Our Team

Our program is administered by passionate staff and students from the University of Pennsylvania Netter Center for Community Partnerships and facilitated by talented high school interns.

Ariana Jiménez

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Ariana Jimenez is a student at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania studying business economics and public policy and management. She manages two after school civic education programs at West Catholic Preparatory High School and William L. Sayre High School. She managed the 2021 Civic Engagement Summer Program as well. She has a passion for civic education and improving youth voter turnout. In her free time, she plays guitar and loves to sing. Ariana is excited to continue to work with Philadelphia high school students!

ariana3@wharton.upenn.edu

Jack Starobin

ASSISTANT PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Jack Starobin is an undergraduate student of political science and economics at the University of Pennsylvania. He has a strong interest in the influence of media on public opinion and political outcomes, as well as an interest in voting rights and voting access. In his time at Penn, Jack has assisted professors in researching the effects of mail-in balloting on Pennsylvania's 2020 election results, the effects of personal and social identities on whether social media posts go viral, and the influence of think tanks on policy outcomes in North America. In his free time, Jack enjoys going for long runs and writing poetry with his friends.

jstaro@sas.upenn.edu

Aleana Nguyen

SITE COORDINATOR

Aleana Nguyen is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania studying Health and Societies hoping to repair healthcare disparities. She has a passion for civic engagement, and hopes everyone understands why their vote matters, why it is important to have a say in their government. Aleana has worked with a non-profit organization called VietLead in high school that worked to expand local, collective, democratic practices in Black, Brown, and Southeast Asian communities through Voter Registration programs, Voter Education workshops, and advocacy to end disenfranchisement to all voters. In her free time, she loves to play with her dog Max and bake.

aleana@sas.upenn.edu

Valeria Andrango

SITE COORDINATOR

Valeria Andrango is a third-year student at the University of Pennsylvania studying Political Science and Latin American Studies. She hopes to utilize her background as an Ecuadorian immigrant of Kichwa heritage to bring to the forefront indigenous rights and indigenous language revitalization through civic engagement.

andrango@sas.upenn.edu

2021 COHORT

Parkway West High School '25

Former Teammates

As a largely student run organization, every year some of our staff graduates and goes on to do great things. Here they are by the year they joined the Netter Center.