform, he believes disparities are best ameliorated through the provision of opportunities. Hunt is a graduate student at the University of Rhode Island where he studies the role of amyloid-beta in Alzheimer’s disease.

Kate Reed

Kate Reed is a Boston-based designer building wearable technology, leveraging principles of nature, to connect humans and computers. Kate built her first wearable computer when she was 13, before the introduction of the Apple Watch. Since then, she has designed, engineered and built hundreds of wearable computers. These wearables harness human biological input and output methods through the combination of unstable media, experimental interfaces, and augmented materials. \n \n After becoming the first graduate of the MIT-backed NuVu Studio, Kate received two undergraduate degrees, one in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Brown University and the other in Industrial Design and Computational Technology at The Rhode Island School of Design. Her designs and inventions have been featured at the White House, New York Fashion Week, Museum of Design Atlanta, the Hackaday Superconference, MIT Museum, and more.

Amelia Spalter

Amelia Spalter is an undergraduate concentrator in Religious Studies. She is the founder and Editor in Chief of Brown University Interviews. A brief selection of her previous interviews include media personality Norman Lear, attorney Alan Dershowitz, singer/songwriter Seal, and Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors. Before enrolling at Brown University, her formal education was stewarded primarily by television. As such, she now plans to pay it forward by pursuing a career in television writing. Spalter is also Director of the Interviews Board for the Brown Political Review. When not interviewing, she serves as the founding President of the Brown University Screenwriting Collective, the Ivy League’s largest pre-professional screenwriting organization. Her other publications include sports reporting for the Brown Daily Herald and an occasional letter of demand or manifesto.

Julia Xu

Julia Xu is the Founder & CEO of Multitasky, a lifestyle marketplace for fun & multi-functional products empowering female go-getters. Multitasky also serves as a female collective, bridging the gap between female communities and product merchandise. Based in New York (but currently living a nomadic life), Julia is also a startup advisor passionate about helping startups with tools and resources to attain financial confidence and achieve strategic growth. \n \n As a true multitasker, aside from Multitasky and startup consulting, Julia is fractional CFO of many female-empowering communities and DTC eCommerce brands, including Society Gal, Modern Picnic, and Intimately.co. \n \n When she was a student at Brown University, she founded the ethical knitwear accessory brand Tink Knit, a nonprofit financially empowering single mothers through knitting. She has received the McKinsey & Walmart’s Women Impact Award, and also spoke at many events and conferences including TEDx.

Jon Elion

Dr. Jon Elion is a graduate of Brown University (undergraduate and medical school), and a proud member of Brown’s MD class of 1975, the inaugural MD class in the modern era. He trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Wisconsin, and in Cardiology at Duke University. He is currently a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Brown University, and still practices Cardiology part-time at The Miriam Hospital in Providence. \n \n Dr. Elion has not only been immersed in medicine, but also in Computer Science dating back to his freshman year at Brown. He has led international efforts to create and implement standards for image and information exchange in medicine that assist in the interoperability of medical information systems. As a Cardiologist, he is often involved in the treatment of patients with life-threatening conditions, and counseling patients and families coping with end-of-life care for themselves or their loved ones. In this context he has continued to build on the strong foundations in empathetic communication and cultural competency that were first established as a medical student at Brown.