Young Adult Advisory Board

Nadia Abouraya

Nadia Abouraya is a graduate of Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland and the Montgomery College Graduate Transition Program. She works as an office assistant for the Montgomery County government. Nadia loves theatre – both onstage with the inclusive theatre company ArtStream and backstage with several community theatres in the Washington, D.C. area. She also plays tennis in a World Team Tennis league. Nadia’s dad is Egyptian, so she has enjoyed many opportunities to travel to Egypt.

Bryann Burgess

Bryann Burgess is a 2012 graduate of the Carolina LIFE program at the University of South Carolina, where she studied voice, piano, and theatre. She lived on campus, took regular USC classes, and had an internship with Kindermusik International for three years. She is a motivational public speaker and theatre actor, and is also interested in writing poetry and teaching children, as well as advocating for and motivating people to follow their hopes and dreams. 

Chris Carter

Christopher Carter is a 2016 graduate of the George Mason University LIFE (Learning Into Future Environments) Program. He received his Concentration of Study in Sports Management and his Work Specialty Area in Office/Clerical and Customer Service Skills. He previously worked at the National Restaurant Association in Washington, D.C. as an Office Service Assistant. Chris is currently in the development stage of launching a family-owned online T-shirt company “Life…Live to Win.”

Reid Davenport

Reid Davenport is an award-winning documentarian and film editor who makes films about people whose lives speak to broader issues. His films have been shown across the country and around the world, and have gained prominent media attention from NPR, BBC, and the “Washington Post.” Reid was recently named a 2017 TED Fellow. He received a Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Film & Video from Stanford University in 2016.

John Gionfriddo

John Gionfriddo is a senior in George Mason University’s (GMU) LIFE Program (Learning Into Future Environments) and graduated in May 2017 with a Work Speciality in Library Services and Office/Clerical. Besides his course work at GMU, John currently works on Capitol Hill as an intern in the Office of Rep. David Valadao and as an Office Assistant at Source America. Each summer, John looks forward to working for Fairfax County’s Therapeutic Rec Program and in 2014 was awarded the Jeff Watkins “Volunteer of the Summer” award.

Tia Holmes

Tia Holmes is a rising junior at UNC Chapel Hill. She is studying computer science and pursuing a minor in Spanish with a study abroad program in Seville, Spain. Tia was the youngest founding member of the “I am Norm” Campaign and has continued her advocacy work over the past seven years. She has spoken at various conferences by leading workshops and speaking on panels. At UNC, she is a co-chair for the coming school year for a group called “Advocates for Carolina” and an appointee on the Student Technology Advisory Board through student government.