Coordinating Committee

The Coordinating Committee is the elected body of national officers that guide SCCS. The Coordinating Committee was created to support and unite chapters through student-based leadership and grass roots organizing. The CC can provide materials for individual chapters to hand out at meetings, advocacy strategies, media materials, research, and fundraising suggestions.

For detailed descriptions of each position, click here

Amye Greene, National Coordinator

University: Wesleyan University
Degree: BA in American Studies
Email: agreene at globaljusticenow.org

I graduated from Wesleyan University with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in American Studies in May, 2005. As an American History Major, I studied the history of medicine and healthcare in the United States, and developed an understanding of how the empiricism of medicine, and American democracy and rights, were not immune to the vice of inequality. My initial desire to become a physician, transitioned into a desire to work to execute comprehensive improvement in global and domestic health care reform. I would like to be an instrumental force in forming a group of leaders that use a variety of intellectual, organizational and creative talents to transform the politically aware into the politically active in regards to child health. Prior to joining the Student Campaign for Child Survival as the National Coordinator, I worked as an intern at the Center for Racial Equality in Sutton, England, the Center for American Progress, the Congressional Black Caucus Institute, and the Minority Division of the Committee on Homeland Security. I am most passionate about working to transcend child survival from a humanitarian cause, to an aggressive international political/grassroots movement. The enormity of our nation’s economic and professed moral capacity implies that its citizens join the fight to securing quality healthcare for all people, but the “universal right” to healthcare has not translated into “universal access”. Indeed, the legacy of political activism among the youth in this country is as enduring as our system of democracy, and it is crucial that we create a diverse group of young activists if progress is to be made in global health.

Danielle Altares, National Co-Coordinator

University: Cornell
Majors: Biology and Society
Email: dna7 at cornell.edu

I became involved with the Student Campaign for Child Survival in the spring of my sophomore year after attending the Northeast Conference held at Yale. Although I’ve always been a proponent of equality for children everywhere, it took the knowledge and enthusiasm I obtained at the conference to truly galvanize my ideas into action. The Student Campaign for Child Survival has not only provided me with the tools to educate others, I have also learned an invaluable lesson about the impact that a few committed individuals can make in the world.

Partially, my commitment to the Student Campaign for Child Survival stems from my belief that it is far too easy to close our eyes to the injustice that surrounds us. Often, as busy students with responsibilities and hectic schedules, it is difficult to remember what lies outside of the boundaries of our safe and secure college life. In our own country and around the world, many struggle daily for the most basic needs: food, clean water, routine and life-saving medical care, shelter, a decent education. As we rapidly become a global community it will be imperative to demonstrate the type of stewardship that we are obligated-and privileged-to provide to our neighbors.

In an effort to gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by the world’s children I spent the summer of 2005 volunteering in a hospital in Shanghai. This past summer I spent three months living and working in Ocotal, Nicaragua. In addition to teaching English to disadvantaged children with little access to public education, I also worked with neonates and their mothers in a clinic which provides basic care to rural women. In addition, I am actively involved with my local Women, Infants and Children (WIC) which provides information about adequate nutrition and healthcare to families who need assistance.

Fern Baldwin, Advocacy Coordinator

University: Cornell
Majors: Biopsychology
Email: fernbaldwin at gmail.com

On campus I'm the SCCS Vice President and a member of American Red Cross. I have done volunteer work for the Woman, Infants, and Children's program and a local church nursery. I work for a Nutrition lab, a Virology lab, and a Developmental Psychology lab. One of the experiences that drove me toward wanting to impact child health issues was a summer I spent working in a pediatric ward in a hospital in Shanghai, China. I've found the CC position for SCCS as a way to increase my own and others knowledge and awareness regarding significant child survival issues.

Katherine Lynch, High School Coordinator

High School Los Altos High School

I am one of the High School Coordinators for the Student Campaign for Child Survival. Recently I started a chapter of SCCS at my high school in Los Altos, California. Prior to starting the chapter, I attended the SCCS conference at Georgetown and joined the other SCCS participants for the Lobby Day on Capitol Hill. Although I am relatively new at working in an activist organization, what I lack in experience I make up for in passion. This past July I spent four weeks in Nairobi, Kenya working with orphans. To say the least, it was an experience that has provided abundant inspiration to be a part of what SCCS offers to the world and the global community.
This year my focus is expansion. SCCS is already very strong on college campuses, but has only begun to dip into high school activism. My co-coordinator, Rob George and I plan to teach college chapters of SCCS how to reach out to the high schools around them so SCCS can fully utilize high school students as the important resource that they are.

Chantal Grinderslev, Research Coordinator

University: Georgetown
Major: International Economics
Email: cvg2 at georgetown.edu

Chantal has been involved with SCCS since freshman year when she was originally attracted by the participatory mindset of the students. Since, she has continued working with the campaign in various positions including Advocacy, Research, and currently Campaign Coordinator. Outside of SCCS, she likes to fill her time with dance, books, travel, and meeting new people. "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." - Alice Walker.

Chris Rubesch, Newsletter Coordinator

University: The College of St. Scholastica
Major: Political Science and Economics
Email: rubbishc at gmail.com

My name is Chris Rubesch and I am a Junior Political Science and International Studies major at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, MN. I became involved in SCCS after working with my college's chapter on our anti-malaria campaign. After playing an active role in the campaign I became a leader in my club. From there I attended the SCCS national conference and returned fired up about making a difference. In addition to my position on the SCCS Coordinating Committee I am a Coordinator of my college's Center For Just Living, a resource center for social justice oriented clubs on campus. Outside of SCCS, I run Cross Country and track and Cross Country ski for St. Scholastica. I also enjoy endurance sports, and look forward to running ultra marathons in the future. I ran my first ultra marathon this summer, a 65 miler in about 11 hours.

Brenna Severson, Chapter Materials Coordinator

University: University of Wisconsin, Madison
Major: Geography and Communication Arts
Email: bkseverson at gmail.com

I got involved with SCCS last year after my friend Simon Stumpf asked me to start a chapter at my school. Our first semester we got involved with the Invisible Children campaign. I am not a political science or health major, but I love that with SCCS, I can still be involved with children's health needs worldwide. Since children are the future I think education and their health needs are of utmost importance.

Bryan Yunis, Website Coordinator

University: The College of St. Scholastica
Major: History
Email: byunis at css.edu

I became involved in SCCS last year after my good friend, and former Coordinating Committee member, Diane Tran convinced me that I was wasting my time doing any other advocacy because of the importance of child survival. After the rewarding experience of our National Lobby Day, in which SCCS members travel to Washington, D.C. to lobby their legislators, I discovered that SCCS is how I want to spend my spare time. We aim to eliminate the disenfranchisement and marginalization of children worldwide, and as the saying goes, "Children are one-third of our population and one hundred percent of our future."