Dani Lopez Email and Phone Number

PowHer New York is a statewide network of individuals and organizations committed to accelerating economic equality for 10 million New York women and their families. Through the collective action of our 100+ network partners we build intersectional collaborations, educate the the public about combating gender inequality, convene innovators and advocates to explore and develop new approaches and strategies, and work with legislators and business leaders on solutions.Learn more and join our PowHer the Vote Campaign to protect critical rights for all of us here: https://powherthevote.org/About LEAP: In 2024, with the support of the Amplify Her Foundation grant, PowHer® New York recruited and began to train our first LEAP (Leaders for Equity, Advocacy and Progress) Initiative cohort. To create enduring change, the inaugural LEAP Initiative program aims to engage, educate and inspire diverse female leaders to innovate, activate, and advocate in our movement.

"Communitas Ventures Accelerator is a four-month cohort-based program that supports primarily BIPOC and women social entrepreneurs."More information here: https://www.communitasamerica.org/programs/ventures

"Our goal for the Fellowship is to create products and services that help solve real problems our communities face. Tech builders — designers, product managers and engineers — and experts participate in workshops, create teams, and work directly alongside the community to design and build new products and services.Fellows spend two months doing intensive, community-centric research to scope and define potential solutions. They then have another two months to build, test, and launch their ideas. Past Fellows have built venture-backed companies, tech-enabled nonprofits, open source projects, and more."More info here: https://www.labs.robinhood.org/build/fellowship

Collaboration with New Mexico based startup, Up$start, an organization dedicated to making application for the FAFSA (federal student aid), SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), and EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) AOTC (American Opportunity Tax Credit) tax benefits accessible to low-income students. Competency areas as follows:o Strategy: Creating strategies to link various interest groups and develop innovative partnerships to recruit additional collaborators and funding possibilities. Researching and developing innovative, non-traditional funding streams to maximize utility and organizational autonomy in development of Up$start tools and student supportso Policy: Knowledge of federal, state, and local policies/initiatives and climate around college access (macro) as well as trends in overlapping policy areas (mass incarceration, labor policy, DEI climate in higher education, etc.)o Regulations: Knowledge of specific policies/regulations affecting students. Focus on FGLI and marginalized groups such as BIPOC, Queer, DACA/Undocumented, Non-Traditional (including Parent-Students), Veteran, and current or formerly incarcerated students with an emphasis on federal/state financial aid regulations and access barriers (micro)o Research: Knowledge of interest and advocacy groups in the college access space in government, nonprofit/philanthropic sector, college access networks, professional organizations (NASFAA, NASPA etc), think tanks and university/campus-based researchers. Staying up to date on trends relevant to specific actors and systems. o Product Development: Using the competency areas above to develop tools and create interventions for marginalized student groups to increase access to federal student aid resources through analog and digital media.

Awarded the 4.0 Tiny Fellowship with a total of $10,000 in grant funding as well as coaching and curriculum to develop and test an early prototype of FinAid Muse, an educational technology venture designed to help students with the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application and the federal financial aid process. Collaborating with organizations in New York City, New Mexico, and Texas to provide and test the FinAid Muse resource with select high-need student populations. More to come...

o Support timely advising, awarding, distribution, reconciliation and advising services of Financial Aid to eligible students in both undergraduate and graduate standing at an institution with enrollment of over 20,000 students o Counsels applicants and students on eligibility for financial aid programs, assisting them in the application processo Verifies eligibility for Federal and State financial aid programs including grants, scholarships, and student loans o Oversees verification and processing of NYS Excelsior Scholarship Program for nearly 2000 students per term- Verification includes course review for NYS-specific program of study requirements, academic standing, and adherence to internal Hunter College policies (major declaration, application for graduation, etc.)o Advises students on good academic standing requirements and the appeal process for federal and NYS aid programso Conducts group workshops and represents the financial aid office at various on- and off- campus  eventsSpecial Projects: o Collaboration with Office of AccessABILITY to better communicate and streamline NYS aid requirements to students with accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to reduce loss of Excelsior Scholarship and NYS TAP Grant eligibility. - Creation of resources for staff and ADA registered students as well as leading Q&A sessions on financial aid for AccessABILITY staff

Democracy. Equity. Access.More to come...

Access. Equity. Democracy.More to come...

o Assist current and prospective students with in person general financial aid inquires. This includes:- providing an overview of the federal financial aid process from filing a FAFSA to the types of federal and institutional aid available to graduate students- explaining federal regulations regarding and assisting students with accepting the Direct Unsubsidized Stafford and Graduate PLUS Loans- informing and assisting students with internal financial aid procedures such as budget adjustments, return of funds to lender, and scholarship redistributions- answering general inquiries regarding Federal Work Study and TC Assistantships- explaining TC-specific policies regarding TC scholarships, stipends, and employee tuition exemption- providing resources to alternative funding sources for students ineligible for federal student aid- connecting students to other resources at TC and Columbia University campuses to assist with gaining federal aid eligibility, documentation for in-school loan deferrals, access to affordable childcare, and issues of basic needs securityo Perform review and intake of financial aid forms and other relevant documentationo Review the eligibility and status of internal and federal aid applications of students for aid in full compliance with FERPA and TC policy using internal and Federal Student Aid databases including:- Banner and BDM (internal)- US Department of Education's Common Origination and Disbursement (COD)- US Department of Education's National Student Loan Data System (NSDLS)o Answer email and phone inquires sent to the Office of Financial Aid (OFA) regarding the aboveo Direct students with specific issues and concerns to relevant financial aid liaisonso Assist financial aid liaisons with student outreach as neededo Evaluate, modify, and create new OFA resources to increase efficiency of communication with studentso Assist with document preparation and other administrative duties as needed by OFA

Conceived and developed the inaugural COVE College Access Workshop Series aimed at High School Students, especially Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors and their Families; Current College Students, First Generation, Low Income (FGLI) Students; Non-Traditional Students; Transfer Students; with emphasis on support for students in New York City and Stateo Develop College Access Project structure from building the team, establishing reporting guidelines, developing task assignments and management, and codifying coordination with other COVE teams (Communications, Outreach, Programming, Translation etc) o Draft internal and external communications regarding College Access Series for COVE website and outreach. o Collaborate with COVE Senior Organizers to develop outreach strategy centered on CBOs, unions, and the public sector. Currently developing outreach strategy focused on immigrant and POC communities in the Bronx, Queens, and Brooklyn, with a focus on New York City Council members. o Create webinar slide decks, handouts, and supplementary resources for students and families to engage with during webinar and after. o Deliver webinars, each roughly 75-90 minutes of content, with additional time for Q&A provided as needed. Our virtual workshops are the following:- Intro to College Admissions - FAFSA 101- What Is a Financial Aid Award Letter? - Navigating College - Non-Traditional Paths (Transfer Admissions)Specific subjects covered include: TRIO/Opportunity Programs, SUNY/CUNY admissions, dual degree/transfer admissions, vocational and technical education, financial aid application and appeals process (federal and institutional), financial literacy, accessing academic/career supports, withdrawals/academic leave, Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP), and transfer admissions.

Developed and facilitated summer seminar "If I Ruled the World," an exploration of youth activism and civic engagement past and present. Worked with a group of 6 rising 6th and 7th grade students to incorporate democratic pedagogy as influenced by the Telluride Association Summer Program (TASP '11)o Engaged with students and parents to tailor subject matter to the specific interests and identities of the students, a majority students of color, to facilitate engagement and connection with the material over rote learning. o Subject matter began with the NYC Fiscal Crisis of the 1970s, continuing through exploration of the Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ youth activism of the 60s/70s, Punk and Hip Hop, the American Revolution and Democratic Theory, and the continuation through Black Lives Matter (BLM), the Sunrise Movement, and youth (12-24) activism today. Primary sources, written and audio/visual, used whenever possible. o Students worked together to develop guidelines for discussion and participation for civil engagement and debate as well as developing strategies for collaboration and participation in the virtual setting. o Created voluntary supplementary resources for students and parents to collaboratively explore and engage with the subject areas of Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ youth activism of the 60s/70s, drawing from documentaries, music, readings, and primary sources.o Supported students in their voluntary "Snapshot" project to document the world around them and what they would like to see through photographs, writing, and music.

o Handle client contact in diverse industries such as aerospace, pharmaceutical, healthcare, nuclear, and manufacturing with a focus on inquiries and scheduling for machine calibrations o Schedule clients and technicians based on type and number of machine calibrations as well as site distanceo Handle office needs from filing to ordering office supplieso Input accounts receivable and accounts payable data for use in QuickBooks o Schedule equipment maintenance and assist with re-certification process as needed

o Conducted outreach to recruit student activists to participate in RC2 + share HOPE Lab research to be used in student basic needs advocacy o Cleaned and coded interview transcripts in Dedoose for mixed methods data analysis to be used in organization reportso Wrote blog pieces on basic needs security for the HOPE Centero Assisted with backend registration for the HOPE Center's RealCollege2 (RC2) Conference at Temple Universityo Recruited volunteers from local universities and civic institutions and provided training for support of RC2

o Searched and hired speakers for club events focusing on the future of teaching in the USo Coordinated cross-over events with other on-campus organizations to promote diversity on campus

o Put together a proposal for an approved club budget for weekly meetings and events for the academic yearo Completed and filed the necessary paperwork to book event spaces and pay speakers

o Put together a proposal for an approved club budget for weekly meetings and events for the academic yearo Developed initiatives aiming to encourage community college students to apply to elite academic institutionso Participated as panelist on Crossing Borders: Student Perspectives from Community College to Elite/Highly Selective Colleges, at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society

o Wrote and published articles for the Century Foundation website on labor and social justice issueso Researched and wrote memos used by the fellows in writing reportso Helped organize networking events held at the think tank throughout the summer season

o Educated parents in Bronx School District 7 about StudentsFirst NY and the NYC public school systemo Door knocked and canvassed in NYS Assembly District 79 to build parent membershipo Organized parents and community members in forming a local SFNY chapter to further education reformo Trained chapter members to recruit members of the community and to run self-sufficient chapter meetings

o Developed and led an interdisciplinary seminar on social justice and civic action for middle school students focusing on community engagement following the Telluride Association Summer Program modelo Led a mathematics seminar for middle school students in preparation for the SHSATo Wrote lesson plans for grades K-5 that were used by volunteer tutors in the summer literacy programo Administered and analyzed the Dibles literacy assessment for summer and fall participants in grades K-5o Developed and led a Spanish-language workshop on the middle school admissions process for immigrant parents

o Helped a small group of fifth grade students complete homework assignments and school projectso Created mini-lessons in history and math to keep students active and foster their intellectual curiosityo Provided parents with personalized homework and answer keys to maintain students at or above grade levelo Answered parent questions about the school system and student performance

o Updated student files with evaluations and any documentation on academic standing o Pulled student files for review and added missing evaluations and documents for future off-site archival o Pulled and organized years of graduated student records for off-site archival o Created new files for incoming class with admissions and academic information o Assisted with office work pertaining to the State Pre-College Enrichment Program (S-PREP) in the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs at Columbia Universityo Assisted with ad-hoc filing and document requests from the Office of the Deano Filled in in secretarial role for the Office of the Dean and the Office of Diversity as needed