Campaign Coordinators
Siddhanth Ghosh is a human. He is also a junior Computer Engineering major with a minor in managment. As the lead campaign coordinator for Debt Free Future he is interested in making sure there is free public higher-ed for all! In his free time he likes to nap and is also involved in the UMass chapter of Engineers without Borders. In his future he wants to make a living while also making an impact.
Adrienne Ashe
Education & Training Coordinators
Jacey Woods is a senior at UMass from Woburn, MA. She is a double major in BDIC for Humanistic Education Design and Social Thought and Political Economy (STPEC), intending a career in curriculum design in a community setting or labor union organizing. She is an Education & Training Co-Coordinator at CEPA, and is part of the Debt Free Future and Food Justice campaigns. She loves finding ways to integrate important organizing lessons from what is taught (and more importantly, not taught) in classes into trainings for CEPA, especially around critical pedagogy, mutual aid, and environmental justice. Most of her time is spent studying, organizing, or watching documentaries about education & politics, but she also loves being on her phone, cooking and eating vegan food, and going for walks. She is excited to build community and collective power through grassroots strategy with everyone!
Leah Cohen
Policy, Legislative, and Research Coordinator
Aidan Mazagonwalla is a Senior Linguistics major, pursuing an Economics minor. As the Policy, Legislative, and Research Coordinator, he assists others with research or creating fact sheets. He also researches historical UMass organizing as part of the Radical UMass project. He likes to bake, paint, work with animals and spend time with friends.
External Communication & Outreach Coordinator
Maggie Peterson is an English and journalism double major. Maggie got her start in LGBT student organizing and continues to be passionate about educating students of their rights. In her role, she writes about policies affecting students for campus media and collaborates with other student groups to create a more inclusive and accessible campus. Maggie enjoys birdwatching, cooking, and trying to find the best iced coffee in the Amherst area.
Media Coordinator
Jeanne Grutchfield is a junior Social Thought & Poltical Economy (STPEC) and BDIC Film Studies double major at UMass Amherst. At CEPA, she is the Media Coordinator who is also involved in the Restorative Justice and Debt Free Future Campaign. She believes that storytelling is a powerful tool for change and uses this mindset to guide her through the work she does at CEPA and beyond. In her free time, she loves watching shows, theorizing film ideas in her head, and cooking!
Interns
Wafi Habib - Media Intern
Prisha Dayal - Training Design Intern
CEPA Director
Koni Denham has served as the director since 2014. She enjoys working with student organizers on campus as they strive to bring awareness to the issues impacting the campus community. Koni is inspired by students’ commitment to making the University a more socially just place to learn and work. Koni is an RPCV having served in Kazakhstan (1997-2000). She received her MA in Social Justice in Intercultural Relations from the School for International Training located in Brattleboro, VT. Her capstone explored the effects of interethnic mentoring on ethnic minority youth in Istanbul, Turkey. Koni also received a Master of Education with a concentration in higher education from the UMass Amherst in 2007. She has worked in the field of civic engagement, critical service-learning, and student organizing and activism for the last 10 years. She completed her PhD at UMass in 2021. Her dissertation explored the topic of international critical service-learning. Koni loves to travel with her partner and spend time with their three dogs.
