Campus Progress Staff

Eddie Garcia

Immigration Reform Advocacy Associate

As an advocacy associate, Eddie leads Campus Progress’s organizing and policy advocacy on immigration issues. He works with a coalition of organizations to urge Congress to pass the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform, while pressing the administration to protect youth from harmful deportation practices. He also supports local youth-led immigration advocacy efforts.

Prior to joining Campus Progress, Eddie organized with Orange County Communities Organized for Responsible Development (OCCORD), working to engage immigrant and first-generation families on local economic development issues, such as affordable housing and living wage jobs. He earned his degrees in American studies and psychology from California State University, Fullerton. As an undergraduate, he was a fellow with the Public Policy and International Affairs Junior Summer Institute at UC Berkeley, a New Leader with the Center for Progressive Leadership, and served as an intern for the United States Student Association.

Tara Kutz

Video Communications Associate

As the Video Communications Associate, Tara films, produces and edits original video and multimedia content for CampusProgress.org and covers events hosted by Campus Progress or related to its core issue areas and youth advocacy. She also assists with social media strategy and outreach.

Tara holds a BA in Journalism from Purchase College, State University of New York, concentrating in Media, Society and the Arts. Before joining Campus Progress as an intern and consultant, Tara served as the Media/Communications Fellow for the National Service-Learning Partnership, a founding board member of the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, and a board member of the Michigan Community Foundation's Youth Project. Her video work for Campus Progress has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Showbiz Tonight, MSNBC, The O’Reilly Factor, CBC, Your World with Neil Cavuto, The Huffington Post, Think Progress, and more.

Sam Menefee-Libey

LGBTQ Advocacy Associate

Expertise: Anti-oppression work, grassroots organizing, higher education, media and cultural criticism

As an Advocacy Associate, Sam trains and provides support to young organizers engaged in political campaigns, fights for public policies that benefit LGBT young people, and develops programs and campaigns to advance LGBT youth power.

Prior to joining Campus Progress, Sam spent time fighting poverty as an AmeriCorps member with City Year New York and fundraising in Los Angeles with the Fund for Public Interest Research. He built power for LGBTQ people as an intern with the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute and an organizing fellow at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washington D.C. He helped to build power for young people as a New Leader with the Center for Progressive Leadership and as a grassroots organizing trainer with the United States Students Association. He contributed research as a student and social researcher in Nicaragua with the School for International Training, and in Salem, Oregon with Willamette University, where he graduated with a degree in Critical Theory and Social Justice. Sam has experience working on a broad spectrum of economic and social justice issues, including anti-oppression, education and environmental justice. He also enjoys music, film, and literature.

Josh Murphy

Special Assistant

As the Special Assistant, Josh supports the Campus Progress Director and staff, manages the intern program, and helps run operations. He also assists with higher education advocacy work.

Prior to joining Campus Progress, Josh worked as a project assistant for the Bipartisan Policy Center where he provided project support to the Democracy Project, the National Security Preparedness Group, Development, and Communications during his time there. He also provided executive level support to former Congressman, MPAA President, and Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman. He has also served in City Year as a corps member in Washington, DC, a national non-profit AmeriCorps program dedicated to reducing the drop-out rate in disadvantaged schools across the nation. Josh has also served as a staff assistant in the Office of Youth Engagement for the DC Public Schools Central Office. In this role, Josh worked on a new student leadership development program among other vital tasks. A graduate of the University of Tampa, he holds a B.A. in Government and World Affairs. While an undergraduate student, Josh was actively involved in student government, campus programming, volunteering, and a fraternity (Sigma Phi Epsilon). Josh has published two books, “Writings from a Teenage Mind” and “Generation We Solve: Cause the Effect.”

Khushboo Rami

Events Manager

As the Events Manager, Khushboo coordinates and organizes Campus Progress's Washington DC, campus, and local events, including speeches, policy discussions, film screenings, trainings for Campus Progress’s activism and journalism partners, and the annual Campus Progress National Conference.

Prior to joining Campus Progress, Khushboo worked as a consultant for South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) to organize a national day of service entitled “Be the Change.” A graduate of the University of Michigan, she holds a B.A. in Political Science and Communications Studies. While an undergraduate student, Khushboo planned the annual national South Asian Awareness Network (SAAN) Conference in 2008 and 2009. She also acted in and produced the annual Yoni Ki Baat multicultural monologue show in 2008, 2009, and was director in 2010.

Naima Ramos-Chapman

Associate Editor

As the Associate Editor, Naima writes, edits and helps develop and review content for the Campus Progress website. Prior to joining Campus Progress, Naima interned at the Investigative Reporting Workshop, where she researched and reported on foreclosure and challenges facing the working poor. She also interned at Colorlines where she wrote on race, gender, immigration and pop culture. A graduate of Brooklyn College, City University of New York, Naima holds a B.A. in Print Journalism. While an undergraduate student, Naima contributed to both school newspapers as well as the CUNY blog NYCityWatch.org. She currently blogs on representations of race in the media on the Huffington Post BlackVoices blog, Postbourgie.

Brian Stewart

Journalism Network Associate

As Journalism Network Associate / Associate Editor, Brian runs the daily online newsmagazine at CampusProgress.org. He also oversees a network of 50 alternative college media organizations, providing grant funding and training, planning and hosting conferences, and traveling around the country to train young journalists.

Prior to joining Campus Progress, Brian was the editor-in-chief of The Daily Iowan, overseeing a daily print newspaper, a nightly TV newscast, and a website, which collectively reach more than 50,000 people daily. Brian is a graduate of the University of Iowa where he studied journalism, English, and American studies. While a student, Brian helped launch an on-campus contribution-based magazine, Off Deadline, and interned at the Student Press Law Center, an advocate for high school and college students’ press rights, where he reported on high school censorship, social networking, and student government secrecy.

Brian’s work has appeared in Politico, The Des Moines Register, CBSNews.com, and UWIRE.com; he has been interviewed by ESPN’s “College GameDay” and several radio programs including Ed Fallon’s The Fallon Forum.

Tobin Van Ostern

Communications Manager

Expertise: Health care, new media, elections, advocacy

As the Communications Manager for Campus Progress, Tobin oversees and develops the public relations, rapid response, and communications activities of the organization.

Prior to his work at the Center for American Progress, Tobin was the national director of the official student wing of the Obama for America campaign—Students for Barack Obama—as well as a national co-chair of the campaign. In this capacity, he led Students for Barack Obama from its initial launch with 20 chapters in 2006 to over 1,000 chapters nationwide by Election Day in 2008. Tobin enjoys combining his interests in politics and technology in order to better engage young adults in the political process.

Tobin is a graduate of The George Washington University, where he received a B.A. in international affairs and specialized in conflict and security studies. He has been interviewed or written about by the Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox News, Politico, RealClearPolitics, techPresident, The Hill, The Nation, The Washington Post, and others.

Emily Wathen

Online Communications Associate

As the Online Communications Associate, Emily works to develop online campaigns, maintain the Campus Progress website, and communicate CP’s mission with graphic design, messaging, and social media.

Prior to joining Campus Progress, Emily worked as a Communications & Marketing Associate at EarthShare; where she developed regular web content and helped manage EarthShare’s communications strategies and cause marketing outreach. A graduate of Syracuse University and the Maryland Institute College of Art, Emily holds a BFA in Film and an MFA in Photographic and Electronic Media. Emily has interned with the National Museum of American History, Laboratorio Immagine Donna, and Syracuse International Film and Video Festival. She has also helped lead undergraduate courses in digital media, photography, and media culture.

Abraham White

Communications Associate

As Communications Associate, Abraham serves as a point of contact for members of the press and writes rapid response content, blog posts, and press releases.

After graduating with a degree in economics from the University of California, San Diego, Abraham joined the 2010 re-election campaign for Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in Los Angeles. Following that victory, he made his way to Washington for a brief stint at EMILY’s List, and then traveled to New York with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to help with their get-out-the-vote efforts for now-Congresswoman Kathy Hochul. Most recently, he completed an internship with the press office of Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) tracking news coverage, writing releases, and drafting talking points.

Shereen Zaid

Events Associate

As the Events Associate, Shereen helps coordinate and organize Campus Progress's events including the Progressive Partners Summit, the Student Voice Roundtable, the Journalism Summit, and the annual Campus Progress National Conference.

Prior to joining Campus Progress, Shereen served as the Midwest Finance Assistant with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. She previously worked in India at a conflict resolution non-profit, and after living abroad, joined a US Senatorial campaign in 2008. She moved to Washington, DC in 2009 and worked as an organizer for Health Care Reform at the Service Employees International Union. She has also worked for The Bonner Group and The 9/11 Unity Walk. She was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a B.A. in Religious Studies.