Washington, D.C., August 25, 2025 – Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights today announced its 2025-2026 cohort for the John Lewis Young Leaders (JLYL) program, a year-long undergraduate fellowship that prepares college students for a future in community organizing and civic engagement. Selected from over 550 applicants, the 2025-2026 class of Fellows includes 16 students from public and private universities across the country, including HBCUs and Ivy League institutions.

The RFK Human Rights Young Leaders program was initially established in 2017 and later redesigned in 2022 to honor the late civil rights leader John Lewis. Throughout the course of the year, Fellows engage their campus and local communities in human rights work through a capstone project. Fellows receive resources and support to ensure their success in the program, including access to comprehensive grassroots organizing workshops, 1:1 mentorship from RFK Human Rights staff, financial support, and access to an extensive network of human rights professionals, peers, and program alumni. 

Recent capstone projects include a documentary on maternal morbidity; using geospatial technology to track infrastructural damage in Lebanon and Palestine; and an anti-ableism guide that provides practical advice for students, teachers, and administrators on how to approach disability on college campuses.

“Every year, I’m honored to work alongside an exceptional group of young people who are passionate about the pursuit of justice and committed to creating change,” said Allison Gilmore, Program Manager of John Lewis Young Leaders. “I’m thrilled to welcome this year’s Fellows, and I look forward to supporting them as they address human rights issues and topics in their communities.”

The 2025-2026 cohort includes several new program partners. Earlier this year, RFK Human Rights introduced the John Lewis Young Leaders and Big Brother Big Sisters (BBBSA) Education and Mentorship Application. This new Fellow position will provide one undergraduate student with the unique opportunity to partner with their local BBBSA office to offer educational and mentoring services. The inaugural JLYL and BBBSA Fellow, Kahleel Odom, is a junior at Morehouse College who will be working with the BBBSA Metro Atlanta Agency on a capstone project centered around mental health advocacy.

This year’s cohort also includes the program’s first-ever university partnership with Winston-Salem State University, an HBCU in North Carolina. Through the partnership, WSSU partially funded a Fellow in the amount of  $5,000. The WSSU Fellow, Quincey Constant, will be implementing a program aimed at resources for Black men at his university.

The full 2025-2026 cohort includes:

• Tyren Boyd, Jr. (University of Mississippi)
• Quincey Constant (Winston-Salem State University)
• Mackenzie Cullinan (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
• Magno Garcia Gonzalez (Boston College)
• Payton Garcia (Howard University)
• Noor Huda (Washington University in St. Louis)
• Sumaiya Imad (Michigan State University)
• Zain Memon (Harvard University)
• Florianny Norman Reyes (Connecticut College)
• Kahleel Odom (Morehouse College)
• Chania Rene-Corail (University of California, Los Angeles) 
• Mia Roque (Barnard College)
• T. Olu Rouse (North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University)
• Landen Scott (University of Southern California)
• Saafa Tahboub (University of Rochester)
• Djomompinin Juliana Tuo (Cornell College)

About Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

We are a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that has worked to realize Robert F. Kennedy’s dream of a more just and peaceful world since 1968. In partnership with local activists, we advocate for key human rights issues—championing change makers and pursuing strategic litigation at home and around the world. And to ensure change that lasts, we foster a social-good approach to business and investment and educate millions of students about human rights and social justice.