Milton X. Trujillo is some kind of poet and filmmaker in that he writes poems and makes films when he can. He was born in Quito, Ecuador
and migrated to the United States with his family at the age of 15. He has lived, dreamt, studied, written and worked in New York since.
He enjoys the many things NY has to offer, and can be content with long walks in the city on the way to catch a live music show or any other event with his friends and loved ones. As a part of Atlas, he wants to dedicate his energy to help people connect and empower one another, specially when they might feel unwelcome and afraid to share their stories, ideas, work and skills with others.
Yari Rodriguez is one of the four Atlas: DIY Co-founders, a fashion retail Supervisor, Junior at Hunter College, Creative Writing major and avid writer. She was born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn. She is excited to be on the Atlas: DIY Board so that she can use her Slam Poetry jams to speak about undocumented immigrant issues while reaching out to help any fellow immigrant youth in need.
Ben Heidlage is an lawyer in New York. He speaks Spanish poorly, English marginally better, and enjoys biking and otherwise exploring the city. Ben hopes to connect Atlas to the city's law firms and connect lawyers to Atlas's members as advocates and friends.
Bede Sheppard is the deputy director of the children's rights division at Human Rights Watch.
He likes taking photographs, traveling, and bad sci-fi in whatever form. He was born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand.Bede looks forward to supporting Atlas members to realize their fullest potential, as well as that of the organization.
Dan Smulian is an avid hiker and gardener.
He served as the Director of Training and Legal Services
at the New York Immigration Coalitio and as an Associate Director for Legal Services at Catholic Charities Department of Immigrant and Refugee Services. He is a clinical professor at Brooklyn Law School, teaches the Safe Harbor Project, and has a strong background in public service lawyering
Dan would like to use his skills and experience to further Atlas' mission to empower the lives and dreams of immigrant youth.
Allison Moore is Assistant Editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. She is originally from Fair Lawn, NJ, graduated from Boston University, and currently lives in Brooklyn. Allison, who is also the leader of the Atlas Book Club (which you should join!), hopes to use literature to help Atlas members share their stories and to expand people’s minds about the immigrant experience.
Originally from Dominican Republic, Carlos is an activist for immigrant rights and social/racial justice, a nursing student and singer.
“My commitment is to decode all cultural differences through music and a humanitarian desire to help others understand how at the end of our day we all are just people. My hope for Atlas: DIY is to help dreamers, immigrants, and youths become the voice to the many issue that we face everyday.”
Elise Schuster, MPH currently works at The Door as the Member Engagement Coordinator. Prior to the Door, Elise worked at Babeland for 9 years as a sexuality educator and trainer and also has experience in the worlds of medical education a reproductive rights. Elise has a Masters in Public Health with a concentration in sexuality and health from Columbia University.
Luthfun J. Nahar is a student in English and Secondary Education. She is originally from Bangladesh, enjoys hiking and writes short stories. In addition to providing diligent minutes and organization, Luthfun aspires to employ her personal experience as an immigrant and her training as a teacher to not only spread Atlas to more youth but also to help Atlas become part of a bigger force for the much-needed changes in the United States and worldwide
"Kurt" is currently an undergraduate student at Baruch College majoring in Finance & Accounting. He is an avid mid distance runner and likes to explore the restaurants of Manhattan. He is currently an Intern at BlackRock Inc and hopes to take the skills he has acquired to the treasurer position at Atlas DIY. He is most excited to work with the high energy team and continue to make a difference in our local communities.
Lauren Burke is an attorney, the executive director of Atlas: DIY, and an avid youtube video maker. She co-founded Atlas with three young people in 2012 when
she realized that many youth empowerment organizations lacked a true youth voice and weren't fully inclusive of all-status youth. Now, Lauren oversees Atlas' day to day operations, runs IYPEP and Summer CAMP, directs our legal program, and is a leader of Happy Birthday renditions in the park. Lauren is an adjunct clinical professor at Brooklyn Law School, was named one of Forbes' top 30 lawyers under 30 in 2012, and has two cats named muffin and pumpkin.
