Overview
The Network Advisory Board (NAB) is a volunteer advisory board for the Roosevelt Network. It provides feedback and input to Network staff about programs and key strategic decisions. The NAB is a collection of individuals who bring unique perspectives to conversations and decision-making; together, the members should represent the diverse voices, experiences, and perspectives of Network alumni.
The NAB represents the interests and needs of Roosevelt Network alumni – inclusive of both Campus Network and Fellowship alums – and offers non-binding strategic advice and input that complements and expands on that of other key stakeholders, including Roosevelt Institute staff Roosevelt’s Board of Directors, and current program participants.
Membership
NAB members have a demonstrated record of engagement in the Roosevelt Network as a student or alumni. Any Network alumni who serve as members of the Roosevelt Institute Board of Directors or FDR Library Board of Trustees will be offered at-large membership to the ABA.
Alumni of a Roosevelt program (Campus Network or student Fellowship) are selected to serve a three (3) year term. Members are selected annually through a process that includes applications, interviews, and an announcement to the full Network community.
Current Members
Alex Aghdaei
Alex currently serves as Deputy Campaign Manager for U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle’s campaign, building a career at the intersection of policy and politics after working as a policy expert on Oregon’s SNAP program. During college, he served as President of the Oregon Student Association, where he led statewide student organizing and advanced higher education policy priorities. Alex joined the Roosevelt Network as an Emerging Fellow, conducting research on higher education labor practices and developing policy proposals to advance economic equity.
Chisolm Allenlundy
Chisolm joined Roosevelt as a sophomore at the University of Alabama, eventually serving one term on the Student Board of Advisors. Since graduation, Chisolm has pursued a career in public interest law, driven by Roosevelt’s commitment to reimagine the rules for a more equitable political and economic system. After working for several years as a legal aid attorney, Chisolm now investigates and prosecutes corporate fraud and abuse with the New York Office of the Attorney General.
Parker Cellura
Parker works at the intersection of student support, data, and equity, developing supportive, data-driven programming for students enrolled in postsecondary education. His work spans investigating initiatives designed to improve key student success outcomes across the academic lifecycle and providing direct, individualized support to students facing financial, academic, and institutional barriers to persistence and degree completion. Parker often credits his time with the Roosevelt Network as a critical source of inspiration for his continued commitment to higher education. As the former Community College Organizer for the Roosevelt Network and co-author of a report on the adverse impacts of the financialization of higher education, he developed a deep appreciation for the role of collective action, public investment, and democratic governance in shaping more equitable and accessible postsecondary institutions.
Mayukh Datta
Mayukh joined the Roosevelt Network as a Forge and Emerging Fellow in 2021 and 2022 as an undergraduate at Mississippi State University. Since then, he has gotten a master’s degree in energy policy from the University of Minnesota, and now he works as a policy researcher specializing in energy affordability and justice at the National Laboratory of the Rockies (previously NREL).
Isha Khan
Isha has been involved with the Roosevelt network since 2021, with a former chapter and as a Forge Fellow. He has been focused on advocating for economic equity and environmental justice through advocacy and policy research at the local and state levels. Isha plans to continue to fight for policy reforms to expand the social safety net and to address socioecnomic inequities experienced by the most vulnerable members of our communities.
Inica Kotasthane
Inica Kotasthane (she/her) is a senior at Barnard College of Columbia University double-majoring in Sociology and Economics. She plans to build a career in public interest advocacy, with specific interests in the criminal legal system, economic inequality, and democratic institutions. Kotasthane is one of three students to participate in all three undergraduate student fellowships and is currently an Emerging Fellow, writing a policy brief on advancing holistic public defense in New Jersey. In her free time, she uses punch-up humor as a medium to advance social justice and is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Columbia University’s satire publication, The Columbia Federalist.
Andrew Lindsay
Andrew L. Lindsay is a financial institutions associate at WilmerHale in New York, where he advises banks and fintech companies on regulatory and enforcement matters, following earlier positions at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School. Andrew’s Roosevelt Institute journey began through its Campus Network at Amherst College, where he led a geostatistical audit of its $350 million budget to advocate for more local investment in Massachusetts’ Pioneer Valley, before joining the inaugural class of Emerging Fellows and contributing to other economic policy initiatives, including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz’s “Rewriting the Rules of the American Economy.” At Duke Law School, Andrew led the Law & Technology Review as Editor-in-Chief and was recognized as a Next Generation Leader by the American Constitution Society.
Brandi Lupo
Brandi Lupo is a Thomas C. Grey Fellow and Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School, where she studies litigation culture and institutional legitimacy. Before joining Stanford Law, Brandi clerked for two federal judges and practiced as a litigation associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. Brandi originally joined Roosevelt as an undergraduate at NYU and eventually served as a regional coordinator and policy lead for the Network. As a first-generation college graduate, Brandi knows the challenges of forging new paths. She is committed to making those journeys possible for others.
Pratik Thakur
Pratik Thakur is a medical student at the Ohio State University College of Medicine. He received his BA with honors from the University of Southern California, studying biology, health policy, & economics. Pratik has prior experience at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and IQVIA’s market access strategy consulting practice. As part of the Roosevelt Network, he was an Emerging Fellow and served on national student leadership.
Catherine Tong
Catherine is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, where they studied Comparative Literature with a focus on emerging markets. They participated in the 2023-2024 Emerging Fellowship as the only junior, publishing a policy brief on PG&E, one of the largest utilities in the country, and its bankruptcy, stock performance, and California energy markets in relation to corporate power.
Jennifer Zhang
Jennifer Zhang is an economic justice advocate and policy analyst, and currently serves as a Research Associate at the Student Borrower Protection Center. Jenn was previously a Director’s Financial Analyst at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where she worked with the Student Loan Ombudsman’s office, the Policy Planning & Strategy team of the Director’s front office, and the Quantitative Analytics team of the Enforcement Division. Prior to that, she worked as a legislative intern for Senator Elizabeth Warren, consumer frauds mediator for the New York State Attorney General, and National Economic Policy Coordinator of the Roosevelt Network. She holds a BA in political science from Columbia University, where she spent four years with and became president of her campus’s Roosevelt chapter (now the Columbia Policy Institute).