March 2, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                        

Global Fairness Initiative Partners with University of the District of Columbia College of Arts and Sciences, Announces Spring Sapin Fellow

The Sapin Fellowship provides UDC students the opportunity to work on the challenges of social and economic justice for working poor communities around the globe.

Washington –Today, Global Fairness Initiative (GFI) announced a partnership with the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) College of Arts and Sciences to make the GFI Sapin Fellowship exclusively available to students from UDC. Torrey Thomas, a UDC junior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Computer Science with a concentration in Global Studies, has been selected as the first UDC Sapin Fellow. This spring, he will join the GFI team working on the issues and programs at the heart of GFI’s mission to create a more equitable, sustainable world for the working poor.

“GFI works globally, but our roots are here in Washington, DC, so we are thrilled to be partnering with the University of the District of Columbia to offer the Sapin Fellowship to their outstanding student body,” said Karen Tramontano, Founder of Global Fairness Initiative. “UDC invests in human potential and creates equitable access to higher education, work that embodies the values Shirley Sapin embraced in life. I join the whole Sapin family in expressing my excitement about this partnership with UDC, and we are looking forward to welcoming Torrey to the GFI team this semester.”

The Sapin Fellowship offers graduate and undergraduate-level students from the University of the District of Columbia the opportunity to work for a semester with GFI on global development and workforce equity issues. Fellows work as part of GFI’s global team, gaining exposure to international development issues, access to non-profit management, and the opportunity to engage directly with GFI programs in the field.

UDC junior and Pennsylvania native Torrey Thomas shared, “I am incredibly grateful to the Global Fairness Initiative and Assistant Dean Jacob English for providing me with the Fellowship opportunity. Through the Sapin Fellowship, I look forward to gaining experience to further my global studies education and deepen my understanding of global humanitarian efforts.”

“I am honored that GFI has committed the Sapin Fellowship to support CAS students,” shared April Massey, Ph.D., Dean of the UDC College of Arts and Sciences. “The mission and values of the organization and the intent of the fellowship experience align seamlessly with the College’s quest for immersive and transformative activities that will position our graduates competitively. I look forward to the continued partnership.”

GFI created the Sapin Fellowship in 2011 to honor Dr. Shirley Sapin, an activist of the civil rights movement who committed her life and work to create greater equality and opportunity for all. The Fellowship is endowed through the generous support of the family of Dr. Sapin, and it offers two UDC students per year a living stipend and an opportunity to travel internationally in support of GFI’s work.

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About the Global Fairness Initiative

The Global Fairness Initiative (GFI) works to promote a more equitable, sustainable approach to globalization to ensure its benefits reach all people, including the working poor. Since 2002, GFI has partnered with hundreds of marginalized working communities in Latin America, Africa, and Asia to enhance economic opportunities and build sustainable livelihoods. GFI has developed innovative programs to preserve and create jobs, empowered women by removing barriers to economic success, advanced fair wages, and expanded revenues so that communities of promise can become centers of prosperity.

About the University of the District of Columbia (UDC)

The only public university in the nation’s capital and the only exclusively urban land-grant university in the United States, the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a historically Black university committed to a broad mission of education, research and community service. Established by abolitionist Myrtilla Miner in 1851, UDC offers workforce training, professional certification and more than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees designed to create opportunities for student success. The University comprises a College of Arts and Sciences; School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; School of Business and Public Administration; College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences; Community College; the David A. Clarke School of Law; and Division of Workforce Development and Lifelong Learning.

The University of the District of Columbia, College of Arts and Sciences endeavors to be an inclusive space built on the principles of diversity, multiculturalism, and equity while respecting the ideals of cultural pluralism. Its programs are responsive to and reflective of the constituencies of the District of Columbia and provide models for translating the interactions and problem-solving work of its students, faculty, staff and community partners. The College strives to be a place of understanding and continuous dialogue regarding the concepts of inclusivity, affinity and intersectionality.