Woodbridge Fellowship

Established in 2005 by President Richard C. Levin, the Woodbridge Fellowship introduces recent Yale College graduates to the work and administration of Yale. The fellowship provides valuable professional experience for potential careers in higher education and non-profit organizations.

Fellowships are full-time paid positions in the offices of university leaders, who take active interest in fellows’ professional development. Fellows directly report to senior members of their offices and work with a variety of university staff, at all levels. Fellows most often combine day-to-day duties with responsibilities for specific projects that utilize their research abilities and other higher-level skills. Organizational and writing skills are particularly valuable, as is the ability to work well with multiple constituencies: staff of all kinds (clerical, technical, service, maintenance, managerial, and professional), faculty, alumni, and students.   

Fellows meet regularly together, including for lunchtime conversation with the president, provost,  secretary, and other university leaders. These conversations about roles and responsibilities, and the career paths that led people into academic administration, give fellows a broad understanding of many facets of working in higher education.

Profiles on current and past Woodbridge Fellows can be found below.

For prospective fellows

Applications for 2026-2027 will open in the spring.

Current Woodbridge Fellows

Ismihan Abdelkadir
Office of Educational Opportunity

Ismihan hails from McDonough, Georgia, and graduated from Yale College in 2024 with a degree in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. She is thrilled to join Yale’s Office of Educational Opportunity (OEO) as a Woodbridge Fellow. During her time at Yale, Ismihan was deeply committed to supporting and nurturing the FGLI (First-Generation, Low-Income) community. She served in various capacities, including working as a STEM Navigator and FGLI peer mentor with the OEO, as well as working as a peer mentor for the STARS I Program to help URM and FGLI students navigate STEM at Yale. She has also served as president of Yale’s QuestBridge Chapter and as a counselor and, recently, a residential director for the First-Year Scholars at Yale (FSY) Program. Additionally, Ismihan contributed to the broader New Haven community as the director of the Social Services Department at the HAVEN Free Clinic, where she helped provide resources and support to underserved and under-resourced populations. As a Woodbridge Fellow, Ismihan aims to further support Yale’s FGLI community, striving to make Yale an inclusive environment where all students, regardless of their background, feel empowered to thrive and succeed. In her free time, Ismihan enjoys reading fantasy novels, taking long walks to the Marsh Botanical Garden, and exploring the city’s cafes.

Trizah Aduda
Office of International Affairs

Trizah Aduda graduated from Yale College with a degree in Economics and currently serves as a Woodbridge Fellow in the Office of International Affairs. Originally from Nairobi, Kenya, she is deeply committed to Pan-Africanism and passionate about advancing economic development across the continent. At Yale, she pursued these interests through academic research, interdisciplinary coursework, leadership in student organizations, and internships focused on development projects—particularly in East Africa. Her work sits at the intersection of economic development, gender, and youth empowerment. As an undergraduate, Trizah served as Co-Vice President of the Yale African Students Association, where she focused on building community and fostering belonging. Her commitment to youth engagement led her role on the Yale Model African Union Board, through which she helped organize an international conference for African youth in Rwanda. For three years, she also taught and mentored high school students as part of the Yale Young African Scholars Program. In addition, she was a fellow with Yale’s Through the Eyes of She Initiative, a program dedicated to rethinking gender and elevating diverse perspectives. Trizah is passionate about connecting people with resources, fostering inclusive communities, and amplifying meaningful conversations. She looks forward to advancing these values through her work in the Office of International Affairs. 
 

Bethel Asomaning
Good Life Center

Bethel Asomaning is the Woodbridge Fellow for the Good Life Center. Originally from Olympia, WA, she graduated from Yale College in 2025 with a B.S. in Cognitive Science and a Certificate in Education Studies. Bethel worked as a student intern for the Good Life Center throughout her time at Yale. She also served as a Community Mental Health Fellow through Dwight Hall and a Freshman Counselor for Berkeley College. In her undergraduate research, Bethel focused on early childhood learning and motivation, and she hopes to continue this work. She is especially interested in social health and how relational needs impact people of all ages. Bethel’s favorite wellness activities include reading, gardening, and spending time with friends.

Viola Clune
Institute for Policing, Incarceration, and Public Safety

Viola Clune (she/her) is excited to serve as this year’s Woodbridge Fellow for the Yale Institute on Incarceration and Public Safety. After transferring from Montgomery College—a community college in Viola’s native Montgomery County, Maryland—she graduated from Yale in 2025 with a B.A. in History. At Yale, Viola danced with Sabrosura, wrote and edited for The New Journal, and assisted incoming first-years, as a Cultural Connections counselor, as well as her peers, fellow transfer students, in their acclimation to Yale. Academically, Viola has focused on subjects ranging from the public humanities to carceral studies, to salsa dance and performance histories. She looks forward to bringing her academic and personal passions for community, education, and freedom to her work as a fellow. Outside of school and work, Viola is always down for a good matcha, trying a new restaurant, or rewatching one of her favorite musicals for the umpteenth time. 

Michelle Foley
MacMillan Center

A native of Monterey County, California, Michelle Foley works with the MacMillan Center’s communications team as their 2025-26 Woodbridge Fellow. At Yale, she majored in Painting/Printmaking as well as Cognitive Science, merging her interests in choice psychology and visual design. Outside of the classroom, Michelle worked as the Yale Daily News illustrations editor, designed covers for Latine magazine Claro, and provided creative direction for both the Visual Arts Collective and feminist magazine Broad Recognition. She also worked as a video production assistant for the Yale Peabody Museum, Communications Coordinator at the Poorvu Center’s Office of Educational Opportunity, and graphic designer for Yale Cabaret. Michelle enjoys connecting with the public through multimedia communication strategies, particularly introducing Yalies to the MacMillan Center’s abundant opportunities! In her free time, she enjoys art, outdoors, crochet, and chatting incessantly about her tyrannical terrier, Misty Foley, and slothlike cat, Smidgen Foley. 

Jessica Liu
Office of Public Affairs and Communications

Jessica Liu is the Woodbridge Fellow for the Office of Public Affairs and Communications. She works on media relations and editorial projects that circulate Yale’s many stories to a broader audience. Born and raised in Madison, WI, Jess graduated from Yale in 2025, earning a B.A. in Psychology and English (Creative Writing – Poetry) with distinction in both majors. Previously, she served as an Undergraduate Fellow for The Yale Review and an Editorial Acquisitions Intern for Yale University Press. She won the John Hubbard Curtis prize for her English senior essay on acousmatic sound and queer disorientation in the poetics of Frank O’Hara, John Ashbery, and Eileen Myles. She was named Beinecke Poet in 2025. Jess is interested in the relationship between poetry and critical theory, as well as waste studies, small presses, and data justice. She loves birds, internet wormholes, secondhand books, and forgotten albums. 

Veronica Paez-Deggeller
Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration

Veronica recently graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Sociology. As the Woodbridge Fellow at RITM, she brings a deep interest in Latin America, particularly Paraguay, and in how race, gender, and migration intersect across historical and contemporary contexts. Her senior thesis examined the petitions of enslaved women in 18th-century Paraguay, challenging prevailing narratives about slavery in the region. At Yale, Veronica deepened her love for Latin dance through Ballet Folklórico Mexicano de Yale and organized Tierra y Tradición, a Paraguayan folkloric dance showcase funded by the Creative and Performing Arts Award. She was also a dedicated member of the transfer student community, serving as a Transfer Peer Advisor and Vice President of the Yale Transfer Student Alliance. Beyond campus, she worked as a Marketing Intern with LiveGirl, a Connecticut-based nonprofit, and as a Communications Intern with the Migration Policy Institute, a D.C.-based think tank. She hopes to continue blending cultural research, policy communications, and community engagement in her future work. In her free time, Veronica enjoys baking, perfecting her coffee recipes, and reading. 

Natalie Semmel
Beinecke Rare Book Manuscript Library 

Natalie is a New Havener who graduated from Yale College in 2025 with a B.A. in Film and Media Studies. For her thesis, she wrote a research essay on home movies held in the Yale Film Archive and completed a full-length screenplay. As an undergraduate, Natalie was an editor at the Yale Herald and a founding member of the Asian Jewish Union. She worked as a tour guide and communications intern at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and as a student apprentice at the Yale Film Archive, where her focus was small gauge amateur film. Now, as the Beinecke Woodbridge Fellow, she collaborates with the Community Engagement team to bring the people to the library and the library to the people. Natalie leads Beinecke’s social media, assists in teaching K-12 student groups, and runs the tour guide program at the library. In her free time, she loves watching movies, visiting museums, writing, and going on long walks. 

Stephanie Wang
Schwarzman Center

Stephanie Wang (she/they) is the Woodbridge Fellow for Yale Schwarzman Center, where she works in the Marketing and Communications Team as the in-house graphic designer. In addition, they also manage the Center’s social media presence, curating content and engaging with the broader New Haven art community. She graduated from Yale in 2024 with a B.A. in both Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Art with a concentration in Graphic Design. During her time as an undergraduate student, she was a studio designer at the student-run group Design at Yale (DAY), where she worked on client-based and internal design projects. They aided in maintaining and curating the tropical plant selections at Marsh Botanical Garden and worked as a neuroscience research assistant at the medical school conducting mice surgeries. Stephanie’s multidisciplinary design work has been featured in various exhibitions at the Yale School of Art, including This Design is Very Human as part of the Spring 2023 Open Studios programming, as well as the undergraduate thesis shows The host will let you in soon and You Are Now The Host. Stephanie enjoys knitting or crocheting, testing out new cooking recipes, or powerlifting at Payne Whitney Gym.

Cassie Wu
Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life

Cassie (she/her) is the Woodbridge Fellow for the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life. She supports initiatives that enhance student life, including leading the Woodbridge Fellowship cohort and supporting Cultivating Conversation programming to foster constructive dialogue on campus. Originally from Toronto, Canada, she graduated from Yale in 2025 with a B.A. in Economics, where she explored how quantitative methods and data-driven strategies can be applied to challenges in healthcare, public policy, and economic inclusion. At Yale, she led financial strategy as Finance Director of the Yale Women’s Leadership Initiative, taught coding to local youth at the New Haven Free Public Library, and conducted research on AI-driven pharmacy staffing and gender dynamics in the search fund space. A competitive figure skater for 13 years, she directed Yale’s annual exhibition and fenced for Canada’s national team and Yale’s varsity fencing team. These experiences shaped her belief in inclusive leadership and community-centered impact. In her free time, she enjoys sunsets at the beach, figure skating at Ingalls Rink, and hosting dinner parties with friends.  

Past Woodbridge Fellows

Leda Blaires Ciotti, MacMillan Center, Council on Latin American & Iberian Studies

Vanessa Blas, Good Life Center

Delinah Hailey, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life

Jennifer Melo, Office of New Haven Affairs

Lexa Pulido Rodriguez, Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration

Hamera Shabbir, Office of International Affairs, Communications

Oscar Sweeting, Office of Public Affairs and Communications

Mariluz Tejeda Leon, Yale College Dean’s Office, Student Engagement

Bryan Ventura, Office of International Affairs

Yasmeen Abed, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life

Peyton Aiken, Yale Education Studies

Vanessa Blas, Good Life Center

Ryan Huynh, Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration

EJ Jarvis, Office of New Haven Affairs

Neha Middela, Office of International Affairs

Michael Min, Office of International Affairs, Communications

Ruby Park, Office of Public Affairs and Communications

Mariluz Tejeda Leon, Yale College Dean’s Office, Student Affairs

Seina Cho, Office of International Affairs, Communications & Research

Laurie Gomez, Schwarzman Center

Kevin Han, Office of Public Affairs and Communications

Christian Milian-Santiago, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life

Alex Rocha-Alvarez, Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Audrey Yeung, Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning

Jackie Zhang, Good Life Center
 

Nadira Abdihali, Office of International Affairs

Allison Bensiger, Office of Public Affairs and Communications

Alec Bernal, Schwarzman Center

Abby Lee, Office of New Haven Affairs

Christian Milian-Santiago, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life

Xán Miñan, Chaplain’s Office

Alexa Vaghenas, Good Life Center

Nadira Abdihali, Office of International Affairs

Jorge Anaya, Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning & Yale College Dean’s Office

Ruhi Manek, Schwarzman Center

Xán Miñan, Chaplain’s Office

Olivia Roth, Office of International Affairs

Alexa Vaghenas, Good Life Center

Jorge Anaya, Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning & Yale College Dean’s Office

Valentina Guerrero, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life

Kevin Kim, Chaplain’s Office

Stephanie Reynolds Ramos, Office of Public Affairs and Communications

Anita Norman, Office of Public Affairs and Communications,

Sabrina Rostkowski, Office of International Affairs

Lekha Tlhotlhalemaje, Office of International Affairs

Christian De Leon, Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Eilaf Elmileik, Office of International Affairs

Nic Harris, Office of Public Affairs and Communications

Saatchi Kalsi, Office of International Affairs

Kevin Kim, Chaplain’s Office

Madeline Lemberg, Office of General Counsel

José López, Center for Teaching and Learning & Yale College Dean’s Office

Katie McCleary, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life

Stephanie Reynolds Ramos, Office of Public Affairs and Communications

Emma Smith, Office of Sustainability

Mallory Isburg, Chaplain’s Office

Jacqueline Ly, Office of International Affairs

Ewurama Okai, Office of International Affairs

Steven Roets, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life

Keni Sabath, Office of General Counsel

Leah Salovey, Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Karin Shedd, Office of Public Affairs & Communications

Kendall Teare, Office of Public Affairs & Communications

Renee Bollier, Office of International Affairs
Amanda Stephanie F. Farrell, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life
Beata Fiszer, Office of Sustainability
Dianne Lake, Office of International Affairs
Mustafa Malik, Chaplain’s Office
Esther Portyansky, Office of the General Counsel
Keni Sabath, Center for Teaching and Learning
Kyle Sevel, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life
Karin Shedd, Office of Public Affairs and Communications 
Christian Soler, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Office

Román Castellanos-Monfil, Office of Public Affairs and Communications
Elena Gonzalez, Office of Development
Tiffany Ho, Office of International Affairs
Maxwell Knapp, Office of Sustainability
Christian Maxwell, Chaplain’s Office
Matthew Ribeiro, Office of the Deputy Vice President for Human Resources and Administration
Sara Samuel, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life

Ifeanyi Awachie, Office of International Affairs
Armando Ghinaglia, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life
Isadora Italia, Office of International Affairs
Ryan Laemel, Office of Sustainability
Christian Maxwell, Chaplain’s Office
Aubrey Renault, Office of International Students and Scholars
Wazhma Sadat, Jackson Institute for Global Affairs
Jack Zhao, Office of the Deputy Vice President for Human Resources and Administration

Marj Berman, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life
Abigail Braden, Chaplain’s Office
Leslie Bull, Office of International Affairs
Omar Dairanieh, Office of Public Affairs & Communications
Lily Lewis-McNeil, Office of Development
Ryan Mendias, Office of Digital Dissemination and Online Education
So Yoon Sim, Office of International Affairs
Christian Vazquez, Office of the Deputy Vice President for Human Resources and Administration

Aala Abdelgadir, Office of International Affairs
Katie Carmody, Association of Yale Alumni
David Demres, Yale-NUS College
Bezawit Getachew, Office of Administration
Brandon Levin, Office of the Vice President
Jennifer Mosby, West Campus Administration
Julia Myers, Office of Public Affairs & Communications
Umar Qadri, Office of the Chaplaincy
Emmanuel Quartey, Office of Public Affairs & Communications
Erin Schutte, Office of International Affairs
Chandrika Srivastava, Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life

Sarika Arya, Office of International Affairs
David Demres, Yale-NUS College
Grace Fisher, Office of the Secretary
George Harris, Office of International Affairs
Faye Maison, Association of Yale Alumni
Ivy Onyeador, Office of the Chaplaincy

Adam Haliburton, Office of Federal Relations
Khadija Khan, Office of Administration
Neli Lazarova, Office of International Affairs

Erin Johnson, Office of the Secretary
Amy Jones, Office of the General Counsel
Neli Lazarova, Office of International Affairs

Fiza Ahmed, Office of International Affairs
Jamal Fulton, Office of Administration
Deeona Gaskin, Office of the General Counsel
Erin Johnson, Office of Public Affairs
Yuan Ren, Office of International Affairs
Clairelise Rodriguez, Office of Federal Relations
Altaf Saadi, Office of the Chaplaincy
Adam Scharfman, Office of International Affairs
Thuy Tran, Office of Development

Yusuf Samara, Office of International Students & Scholars and Office of International Affairs
Ricardo Sandoval, Office of New Haven and State Affairs
Iris Shih, Office of the University Printer
Erin Thomas, Office of the President and Office of the Secretary
Lauren Thompson, Office of the General Counsel
Luis Vasquez, Office of Public Affairs

Yusuf Samara, Office of International Students & Scholars and Office of International Affairs
Ricardo Sandoval, Office of New Haven and State Affairs
Lauren Thompson, Office of the Secretary

Lauren Thompson, Office of the Secretary