Student Leaders Join Global Initiative
School of Education and Social Policy undergraduates Aimee Resnick and Lauren Black were among ten Northwestern University students named to the 2023 Clinton Global Initiative University cohort of young leaders working to address global challenges.
At the annual meeting, which kicks off the year-long program, they joined nearly 700 other students from 92 countries and 42 US states. The three-day networking event at Vanderbilt University helped them connect with other student leaders, university representatives, experts in the field, and high profile changemakers–including President Bill Clinton, Secretary Hilary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton– who will help them put their ideas into action.
Resnick and Black proposed ideas to address weight-based discrimination and gender inequality, respectively. Throughout the year, they’ll participate in trainings, and have access to resources, and personalized mentorship to help them design, implement and evaluate their ideas. Here's more about their projects:
Aimee Resnick: Banning Weight-based Discrimination in Colorado
Overview: Resnick, who is studying social policy and art history, wants to attack the problem of weight discrimination in healthcare, the workforce, housing, and public accommodations. Her solution is a 2024 bill banning weight discrimination of all forms in Colorado. Representatives Monica Duran and Dafna Michaelson-Jenet will sponsor the bill. Her project also partners with Mental Health Colorado, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
About Resnick: Originally from Centennial Colorado, Resnick plans to return to her home state and eventually run for the state legislature. She is interested in art repatriation and policymaking; the Clinton Global Initiative experience will give her both advocacy skills should she decide to become a lawyer and experience tackling issues as a legislator, she said.
Resnick said she became interested in ending weight discrimination after she almost died from anorexia caused by weight-based bullying. “To me, ending body stigma is critical,” she said. “This project is the culmination of two years of research, writing, and community-building: CGI U can help me bring this law to fruition under a larger supportive community. I hope to contribute to a brighter, more equitable future for all.”
Lauren Black: Sisters in the Wilderness
Overview: Black hopes to create a nonprofit organization to address gender inequity in Baltimore and the sex trafficking that affects the city. This organization would use a two part-curriculum of healing and job training to facilitate the rehabilitation of sex trafficking victims. Partners include the Baltimore City Human Trafficking Collaborative, the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force, the Baltimore City Public School System, and certification boards with the goal of leading to higher rates of women who successfully leave trafficking and reducing related gender-based inequity.
About Black: A fourth-year pre-law student, Black is studying human development in context and pursuing a certificate of civic engagement. She’s also a fellow at Northwestern's Center for Civic Engagement.