On August 9th, friends and family of the Hope Fund gathered at Rucola, a local Brooklyn restaurant that years ago had secured their liquor license with Hope’s help. We were there to celebrate the accomplishments of this year’s Hope Fellows at the end of their summer internships. We heard from each of the Fellows about their experiences, and were joined by many of their advisors, as well as family and friends, and members of the Hope Fund Advisory Board. Thank you to everyone who attended!

Chenisvel Nunez speaks about her time at Brooklyn Defender Services

Kareem Watson reflects on his summer at VOCAL-NY

Semhal Gessesse talks about what she learned while working for the Legal Aid Society

Arianna Flores Perez reflects on her powerful experiences helping immigrants apply for aid through the Immigration Law Project at Safe Horizons

Past and present Hope Fund Fellows gather at Rucola! From left to right: Benedict Joson (2012 Fellow), Semhal Gessesse (2015 Fellow), Ariel Estrella (2012 Fellow), Kareem Watson (2015 Fellow), Ellen Meyers, Arianna Flores Perez (2015 Fellow), Chenisvel Nunez (2015 Fellow), Ezra Lowrey (Program Manager), and Sadasia McCutchen (2014 Fellow)

We were blown away by these young leaders, and we look forward to staying connected with them and seeing the work they do! Stay tuned for more information on how to apply for next year’s Hope Reichbach Fund Fellowship!