Luis Quindi was born in Ecuador and migrated to the United States when he was 7 years old. During his middle school and high school years he received awards as one of the best students in Brooklyn. While at high school he interned at the Children’s Law Center, a legal center that represents children going through a legal procedures. He also was part of La Union, a program that was designed to motivate, encourage, and inform immigrant students, particularly the Latino community, so they could attend college. In school he was part of the science team, which competed in the Science Olympiad, as well as in Student Organization which was a club that organized activities, programs, and clubs. He currently works at a construction company, and is enrolled in Lehman College. He plans to double major in history and accounting and be able to go to law school. 

His goal is to help the underrepresented individuals in society who sometimes don’t have a voice, or a fair trial in the legal system.

Jake Brooks is an associate professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches tax law and writes about the legal and policy aspects of taxation, public finance, and social insurance. He also writes about the law and economics of higher education and student loans. Prior to teaching, his legal practice included advising non-profit and tax-exempt institutions, as well as pro bono asylum and immigration matters. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and two children.

David Austerweil co-manages an Emerging Market bond fund for VanEck that invests in both sovereign and corporate debt. He considers himself a global citizen, traveling regularly to Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and beyond. He holds a M.S. and a B.A. from Columbia University in the City of New York. Sunset Park, Brooklyn, has been his home for the past 15 years. He lives there with his wife, Rovika, and their two sons, Noah and Leo.

Joselyn Guaman was born and raised in Ecuador till she was 11 years old and then migrated to the United States so that she could be reunited with her parents and sister that she had not seen for eight years. In the United States she learned how important education was, and thus getting a higher education became her goal. However, there was an obstacle that she knew would prevent her from achieving that goal, she was undocumented. But even then she did not give up on her dream of going to college. Thanks to all her hard work to maintain high grades, the extracurricular activities and programs she was part of, and the help of many people from her high school she was able to received scholarships and grants and attend St. Joseph’s College. She is now in her second year of college planning to major in Mathematics and Computer science. She loves giving back to her community and learning new things, and Atlas DIY became the place where she was able to do so. She wants to be able to inspire others to not give up on their dreams and work hard to achieve them because it is not impossible and she is clear proof of that.

Karina Paredes was born in Ecuador. She migrated to the United States in 2014, which was one of the biggest and toughest changes in her life. She loves interacting and getting to know people so on 20-- when she found Atlas DIY, she knew she had found a place where she belonged. Atlas opened many doors for opportunities and changes, which made it easier for her to assimilate to her new life in the United States, and at the same time enjoy all of it.

Luis was born and raised in the Dominican Republic until the age of twelve. In 2009, he migrated to the U.S. and enrolled at LaGuardia Community College where he completed his associate’s degree in accounting. Now, he is currently a senior at Baruch College. At Baruch, he is majoring in accounting and hopes to complete the requirements to become a CPA. He also has an interest in intellectual property and immigration law. Luis has been a member of Atlas since October 2015. At Atlas, he was selected to participate in the Immigrant Youth Peer Educator Program (IYPEP) where he learned a variety of immigration laws that sparked his interest in the legal waters. He currently is a member of the Youth Board and RISE, and he hopes to become a voice for other members and the unrepresented communities.

Ohn is a Director in fixed income repo trading for the Central Funding Group of the Royal Bank of Canada.  He was born in Seoul, moved to Queens when he was 4, and currently resides in Chelsea.  After earning his undergraduate degree at Georgetown University, he received his MBA at NYU and the CFA charter while working in Asset Management. He has volunteered at organizations serving the Korean American community and held a number of leadership roles at his church, and is also a board member for Korean American Story, which supports and promotes all forms of storytelling in order to capture, create, preserve and share the stories of the Korean American experience. Ohn enjoys photography, cycling, and engaging in the arts scene in NY in his free time.