Nonprofits

Off the Clock: Maria Uriyo started a nonprofit robotics group and competes in tournaments with her family

Shayla Brown — Tue, 23 May 2023 17:35:52 +0000

Off the Clock: Maria Uriyo started a nonprofit robotics group and competes in tournaments with her family Shayla Brown Tue, 05/23/2023 - 13:35

In This Story

Maria Uriyo

Life is much more than time spent on the clock. In this series, we highlight the unique hobbies and volunteer activities of Mason's talented faculty and staff.

As assistant professor and online Master of Health Administration coordinator in ��ӽ紫ý’s College of Public Health (CPH), Maria Uriyo teaches courses on Contemporary Issues in Health Systems Management and co-manages the Master of Health Administration Program's capstone research class.

When she’s off the clock, she coaches and mentors children in competitive robotics through her non-profit group, Abacus Robotics, which she formed with her husband. The non-profit provides STEM programs to children within the community and its competitive team, IronMechs, competes in various tournaments throughout the year.

How did you first get started with coaching robotics?  How long have you been doing it?  

In 2012, I was drawn into robotics by my eldest daughter who was interested in being part of her school’s robotics club. By 2015, my husband and I decided to create a private team. This initial team consisted of a child from another family and all three of our children. Our goal was to provide an environment that would nurture and allow full exposure to the various phases of building a robot and being on a competitive robotics team. This team evolved over the years to what it is now.

What is the time commitment? Does it vary at different times of year?

Our teams meet on Saturday mornings for four hours, and we focus on building, coding and driving sessions. The VEX Robotics season starts in August and ends in April with tournaments at local, regional, state, national and world levels. Teams aim to qualify to compete at the state-level championships, which will then open the way for them to compete at the world level. We typically register teams to compete at four local tournaments in order for them to qualify to compete at the state level, which last two days, and at the world level, which lasts three.

The IronMechs Middle School team won the Career Readiness Online Challenge Award received at the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas, on April 29.

Maria Uriyo (second from right), her husband Newland Agbenowosi (center) and assistant coach, Julie Fant (second from left) with students from their robotics team.

What has been the most meaningful or memorable experience you’ve had in this hobby?  

In 2015, our team qualified to compete at the national competition in Council Bluffs, Iowa. One memory still stands out: witnessing our team helping another team from Garland, Texas, diagnose why their robot was not functioning. The children on the team from Texas couldn’t speak English. Despite the language barrier, both teams were able to communicate through their shared objective of fixing the robot, with engineering and robotics transcending cultural boundaries and allowing for cross-cultural collaboration. As a coach, it was a truly heartwarming experience to witness.

What lessons have you learned through this experience?  

I’ve learned many lessons from coaching robotics, such as success in a team comes from members who are willing to learn, adapt, and collaborate with others while being open to new ideas. Also, robotics provides an excellent platform for bringing the design process to life. It involves working within required specifications and regulations for building robots that have various capabilities. Lastly, as a coach/mentor, it is crucial to have teaching values/principles that you adhere to. Contrarian views that shift such values will negatively affect the team’s performance.

What else do you enjoy doing in your spare time?  

When possible, I enjoy road trips with my family. I enjoy nature and love taking photos of flowers—especially roses.

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Off the Clock

College of Public Health

Faculty and Staff News

Nonprofits

robotics

Schar School’s Nonprofit Center Brings Major Research Project to Mason

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 20:25:47 +0000

Schar School’s Nonprofit Center Brings Major Research Project to Mason Andrew J Schappert Thu, 12/01/2022 - 15:25

In This Story

Alan J. Abramson

Mirae Kim

Stefan Toepler

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Alan Abramson: ‘Tapping into these additional data sources will allow for a more robust understanding of the nonprofit sector’s economic role, the demographics of the nonprofit workforce, and federal funding of nonprofit organizations.’

A 2017 study revealed that one in every 10 workers in the U.S. works for a nonprofit organization, indicating that the nonprofit industry is larger than all branches of manufacturing combined. Only retail and the hospitality and food service industries are larger.

That breakthrough study—as well as other important reports on the nonprofit sector—was the result of work performed by the Johns Hopkins Nonprofit-Economic Data Project (JHU-NED). With recent death of project leader Lester Salamon, the project will continue under the leadership of the Schar School of Policy and Government’s Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise at ��ӽ紫ý.

The project, now called the ��ӽ紫ý-Nonprofit Employment Data Project (GMU-NED; see it here), continues to be supported by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The project will be led by Alan Abramson, director of the Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise, in collaboration with center faculty members Stefan Toepler and Mirae Kim.

“We are honored to continue this important work pioneered by Dr. Salamon and his colleagues, S. Wojciech Sokolowski, Stephanie Lessans Geller, and Chelsea Newhouse,” Abramson said. “They tapped a crucial new source of data on nonprofit employment and wages embedded in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages [QCEW].

“The data from the QCEW are unique in that they are systematically collected for all sectors of the economy, making data on nonprofits directly comparable to data on for-profits and government employers. This had never been done and the nonprofit sector continues to benefit from this vital information.”

The JHU-NED team’s work tracked how nonprofits compare to their for-profit counterparts in key fields, including health care, education, social services, and the arts.

“This changed the understanding of the importance of these critical institutions,” said Abramson. “More recently, their work during the COVID-19 pandemic to highlight the impact of the crisis on these institutions provided a unique resource, which in turn, helped lead to a number of important policy changes that supported nonprofit recovery.”

Abramson added that the GMU-NED project “will not only continue the work of the JHU project, but will build on it, bringing the unique expertise of the Schar School’s center’s faculty and staff to bear to broaden and enhance the available data on nonprofit employment, wages, and economic impact in the U.S.”

“Nonprofit employment data is essential for informed and effective nonprofit and philanthropy advocacy efforts,” the Mott Foundation associate program officer Carlos Rios-Santiago said in a statement. “We are confident that Alan Abramson and his team at ��ӽ紫ý are ready take on the challenge of producing, analyzing, and visualizing this data and are proud to support their efforts.”

The GMU-NED project will continue to issue cutting-edge reports on nonprofit establishments, employment, and wages based on available QCEW data. Mason has engaged former JHU-NED project manager Chelsea Newhouse, now a senior program manager at East-West Management Institute, to lead the production of these reports.

The Nonprofit Works interactive database application will remain live while the GMU-NED team explores options for further development of the site in anticipation for the planned 2024 release of Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) employment and wage data covering 2018-22.

“We will also continue to work with our colleagues at Independent Sector, the Aspen Institute, the National Council of Nonprofits, and other organizations to seek more frequent release of nonprofit employment data by BLS,” said Abramson. “The ultimate goal is to have BLS report on nonprofit employment more frequently than every five years, which is the current reporting cycle.”

Abramson said new initiatives include broadening the nonprofit data landscape by maximizing his team’s expertise in a broad range of federal data systems to enhance and expand the pool of available data on nonprofit employment, wages, and impact.

“Tapping into these additional data sources will allow for a more robust understanding of the nonprofit sector’s economic role, the demographics of the nonprofit workforce, and federal funding of nonprofit organizations,” he said.

The GMU-NED project will also explore with other stakeholders creating and hosting a network for federal officials who work with databases containing useful nonprofit data.

“We believe convening these officials on a regular basis would be of significant benefit for the nonprofit sector by highlighting the importance of nonprofit data for federal data experts, creating opportunities for collaboration, and expanding the pool of experts who can support nonprofit data generation, publication, and analysis within Federal data systems,” Abramson said.

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Nonprofits

Research

Center on NonprofitsPhilanthropy

Center on Nonprofits Philanthropy and Social Enterprise

Schar School News December 2022

workforce

Laying the Foundation for our Future in the Next System Fellows Program

Wasiq Muhammad Muhammad Ali — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 17:30:18 +0000

Laying the Foundation for our Future in the Next System Fellows Program Wasiq Muhammad… Fri, 11/04/2022 - 13:30

Amid the complex challenges facing our world, now is a crucial time for young people to apply their talents toward building the future. As a leader in research innovation and civic engagement, ��ӽ紫ý prepares students to explore actionable solutions to political, economic, environmental, and more global challenges. The Next System Fellows Program is an inquiry-based, experiential learning opportunity for students eager to build a more just and sustainable global order for the future.

The Next Systems Fellows Program introduces Mason students to the emerging field of Next System Studies, connecting them with community changemakers working right now on alternative systems. Next System Studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that brings together scholars and practitioners committed to reconstructing our economy, legal system, politics, and culture at local and global scales. In seeking a more just social order, the field prioritizes empowerment of marginalized communities and democratization of decision-making processes.

Dr. Ben Manski, faculty lead for the Next System Fellows Program and Assistant Professor of Sociology, emphasizes the importance of bringing Next System Studies to Mason students: “We connect students with transformative community initiatives to both aid the initiatives directly through engaged research and the labor power of students as workers, but also to better equip students to move on to become leaders in building Next System initiatives.”

Through the program, students will spend the Spring semester asking questions, learning theories, applying methods, and closely examining real-life cases, while contributing to local efforts. The program prepares participants for future careers leading change in their respective fields. In fact, Next System fellows are among some of the first around the world to be actively exploring the area, a testimony to Mason’s ranking among the top 10 universities nationally for innovation. Living in a center of the global political economy like the D.C. metropolitan area, Manski explains, fellows are well positioned to apply knowledge and skills for building our futures.

The program follows the cohort model of all Arlington Fellows Programs: a cohort of 15 to 25 students will enroll in four courses totaling 15 credits. These courses orient students to Next System Studies, probing system designs, system change, and systemic movements, all in a small seminar environment where peer fellows build close relationships.

Fellows will pursue an internship with a partner engaged in Next System work, bolstering their professional development with hands-on collaborative learning. Partners are drawn from a variety of different nonprofits, NGOs, and advocacy groups, including national organizations CODEPINK, Public Citizen, local organizations like the Virginia Solidarity Economy Network, and Next System’s very own Democratizing NOVA.

Spring 2022 Next System alum and Honors College student, James Condo, found this dimension of the program especially rewarding. “During my college career,” he recounts, “I had this deep-seated conviction that the system that we live in is not sustainable, and I wanted to do something about it, but a lot of the humanity’s problems felt completely insurmountable.”

Learning about the Next System Fellows Program, then, was an answer to his urge to take action. “I saw Next System Studies as a much more hopeful field. I wanted to see if there was an alternative to our system, what that would practically look like, and what the practical implementation of a next system would actually be.”

As a fellow, Condo interned with Democratizing NOVA (DNOVA), an original community-engaged research project of Next System Studies at Mason that connects multiple pro-democracy initiatives in the region. In addition to a group project creating a database of Northern Virginian democratization–with over 150 initiatives identified so far–Condo developed an individual research project on cooperatives in Northern Virginia. Through the internship and the research project, Condo was exposed to many organizations effecting change locally, an experience that has since shaped his academic and career interests. Condo has continued beyond the program serving as the Next Systems Communications Specialist, which involves managing their social media and a newsletter that reaches Next System scholars and practitioners around the world.

“For those who are from here, or who intend to stay here, they can think about the Next Systems Fellows Program as a route to creating a new identity and purpose for this region–being involved in setting the future for Northern Virginia, instead of having it set for you. They can become part of building their own future and the world they are going to inhabit,” Manski says.

From community collaborations to organizing workshops, plenty exciting opportunities are in store for the Spring 2023 cohort. Those interested in the field should also look out for a Next System minor, available in the near future. Apply to be a fellow today!

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Next System Fellows Program

Center for Social Science Research

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

Arlington Fellows

2022 Annual Hackathon

Wasiq Muhammad Muhammad Ali — Fri, 07 Oct 2022 19:29:39 +0000

2022 Annual Hackathon Wasiq Muhammad… Fri, 10/07/2022 - 15:29

On October 1, Honors College Connects (HCC) held its second annual Hackathon. The Hackathon is an opportunity for students to come up with creative solutions to issues that various local nonprofit organizations face. This year’s participating nonprofits included:

Annandale Christian Community for Action, a church-affiliated voluntary organization assisting low-income families in the Annandale/Bailey’s Crossroads area;
Shelter House, a domestic violence shelter;
League of Women Voters Fairfax, a nonpartisan voter participation organization;
NV Rides, a network of volunteers providing personal transportation to seniors;

Sustainable Mason President’s Park Greenhouse, an organization that provides fresh produce to the ��ӽ紫ý community;
Latino Economic Development Center, an organization that provides financial education to Latino & other underserved communities.

The students also enjoyed a catered lunch together and took group photos.

First-time Honors student participant Farhan Babar worked with Sustainable Mason, creating marketing material to promote their free produce options. He recounts one challenge his team encountered: “We tried doing so many things all at once that we ended up becoming separated. We weren’t even able to finish most of the things we were trying to do individually.” Despite the challenges of working in a large, ambitious team, Babar says that he enjoyed getting to know other Honors College students that day.

Sebastian Rodionov, another newcomer to the Hackathon, worked with NV Rides to create an advertisement campaign persuading recent retirees to become volunteer drivers for local seniors. He shares that for his team, “generally speaking, we did not run into any challenges at the Hackathon. I provided ideas and bounced them to other members for feedback. Our team also had a professional graphic designer who created a gorgeous Facebook post/sample flyer from scratch.” For Rodionov, “the best part of the Hackathon was seeing the end products of all the other groups and reflecting on all we accomplished that day.”

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Hackathon

Honors College Connects

Honors College

Nonprofits

Schar School’s Alan Abramson Honored for ‘Distinguished Achievement’ in Nonprofit Research

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 13 Sep 2022 19:39:14 +0000

Schar School’s Alan Abramson Honored for ‘Distinguished Achievement’ in Nonprofit Research Andrew J Schappert Tue, 09/13/2022 - 15:39

In This Story

Mirae Kim

Stefan Toepler

Alan Abramson is the 2022 Distinguished Achievement and Leadership in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Award recipient from ARNOVA. Photo by Creative Services.

Schar School of Policy and Government Professor Alan Abramson has been presented with the 2022 Distinguished Achievement and Leadership in Nonprofit and Voluntary Action Award by ARNOVA, the national body representing university-based and other nonprofit researchers in the U.S. It is one of the highest awards in the field of nonprofit research.

Abramson is the founding director of the Schar School’s Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise, which ARNOVA recognizes as “the premier nonprofit academic program in Virginia.”

“His excellent scholarship, mentoring of students, strategic management, and community outreach are well-documented, but it is his tireless leadership at the national level that sets him apart and characterizes his many contributions to the field,” ARNOVA said in a statement. “There are few people who know as much about the major policy issues facing the nonprofit sector as Dr. Abramson and even fewer who are able to communicate findings across sectors. His research has deepened our understanding of the relationship between nonprofits and government.”

As an example, Abramson was an early pioneer, with Johns Hopkins University Professor Lester Salamon, in researching the implications for nonprofits of federal budget decisions. “That work, updated by Dr. Abramson over the years, is a key resource for policymakers and nonprofit leaders,” the association said. More recently, he has studied how the nonprofit sector advocates for itself and worked with the organization Independent Sector to develop better and more timely measures of the health of the U.S. nonprofit sector.

Abramson directed the Aspen Institute’s nonprofit and philanthropy program for more than a decade, overseeing the Nonprofit Sector Research Fund and other initiatives that helped build the nonprofit research field in the U.S., strengthen nonprofit and foundation leaders, and deepen the understanding of policymakers about nonprofit activities.

“While I am honored to receive this recognition, I think it is also important to highlight the numerous accomplishments of the other faculty at the Center on Nonprofits, Philanthropy, and Social Enterprise,” Abramson said, recognizing Professor Stefan Toepler and Associate Professor Mirae Kim. “I believe a real strength of our program is having terrific, nonprofit-focused faculty at the Schar School.”

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Center on Nonprofits Philanthropy and Social Enterprise

Schar School News September 2022

Awards

Nonprofits

Damali Lambert: Meet the Teacher (Who Is a Student) Who Started a Nonprofit

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 19:54:45 +0000

Damali Lambert: Meet the Teacher (Who Is a Student) Who Started a Nonprofit Andrew J Schappert Thu, 08/11/2022 - 15:54

Damali Lambert: ‘I want the organization to grow with me, hand in hand.’

Students come to the Schar School with ideas. Some want to research subjects that deeply interest them; others want to gain the knowledge they feel they need to create a business or lead a public institution. In Damali Lambert’s case, she couldn’t wait to graduate with her Master’s in Public Policy degree to make her mark.

“It’s very unusual for a student who is still taking a master’s program to start their own nonprofit,” said Steven Ruth, a professor of public policy at the Schar School. “It’s a wonderful program, with wonderful purpose, but I don’t know any students who have done this in all my years of teaching.”

Ruth has been teaching at ��ӽ紫ý since 1978.

Lambert took the initiative in 2020 to start Steps to Another Reality, or STAR for short. The public charity provides school children in Baltimore and surrounding Prince George’s County, Maryland, with academic support and resources, such as school supplies.

“When I started the nonprofit, I said as I grow in my master’s program—and hopefully my PhD program—that the organization can grow with me,” she said when asked why she started STAR when she did. “I want the organization to grow with me, hand in hand.”

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Lambert grew up in Georgetown, Guyana, where she began working with children in orphanages. After earning her bachelor’s degree at Binghamton University in New York, she graduated early and moved to Maryland “to get out of the cold and snow,” she said only half-joking.

She landed a teaching position at Green Street Academy in Baltimore where she is now an English Language Arts interventionist, someone who steps in to help students who are struggling,

The turmoil of the George Floyd murder and the subsequent rise of the Black Lives Matter movement inspired her to “be the change” in the form of creating opportunities for children in need of assistance, academic or otherwise. “It was like I couldn’t focus on anything else,” she said, “except trying to make things better for the community.”

That assistance works two ways: Teachers also benefit when students have fewer obstacles.

“I was doing more work than I needed to do because my students didn't have as much as they needed to be successful,” she said. “So how can I help teachers like me? I needed to find a way to support their students.”

The COVID-19 lockdown “was a blessing, really; instead of having to be in the classroom from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., I had way more time.”

And with that time, STAR was born.

Her studies at the Schar School, particularly in the Nonprofit Management program, have revealed to her issues that “I might not have gotten to know as much information about otherwise; it definitely gave me some clarity on how to be more culturally responsive as an organization leader.”

She appreciates the support she receives from her professors, particularly since her entire degree program has been conducted virtually, beginning during the pandemic and continuing until today.

“I was initially scared of the virtual setting,” the veteran school teacher said. “But having the professors that I do, and having them available to me has been really helpful.”

Topics

Master’s in Public Policy

Nonprofits

Schar School News August 2022

Graduation Spotlight: Twin Sisters Uplift Communities with Public Health Awareness Through Nonprofit Organizations

John Brandon Cantrell — Thu, 26 May 2022 13:46:46 +0000

Graduation Spotlight: Twin Sisters Uplift Communities with Public Health Awareness Through Nonprofit Organizations John Brandon C… Thu, 05/26/2022 - 09:46

Ashley and Briana Dawson share highlights from their undergraduate experience before becoming Master of Public Health students at Mason.

Ashley Dawson (left) and Briana Dawson (right) earned their Bachelor's degrees in Community Health and minors in Dance Appreciation.

Sisters Ashley and Briana Dawson have been helping others improve their health since they were in high school. With their dance studio business, the twins assist the youth in their community to exercise, socialize, and adopt healthy lifestyles with chances to compete and participate in events across the DMV area. Their love for helping others did not diminish during their undergraduate career at Mason. As May 2022 graduates, they share highlights from their experience in the Bachelor of Community Health program, including opportunities that allowed them to help community members around the globe overcome health obstacles through nonprofit organizations.

While excelling in their program and as student-athletes with Mason Cheer and members of the Honors College, the sisters pursued opportunities to gain hands-on experience working with communities across the nation through ElevateHER, a Maryland nonprofit organization with a focus on improving community health.

Gaining Real-World Experience in Public Health

Working with ElevateHER, Ashley and Briana use the skills they learned throughout undergrad in real-world situations. As a community health worker, Ashley worked with underserved communities on health campaigns, such as It's Worth a Shot, a campaign designated to educate others on the COVID-19 vaccine. In this role, she went door-to-door to answer questions, share insight, and provide guidance on immunization.

"I explained how the vaccine was developed, its purpose, and preventative measures they can take to avoid COVID. I learned that communication is so important," Ashley said. "Many of the residents had never been vaccinated, so building a rapport with them and educating them in a way that wasn't hassling was great."

Throughout her time at ElevateHER, Ashley also gained experience as a health behavior analyst and later as a funding and development specialist. Her current role allows her to research, write, and apply for grant funding, such as the $32,000 she helped the nonprofit gain for a diabetes prevention program.

Briana manages its social media channels as the community health campaign and events manager. She creates health campaigns consisting of tailored educational messaging, press releases, and webinars to help others gain insight into health disparities and tools for overcoming health concerns.

In partnership with the Morehouse College of Medicine and the National COVID Resiliency Network, Briana created and organized the webinar series, "COVID-19: What Do We Really Know," to educate others on the latest information regarding COVID-19.

"At first, we were focusing on COVID and how there was vaccine hesitancy," said Briana. "Now we are shifting gears into more mental health topics. Recently, we had a live stream webinar about Black youth mental health, how parents can talk to their kids and give them strategies and resources."

With a mission to help educate others on public health through new avenues like social media, the sisters became involved with American Women for International Understanding (AWIU) to provide educational material on Rwanda Children. This organization provides shelter, education, medical care, and support to at-risk children in Rwanda. The sisters created a YouTube video for the AWIU that explains the mission of Rwanda Children to raise awareness and gain funding for the organization.

Engaging in Health Communication Research

Ashley and Briana Dawson holding their Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society certificates.

The twins' nonprofit work gained attention from Jennifer Warren, assistant professor in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, who taught Ashley and Briana in a health communication course. Warren invited the sisters to work on two research projects. The first examined the effect of Alzheimer's disease on African American communities.

"We were looking for the impact of adversity and how that makes African Americans more susceptible to cognitive dysfunction as they age. Alzheimer's and dementia are more common in African American populations, so we want to discover what is causing this health disparity," said Ashley. "We had already learned that Black communities are less likely to donate their bodies to science. Therefore, there is already less information on their brains. So, we wanted to learn whether it was a predisposing condition, genetic, brought on by stress or racism, and so on."

Continuing their dedication to public health, Ashley and Briana pursued another research opportunity with Warren called the Black Women's Resiliency Project. In this project, Ashley and Briana look at how Black women are labeled resilient when facing adversity.

"A lot of people refer to resilience as bouncing back, but we want to dive even further and not just think of this stereotypical phrase of 'the strong Black woman,'" Briana said. "We want to learn how they cope, how they heal and continue on, what strategies they are using, and determine if resilience is more so a process."

From these projects, Ashley and Briana learned how health communication theories relate to their community health coursework and can strengthen their goals of being public health consultants while opening the doors for new opportunities.

Making an Impact at Mason

From the beginning of their undergraduate careers, the twins pursued new avenues to strengthen themselves as public health professionals, which resulted in the sisters being honored with many awards for their achievements, including the induction into the Delta Omega Public Health Honorary Society.

Now that they achieved their undergraduate degrees, the sisters look forward to obtaining Master of Public Health degrees at Mason to prepare themselves to help communities around the globe as public health consultants.