UWC-USA is pleased to announce the three finalists for this year’s Giulio Regeni Alumni Impact Award. The award recognizes alumni who have made substantial contributions and created impact in the local, national, or global community, and whose accomplishments, affiliations, and professional career honor the UWC mission. This year’s finalists include Catia Lopes ‘04, Ashindi Maxton ‘93, and Allison West ‘04.
Originally from Portugal, Catia Lopes has spent the last year working in Yemen on one of today’s greatest humanitarian crises – the refugees stemming from the ongoing war. She is particularly dedicated to helping children who are the most vulnerable refugees.
Ashindi Maxton is from the U.S. and has been an advocate for racial justice working from organizations such as the NAACP, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and most recently the Donors of Color Network. She is particularly focused on voter suppression and voting rights.
Allison West is also from the U.S. and has worked as a human rights lawyer who has worked as an advocate for those who have been tortured or been victims of crimes against humanity. One of her recent projects has been an “anthology” comprised of art, interviews, and documentation around the detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Giulio Regeni ’07, for whom this annual prize is named, was an Italian citizen and a doctoral student at Cambridge University in the UK. He was conducting his Ph.D. research on the formation of independent trade unions, specifically the street vendors’ union, in Egypt after the fall of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. He was in Cairo conducting field research when on January 25, 2016, the fifth anniversary of the “25 January Revolution,” he disappeared. His body was found nine days later.