Sierra Sabec, Kate Hodgin, Brad Williams, Chae Young (Chae) Yu, Madelon Jensen, Alawi Masud, Rachel Chen and Carter Stacy are the members of the fall 2024 cohort of Coro Fellows. (Photo by Derik Holtmann)

This fall, the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs will celebrate 50 years of developing emerging leaders in St. Louis to work and lead in government, business, and nonprofits.

The Coro Fellows Program is a full-time, intensive nine-month post-graduate experience for professionals who seek to develop effective leadership skills and engage in civic activities. The program develops the next generation of civic leaders by immersing them in rigorous, experiential, community-based leadership training.

The program, which graduated its first class in St. Louis in 1974, had a two-year hiatus but was revived in 2021. Since then, it has been proudly housed in the Community Innovation and Action Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis.

Next month, the program will celebrate 50 years in St. Louis with a slate of events. On Oct. 18, all Coro program alumni, former staff and trainers, placement hosts, supporters and friends of the program are invited to a welcome reception at UMSL at Grand Center to network with the Coro community and meet the current cohort. On Oct. 19, all Coro Fellows alumni and former staff and trainers are invited to a 50th Anniversary Celebration at Cortex Commons.

“We are excited for this year’s cohort of Coro Fellows to spend their time in the program getting to know St. Louis and themselves better,” said Coro Program Director Leah Moser. “The Fellows have all recently relocated to St. Louis and are eager to get to know the community through their Coro experience. We hope this year will challenge them to grow their leadership skills, lean into discomfort and reflect on their role in impacting meaningful community change.”

Meet the 2024-25 cohort of Fellows:

Rachel Chen
University of Texas at Austin
Sociology and Psychology

Chen is a recent graduate of the University of Texas at Austin in the Liberal Arts Honors program with BAs in sociology and psychology, as well as a minor in French studies. She has experience as an intern at the Pew Research Center, American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative, Evergreen Strategy Group, and Public Consulting Group. She is passionate about addressing societal inequity in many different domains, including education and criminal justice, and is interested in the intersection of research and policy because she believes that research can be used as a tool for social change. “I am choosing to participate in the Coro Fellows Program because I want to gain a firsthand understanding of how change is made across different sectors,” Chen said. “I also want to develop my leadership skills alongside a cohort of passionate individuals.”

Kate Hodgin
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Political Science and Government

Hodgin is a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a BA in political science and government and a minor in social and economic justice. While in school, she worked as an intern in the law office of George P. Doyle, where she met with clients and their families to discuss case details, determined potential defense strategies, analyzed juror information, and assisted survivors of domestic violence in obtaining restraining orders against their abusers in court. As a research assistant in the UNC Department of Political Science, she collected and organized national data about felonious murders of police officers in order to analyze how police officers as victims impacts the likelihood of a death sentence. “I am thrilled to become a Coro Fellow because of my passion for public service and my desire to have a direct and tangible impact on the St. Louis community,” Hodgin said. “I believe this opportunity will not only allow me to help others but will also allow me to grow by developing new skills and pushing myself to try new things.”

Madelon Jensen
Case Western Reserve University
Political Science and Music

Jensen graduated with a BA in political science and music with a minor in public policy from Case Western Reserve University, where she actively engaged in coursework and extracurricular activities related to public policy and governance. Having completed her senior thesis on the state funding of charter schools, she is particularly interested in education policy, child policy, and state budget policy, and hopes to contribute to the development of sound public policies that address pressing societal challenges. “I am choosing to participate in the Coro Fellows Program because of the wide array of opportunities available to me, from seminars with my cohort to working in multiple different sectors,” Jensen said. “I am still extremely early on in my professional career, and I am excited to see how public policy and public affairs impact different areas in a community.”

Alawi Masud
University of Maryland
Government and Politics

Masud is a graduate of the University of Maryland with a BA in government and politics, a concentration in international relations, and minors in philosophy and international development and conflict. Masud has worked as a research intern at the International Crisis Behavior Project, as a research assistant in the UMD College of Behavioral and Social Sciences researching population movement and codifying the origin of rebel groups, and as operations coordinator and program officer at Accountability Lab. Masud has experience working in good governance and youth development and is interested in working on the nexus of cities, sustainability and networks. “I find cities exciting to work in because of the interplay between all of its different parts,” Masud said. “The Coro Fellowship will allow me to understand this interplay better and will also allow me to better understand what needs exist in my home city that I can help out with. Globally connected cities are the future. I’d love to take what I learned from my Coro experience and help connect my community better to the global world.” 

Sierra Sabec
University of Vermont
Psychological Sciences and Anthropology

Sabec is a recent graduate of the University of Vermont with a BA in psychology and anthropology with a concentration in global health. Sabec has worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Dr. Stickle Lab at the University of Vermont, researching aggression and empathy in women, and as an intern at Wellify Teen, working closely with Founder and Executive Director Sally Newson to expand Wellify Teen services. “I am excited to participate in the Coro Fellows program because I have a passion for social justice and community work,” Sabec said. “I am hoping that through the Coro program I will grow in my experience across multiple sectors of possible careers and will gain more experience working with diverse communities. I am passionate about mental health care and social policy but ultimately just want to pursue a career that will create positive change. I believe that the work and leadership experience of Coro will help me achieve this goal.”

Carter Stacy
Macalester College
Geography

A graduate of Macalester College with a BA in geography, Stacy is a firm believer in the importance of education and geography as the foundation for understanding a society’s history, culture, politics, and economy. Stacy is also the founder of “That Is Interesting”, a YouTube channel with 200,000 subscribers and 20 million viewers, whose flagship series, “The US Explained”, is a 56-part longform documentary series on every state, territory, and federal district in the United States. Stacy has also worked as a campaign strategy and legislative intern for Minnesota State Sen. John Hoffman, writing a weekly constituent newsletter, conducting research on bills and policy issues, and analyzing and annotating the draft of the 2021 Minnesota Health and Human Services Omnibus Bill prior to its passage. “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to participate as a Coro Fellow because I’m passionate about public service and interested in public policy, especially at the community level,” Stacy said. “I’m a fundamentally curious person and am excited in particular to learn from my peers in the cohort and expand my worldview.”

Brad Williams
Sam Houston State University
Political Science

Williams is a recent graduate of Sam Houston State University with a BA in political science and a double minor in psychology and public policy and administration. A first-generation college student, Williams was accepted into the Pre-Law Society, served as director of Rules & Regulations and also participated in the Public Policy of International Affairs Junior Summer Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. “Taking part in the St. Louis Coro Fellows Program offers me a unique opportunity to enhance my leadership abilities through a demanding and immersive program that combines real-world fieldwork with classroom instruction,” Williams said. “I’m excited to work with an array of emerging leaders, utilizing our combined abilities to tackle difficult societal issues and bring about significant transformations in the St. Louis region. Furthermore, the program’s emphasis on experiential learning and cross-sector cooperation fits in properly with my professional goals of developing into a dynamic and successful public service leader.”

Chae Young (Chae) Yu
Grinnell College
English and Sociology

Yu is a recent graduate of Grinnell College with a BA in English and sociology and is originally from South Korea. Yu has worked as an industry program team volunteer for the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival and as a writer and interviewer for GOGUE, Grinnell’s own fashion magazine. She has also completed individual research on the impact of U.S. assistance on authoritarian regimes in South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam during the Cold War. “I am drawn closely to being able to learn about the functioning of leadership and teamwork in organizations across different public and private sectors in government, business, non-profit and more,” Yu said. “Through the field placements in different sectors, I wish to develop well-rounded leadership strategies that are suitable across various organizational structures and contexts. Furthermore, I would like to be able to carry out meaningful public service to marginalized communities in the city of St. Louis, as well as take steps toward bringing positive impact to the communities and region overall.”