Haas Center For Public Service

In late February, Stanford students, including some participating in the Sophomore Public Service Immersion Program, helped Oakland community members celebrate the opening reception of "From Chinatown to West Oakland: Community Portraits of Healing," a powerful photo exhibition that highlights the lived experiences of Oakland’s Asian and Black communities since the COVID-19 pandemic. This exhibition stems from a multi-year research initiative called The Asian-Black Racial Healing Project led by Baywell Health and Asian Health Services, two nonprofit medical organizations rooted in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1970s. The students—Vivian Auduong, Richard Johns, Chloe Rollock, Jaden Slocum, and Michelle To—helped serve food, welcome guests, and set up the venue, which featured a dynamic mix of West African drumming, Chinese lion dancing, live jazz, and a fusion of cuisine celebrating Black History Month and Lunar New Year. Through this event, the students' goal was to deepen connections among undergraduate students and raise awareness of the rich history of trauma, resilience, advocacy, and enduring bonds between the Bay Area’s diverse communities.

The Distinguished Visitor Lecture is an annual event where Stanford community members and the general public are invited to hear from the Distinguished Visitor Program cohort on a topic related to their work as local entrepreneurs and changemakers. This year's lecture focused on public interest technology. The 2025 Distinguished Visitors—Alexandra Bernadotte of Beyond 12, Jaime-Alexis Fowler of Empower Work, Josh Nesbit of Emerson Collective, and Amanda Renteria of Code for America—discussed how they are leveraging technology and human-centered design to drive social change and support communities in their work. The panelists were moderated by Chloe Trujillo, a coterminal student studying computer science and the Issue Area Coordinator for public interest technology at the Haas Center. The event began with opening remarks from the Haas Center’s faculty director Juliet Brodie and senior lecturer in computer science Jay Borenstein. Read a feature about this year's Distinguished Visitors: https://lnkd.in/gBw_ij6D Photo credit: Peggy Propp

Are you coming to campus for Stanford’s Family Weekend? Stop by the Haas Center for Public Service for an open house on Friday, February 21, from 3:00-4:00 pm! Speak with program staff and student participants about the Haas Center and how students can get involved in Cardinal Service. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gp44mTsT

Join us on March 5 at 5:00 pm for this year's Distinguished Visitors Lecture, “Innovation for All: Empowering Communities through Tech.” The 2025 Distinguished Visitors—Alexandra Bernadotte (Beyond 12), Jaime-Alexis Fowler (Empower Work), Josh Nesbit (Emerson Collective), and Amanda Renteria (Code for America)—will talk about their work leveraging technology and human-centered design to tackle systemic inequities, empower communities, and drive scalable social change. Register for the lecture: https://lnkd.in/gj_DMfqh

As a student National Advisory Board (NAB) member for the Haas Center, Edward Apraku, PhD '26—a PhD candidate in environmental engineering at the Stanford University School of Engineering—wants to be a voice for the graduate student population on campus. He shared his goals for his time as a student member during the fall NAB meeting. Edward (He/They) was a Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area (PCJ in the Bay) Fellow during the summer of 2023, where he worked at Belle Haven Action. During the 2023-2024 academic year, he was a Graduate Public Service Fellow, which provides a space for graduate students to cultivate their skills as community-engaged scholars. His research focuses on removing pollutants from the environment and changing their chemical structure using electricity.

Meet one of our student NAB members! Karsen Wahal, ’25, MS '26, is an economics and math major coterming in computer science. He shared his goals for being a student National Advisory Board (NAB) member for the Haas Center at our meeting in the fall. Karsen has been on the NAB since the 2023-2024 academic year and has been active in many service experiences on campus. A former Haas Center Peer Advisor and vice chair of fellowships and stipends for Stanford in Government, Karsen is currently a residential assistant in Otero, the public service theme dorm at Stanford.

Dear community! This upcoming Tuesday February 11th – in honor of Black Liberation Month ?? – we're talking food justice: past, present, and future. Honored to share space with Angela McKee-Brown on this event, co-hosted by Haas Center For Public Service and Stanford University Black Community Services Center! The event is online! Register here: https://lnkd.in/gqVbTyh4 Shoutout to Juaquín Sims and Dominique Johnson for coordinating.

Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area (PCJ in the Bay) offers 10-week fellowship opportunities in the summer focused on advancing environmental justice through collaborations with eight local community partners: Acterra, Climate Resilient Communities, Communities for a Better Environment, North Fair Oaks Community Alliance, Nuestra Casa, OneShoreline, Rise South City, and Valley Verde. As a fellow, students work with experienced leaders in the field, support community-led solutions to environmental issues, and join a cohort of summer fellowship peers. Available projects tackle issues that include air quality, food sovereignty, renewable energy access, and climate resilience. There are opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students. Learn more about each opportunity and apply: https://lnkd.in/g2pvatCn

Students at Stanford University: Would you love a paid, experience-building fellowship with a host organization focused on clean energy? Apply for the George Shultz Energy Fellowships program, which offers some of the highest-level entry positions in energy policy in Western states. These 10-week, summer fellowships are open to all undergraduate and graduate students at Stanford. But act quickly. Applications are due by Tue., Jan. 28 at 11:59 p.m. The agencies where you can work are: California Air Resources Board California Department of Water Resources California Energy Commission California Public Utilities Commission City of Palo Alto Utilities Hawaii Public Utilities Commission Nevada Clean Energy Fund Western Area Power Administration Western Electricity Coordinating Council WECC Western Interstate Energy Board To learn more, read about final projects by former fellows, and apply: https://lnkd.in/gkm6f_i4 If you missed the info session on Jan. 16, you can view the presentation here: https://lnkd.in/g9UtFG5K The sponsors of the George Shultz Energy Fellowships program are Stanford University's Bill Lane Center for the American West, Precourt Institute for Energy, and Haas Center For Public Service. #energypolicy

This winter we launched Roses Talk: Elevating At-Promise Student Voices in San José Unified (Stanford Law School LAW 809X / Stanford University Graduate School of Education EDUC 309X), a Stanford Law and Policy Lab that seeks to directly address persistent disparities in education by elevating the voices of marginalized students in school and district decision making. We are thrilled to be partnering with San José Unified School District and Gunderson High School for this project, which is supported by a 2025 Community Engagement Impact Fund award from the Stanford University Office of Community Engagement and a Cardinal Course Grant from the Haas Center For Public Service. Throughout Winter and Spring Quarters, Stanford students will conduct interviews and focus groups with Gunderson’s “at-promise” students—those who may fail to earn a high school diploma for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to low scores on standardized tests, English language learner status, previous suspension or expulsion, and special education. Using this data, students will develop policy recommendations that inform school and district decision making, particularly on how to engage and improve outcomes for the most marginalized students in SJUSD. We’re excited to introduce the exceptional cohort of Stanford students working on this project. Each brings a diverse and impressive blend of academic and professional experience, united by a shared commitment to transforming education and empowering students who are often the hardest to reach. Learn more about our students and the project at the link below! Andrea Akinola, JD '27 Zoe Edelman, BA '25 Evan Gilbert, MA '25 (Graduate School of Education) Kimberly González-Zelaya, BA '25 Rebecca Han, JD '26 Antonio Cruz Preciado, BA '25 Chaelyn Anderson, BA '25 Sara Sarmiento, JD '27 https://lnkd.in/g2yGjPPx