Meet the 2021 Labor Capital Strategies Summer Fellows

This summer, KI and Heartland Capital Strategies welcome 12 fellows as part of our 2021 Summer Class of the Labor Capital Strategies Fellowship. This program gives students the opportunity to gain hands on experience working with the capital strategy teams within unions or with funds that manage union money. Fellows work with a variety of union and pension institutions and gain insight into investing and the labor movement. This year’s fellows will work with LiUNA, AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust, Stuart Portfolio Consultants, and other organizations. See the photos and bios of this year’s fellows below:

Luke Caruso Luke is a junior at the George Washington University studying Business Economics and Public Policy (BEPP). BEPP covers an intersection of Business and Policy which reveals how businesses and other non-state actors respond to policy such that policies can be crafted to command the best possible outcomes from the private sector by accounting for all appropriate incentives. Luke hopes that a growing understanding of this important juncture between business, economics and policy will enable service to workers and everyday Americans who I seek to, and look forward to, supporting with my future endeavors. Luke is a returning LCS fellow and is excited for the opportunity to continue to work with the program. Sofia Chen Ma

Sofia Chen Ma is a rising Junior in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Prior to her role as a Labor Capital Strategies Fellow, Sofia was a Student Analyst at the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation. At the Center, she leveraged her skills in research and data to support the Public Interest Technology Workforce project. As an undergraduate student, she is pursuing a double major in international business and finance, while exploring her interest in social impact, entrepreneurship, and technology. In addition to academics, Sofia serves as a board member for Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP) and as the Chief Financial Officer for Hoyas for Immigrant Rights. In the future, she aspires to push technology and innovation to be more equitable and inclusive.

Nathaniel Cox Nathaniel Cox is a rising Senior at Swarthmore College. He is a double major in Economics and Statistics. In his free time, he enjoys reading and playing Ultimate Frisbee. Nathaniel lives in Brookline, Massachusetts with his parents and younger sister.

Jakob Daucher Jakob Daucher is a student at George Washington University double majoring in finance and economics. Jakob has previous work experience in both public and private sector finance having worked with a wealth management firm, Avenue Wealth Management and interned with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the Department of Economic and Risk Analysis. Jakob is interested in social impact and would like to start a sustainability focused venture capital fund with a focus on identifying key threats to the to the ecosystem.

William Keto Will Keto is a rising senior at Princeton University studying Public and International Affairs, with a focus on economics, civil rights, and applied statistics. Originally from Washington, DC, his work experiences include academic research on student privacy rights, data analysis of lead pollution in New Jersey, and sustainable private equity. In his free time, Will enjoys running and creating music, and he intends to pursue a career impact investing after college. Jasmine B. King Jasmine B. King is an experienced public servant and researcher who has demonstrated a strong history and drive to not only lead others on projects addressing the public policy industry, but also to steer technology-motivated initiatives that have proven to be beneficial to further social progress. Having been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions, Ms. King served her community as a 2019-2020 White House Competitiveness Scholar, Roosevelt Network Forge Fellow, and Center for Advancing Opportunity Research Scholar during her undergraduate career.

Excited for what the future holds, Ms. King continued her academic journey with a Master of Public Administration hosted by the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University as a 2020-2021 Public Administration and International Affairs (PAIA) Exceptional Scholar. During this transition, King has embraced the academic tools and skills that have prepared her for work focused on uplifting marginalized communities. While gaining these skills, King has also gained the role of Member-at-Large for her local NAACP Branch in order to continue her work of supporting disenfranchised groups.

Xander Kott Xander recently graduated magna cum laude from Oberlin College with a Bachelor’s degree in Politics.

At Oberlin, he has been recognized as a Law and Justice Scholar, a Cole Scholar, a Law and Public Policy Career Community member, and a major representative. Also, Xander received a Jerome Davis undergraduate research grant. Outside of Oberlin, he has held internships in the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate, the AFL-CIO government affairs department, and in political consulting. Xander is excited to join LiUNA as part of the 2021 Labor Capital Strategies fellowship class.

Benjamin Lawson Ben Lawson is a rising junior at the University of Pennsylvania. Ben is originally from Marietta, Ohio and decided to attend Penn to study economics and mathematics. Ben excited

for the LCS fellowship and the opportunity to make an impact in the lives of the working poor through responsible investing.

Victor Liu

Victor Liu is a rising senior at Georgetown University, where he is pursuing a major in economics and minors in English and statistics. On campus, Victor has served as an analyst for the Student Investment Fund and interned at the Investment Office, which manages Georgetown’s $2-billion endowment. In his free time, Victor enjoys watching Survivor and cheering on the Red Sox and Celtics.

Maryssa Pallis Maryssa Pallis is a dual Social Impact MBA/MPP student at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandies University with a passion for worker justice. She is a Circumnavigators Foundation Grant recipient, which allowed her to circumnavigate the world conducting independent research on international trade policy and regional empowerment-based programs for small-scale farmers. She has previously worked as an MBA consultant for the City of Boston, helping to evaluate the financial and social feasibility of their Housing with Public Assets program. As a Graduate Research Assistant at the Institute for Economic and Racial Equity at the Heller School, she researched healthcare labor markets which culminated into a report titled Segmented Immobility and Intersectionality in Healthcare Labor Markets. In her free time, Maryssa enjoys reading, baking, and gardening. Sean Rong Sean Rong is a sophomore at Georgetown University pursuing studies in Business and Global Affairs.

Born in Shanghai, China, Sean had a childhood of traveling internationally and is proud of friends made on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Sean am passionate about labor justice and sees finance as a particularly powerful tool to leverage and create positive impacts in this field. Sean excited about the internship program and looks forward to meeting other LCS fellows.

Niels Ruigrok Niels Ruigrok is a Dutch undergraduate student at Georgetown University studying History, Economics, and Business Administration. Previously, Niels worked as an intern in the M&A Corporate Finance group at Deloitte in Amsterdam, as a finance research assistant at MIT and Princeton University, and as the treasurer of a non-profit field hockey club in DC. Niels’ academic interests lie at the intersection of public policy, social welfare, and corporate responsibility in the U.S. during the 20th and 21st centuries. Specifically, the role of businesses in narrowing societal inequities.