New Bridge to Germany: Class of 2024
After receiving numerous nominations and applications, we are happy to introduce our next cohort! These ten remarkable young professionals from the U.S. will embark on their journey in September of 2024, traveling from Washington, D.C., to Brussels, Berlin, and Leipzig.
We are honored to introduce:
Janhvi Bhojwani is an Emmy-award winning reporter for NBC News based in Washington, D.C., focusing on the social newsgathering and verification space. She is from the U.S. territory of Guam and Jakarta, Indonesia. Janhvi completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at Georgetown University, studying the intersection of culture and politics and how technology has changed how society communicates and receives information. In between college and graduate school, she conducted a field study in Indonesia through a Fulbright-Hays scholarship on social media and misinformation.
Darrin Quiroz Camilleri is currently in his first term serving in the Michigan State Senate following three successful terms in the State House of Representatives. He is also the Assistant Majority Leader, Chairman of the PreK-12 School Aid Budget, and serves on committees that encompass Elections, Energy, Transportation, Labor, and more. His district spans seventeen communities across Downriver and Western Wayne County, including Trenton, where he currently lives with his wife, Lama. As the son of an immigrant from Malta and a Latina, he became Michigan’s youngest Latino and first-ever Maltese-American state legislator. As the son and grandson of union auto workers, he has also been steadfast in his pursuit of opportunity for all communities in Michigan. As a first-generation college graduate and a former teacher, he is currently the youngest member of the Michigan State Senate.
Alan Y.C. Cheng is Venture Partner at Farron, Augustine & Alexander LLC, a private investment group focused on early-stage technology companies. Alan also serves as a U.S. Naval Reserve Officer in the U.S. Seventh Fleet. Before venture investing, Alan was Co-Founder and CEO at House Doctor, a telemedicine software company bringing medical doctors online for remote medical consultations over smartphones. Prior to technology entrepreneurship, he worked at Morgan Stanley in investment banking and at J.P. Morgan in private banking. Alan holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of California, Berkeley, and a JD from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Ashley Hodges is a dedicated, budding EDI practitioner who grounds their work in Black and Queer Studies. Throughout her career, Ashley has worked in academia, philanthropy, consulting, and now government. Currently, Ashley serves as a Project Manager in the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. In this role, they are dedicated to fostering diverse and inclusive environments and advancing equity in Atlanta and beyond. Ashley works to build a world where everyone can thrive. She does so by prioritizing the voices of those most impacted, building relationships, and listening to those who inspire them. Inspired by Toni Morrison’s words, they are reminded to “make a difference about something other than yourselves.” Ashley received her degree in African American Studies from Princeton University.
Chase Phillips is from Denver, Colorado, and currently serves as the Executive Advisor to the Mayor of Denver. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in political science. With several years of team management experience, Chase has successfully managed a multimillion-dollar milling budget for a local asphalt company and overseen $30 million in annual accounts receivable as a credit manager. Chase is also in the process of opening a dive bar in downtown Denver, capitalizing on the area’s revitalization. His goal is to leverage the dive bar into a hospitality group, with future plans to provide affordable housing to his community. Additionally, Chase is planning to run for State House Representative in 2026, aiming to make a positive impact on climate sustainability, affordability, and safety.
Sameer Rao is a Baltimore-based journalist whose work primarily focuses on technology, entrepreneurship, arts, culture, and racial and social justice issues. He currently works as an editor for Technical.ly, where he principally oversees coverage of Baltimore and D.C. He was previously a legal industry and access to justice reporter for Law360 and spent several years as an arts and culture reporter for such outlets as The Baltimore Sun and Colorlines. Sameer is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association, for which he previously served on various regional and national boards. Outside of journalism, he is a musician who put out an EP in 2017 with his now-defunct, Philadelphia-based rock band Taxes.
Maggie Salas Crespo is Co-Managing Partner and Director of Policy, Advocacy and Strategic Engagement at NReal Media Strategies, a leading multicultural PR, Government Affairs, Communications, and Marketing firm in Nevada. Maggie has spent over a decade working in Nevada’s public and private sectors in leadership roles across outreach, policy, and communications. Most recently, she served as Deputy Secretary of State for Southern Nevada. Prior to that, she served as the Political Director for Governor Steve Sisolak, the Senior Advisor for the Nevada Governor’s Office for New Americans, and the Outreach Coordinator for the Office of the Governor. Maggie graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology, Women’s Studies and a minor in Ethnic Studies. She also received a postgraduate degree from El Colegio de la Frontera Norte in International Migration Studies.
Alex Schyllander (they/them) is the Senior Manager of Global Advocacy at the Human Rights Campaign where they are responsible for projects and initiatives and administrative matters related to HRC’s global partnership and international advocacy efforts. Prior to joining HRC, Alex worked as the Communications and Program Manager of the Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN), where they worked to mentor, inspire, and train the next generation of diverse and talented women and LGBTQ+ public policy decision-makers. Alex has years of experience working and interning in social justice organizations. Alex holds a Bachelor of Science in International Affairs from Eastern Michigan University and a Master of Arts in International Affairs from the George Washington University. Alex was born and raised in Michigan and lives in Washington, D.C., with their dog Honey.
Alejandra Silva, Director of Venture Café Miami, is a formidable leader with a career trajectory spanning hospitality, entrepreneurship, and innovation. A founder and seasoned professional, Alejandra brings incisive insights to Miami’s innovation ecosystem. Her expertise in hospitality management and digital marketing, coupled with her entrepreneurial acumen, enables her to dissect and address the complex challenges facing innovators and entrepreneurs. At the helm of Venture Café Miami, Alejandra functions as a catalyst for transformative change, strategically connecting stakeholders, disseminating critical knowledge, and galvanizing others into action. Her leadership, honed by diverse industry exposure, positions her as a dominant force in Miami’s entrepreneurial landscape and a master connector and accelerator of the Venture Café global network in other cities around the globe, cultivating an environment that breeds innovation and fosters the evolution of groundbreaking ideas.
Samantha E. Williams serves as a Local Government and Community Relations Executive at Ameren Missouri, advocating for community needs and guiding local governments in their energy transition. She earned a B.A. in Political Science from UMSL and an M.A. from Webster University. With a decade of strategic experience, she crafted legislative platforms for Illinois and Missouri State Senate leaders and supervised the federal rollout of the 2020 Census for a ranking Member of Congress. Recently, she represented Missouri’s community interests at a White House infrastructure roundtable under the Biden-Harris Administration. A dedicated community leader, she mentors students through the Regional Business Council, promotes diversity in politics via the National Women’s Political Caucus, and advocates for peacekeeping as Board Director of the United Nations Association-USA’s St. Louis chapter.
New Bridge to Germany is supported by the Transatlantic Program of the Federal Republic of Germany, funded by the European Recovery Program (ERP) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK), and by the Joachim Herz Foundation.