Meet The Team
David Moore, Managing Director
City of Los Angeles Mayor's Office of Gang Reduction & Youth Development (GRYD). Aris has also worked with USC's Prison Education Project to engage and educate the campus community about the "Prison-to-College Pipeline."
Adrian Garcia
Maritza is a second-year, Educational Counseling graduate student from El Monte, California. Prior to enrolling at USC’s Rossier School of Education, she attended the University of California, Riverside where she received a bachelor’s in sociology with a minor in education.
On campus, Maritza is a research assistant at the Pullias Center for Higher Education and volunteers with the Prison Education Project (PEP). Through PEP Maritza has volunteered at an all-male correctional facility in Norco and is currently volunteering at an all-female facility in Santa Fe Springs. In the Fall of 2020, Maritza will begin a Ph.D. program at USC in Education where she will study college access issues.
Jamala Taylor
Breece is a first-generation college student majoring in astronautical engineering at USC's Viterbi School of Engineering. Growing up, Breece did not take the usual route to higher education. As a young man, a series of poor choices landed him in prison. While incarcerated, he realized the power of education and used it as a catalyst to change his life for the better.
After his release, Breece enrolled in Sacramento City College where he served as Vice President of Mentoring and developed the Scholar-to-Scholar Mentorship Program and the High School Outreach Initiative. Both focused on mentoring formerly incarcerated students and troubled youth. He also worked with Re-Emerging Scholars to provide support, programming, and classes for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated students as they transition into college.
Christine Venegas
Gurasees is a first-year undergraduate majoring in Health and Human Sciences on the Pre-Health track. After attending a national conference in Chicago on de-incarceration initiatives, he was inspired by the work being done by the California public school system to support formerly incarcerated individuals. Gurasees joined the Underground Trojans team to help create a prison-to-school pipeline at USC. Gurasees believes in the power of outreach and education to serve as a rehabilitative pathway for those impacted by the prison system.
On campus, Gurasees is a Dornsife Ambassador, leads workshops for Imagining America, participates in stem cell research, and volunteers with Share a Meal, the Prison Education Project, and Trojan Health Volunteers. Gurasees also enjoys watching the latest Oscar nominees, and eating the finest street food LA has to offer.
Kharee Hoggs-
GRADUATED MEMBERS
Blake Ackerman, Associate Director
Diana Greer, Advocate
Diana is a first-generation, graduate student in the Master of Education in Educational Counseling program at USC. She attended Cal State Fullerton where she received her B.A in English with a minor in Chicano Studies. Diana is a research assistant at The Pullias Center for Higher Education and USC Race and Equity Center and interns at Project Rebound at Cal State LA, assisting formerly incarcerated students with technology and writing. She also serves as President of The Latina/o Graduate Student Association at USC.
Diana's father attends college after serving more than half of his life in prison. She helped him gain his freedom back by advocating for Prop 57 and opposing the "3 strikes" laws. She will continue to fight recidivism through higher education and is passionate about improving equal access to college, building the prison-to-school pipeline, and creating college resources for student parents.
