Young Professionals
For more information on committees and how to get involved, contact us at:
unabrooklynyp@gmail.com
New! Announcing our #LearnFromHome webinar series
For links to all of our events, visit:
https://linktr.ee/unabrooklynyp
Welcome to the UNA-USA
Brooklyn Chapter YP page!
Founded in January 2019, the Brooklyn YP (BYP) proudly
embraces young professionals from all political,
socioeconomic, and professional backgrounds
who have a passion for defending
human rights and serving the
Brooklyn community.
Our mission:
Think Local, Go Global
To EDUCATE members of the Brooklyn community
about the UN Sustainable Development Goals,
INSPIRING local ACTION in
Young Professionals and Youth
to ADVOCATE for human rights.
Meet the Board
Caroline Rakus-Wojciechowski
Chairwoman & President
Caroline is the Founding President of UNA-USA Brooklyn's YP (UNABYP). She joined UNA-USA after attending UN Day at Brooklyn Borough Hall in 2018. Since then, she has attended the Global Engagement Summit in New York and the Global Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., has completed two Emerging Leaders Fellowships, has taken part in the Worldview Institute, has co-hosted a UN75 consultation, and most recently, has undertaken a role as UNA-USA blogger.
Originally from Lindenhurst, NY, Caroline graduated from Harvard College in 2018 with an A.B. in Anthropology and a completed Pre-Medical track, Secondary Field in Human Evolutionary Biology, and a Language Citation in Spanish.
Caroline was a recipient of the Women of Distinction Award in 2014 presented by Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre, and she received the Drs. James and Wanda Trefil Science Scholarship for her studies in Forensic Anthropology. She also serves on the Board of the NYC Chapter of National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs as their Public Relations and Communications Chairwoman, is an En-Roads Climate Ambassador, a Climate Reality Corps Leader, and a former World Bank Group Youth Delegate. She is also a member of the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, International Association for Political Science Students (US & Canada), International Youth Organization for Peace and Sustainability, the Young World Leader Program, the Harvard Clubs of New York City and Long Island, and is a volunteer violinist in the New Conductor's Orchestra.
Ever-willing to collaborate on initiatives preserving human rights, she has been interviewed by Ecuadorian, Polish, and Chinese media agencies, and is assisting in organizing two conferences (in Nigeria and Ecuador). She also aids in medical humanitarian efforts in helping to secure sponsorships for medical professionals traveling to the country in need of aid.
Caroline speaks 3 languages, plays 7 musical instruments, and is a singer. She is active in the Krav Maga Academy/FitHit community, enjoys sampling international cuisine, and loves traveling.
Allura Landsberg
Deputy President and Vice President
Allura joined UNA-USA Brooklyn in 2019. She has since attended lectures on human trafficking and LGBTQI rights. She looks forward to helping further the UN's Sustainable Development Goals in the Brooklyn community.
An L.A. girl at heart, Allura graduated from Harvard College in 2018 with an A.B. in Neurobiology on the Mind Brain Behavior track along with a Secondary in Moral and Political Philosophy.
After completing her undergraduate studies, Allura received her Master's in Bioethics from Harvard Medical School. During this program, she completed research on human rights, public health policy, and upcoming advancements in medical technology. This experience culminated in the creation of two teaching modules to ensure ethical medical conversations with families considering abortions.
In her free time, Allura trains as a competitive ballroom dancer in the Latin and Rhythm styles. She also enjoys international travel and home cooking.
Karen Thorne
Partnerships Director
Karen Thorne joined UNA-USA Brooklyn in 2019. She is responsible for managing partnerships for the Young Professional's group and helping grow membership.
Karen has worked in content and strategy roles at international publishing houses including VICE media, Sydney Morning Herald, and most recently, the New York Times. Her client list includes Fortune 100 companies to help them develop and expand their messaging into multimedia storytelling.
Karen graduated with Distinction from the University of Technology, Sydney, with an MA in Journalism. She has since written for the New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Fairfax Media, VICE, and HP.
A keen interest in environmental issues and sustainability, Karen has volunteered in Russia, Mongolia, and Uruguay at editorial and animal welfare organizations.
Karen has lived in five countries and is a certified ski instructor. When she's not working, she's either attempting to learn the harmonica or traveling -- 65 countries and counting!
Valeryia Turchanova
Secretary
Valeryia joined UNA-USA Brooklyn after attending the 5th Annual UN Day at Brooklyn Hall in 2019. Valeryia trained to become an Olympic athlete, competing at the highest levels of professional track and field, before her athletic career was cut short by injury.
Valeryia has since brought her passion from professional sports to UNA-USA, where she seeks to channel her passion towards educating members of the Brooklyn Community about UN Sustainable Development Goals, inspiring local action in Young Professionals and advocating for human rights.
Valeryia was born in Belarus where she was an organizer at local orphan houses; helping coordinate the donation of money, toys, clothing and food to needy orphans. She also organized programs to improve the local environment by planting trees and limiting local car usage in favor of more bicycles.
Valeryia traveled to the Czech republic, where she graduated from the University of Economics in Prague with a B.S. in International Relations and Business. In 2018, Valeryia moved to New York City, where she is now working as a licensed professional with New York Life. Valeryia is also fluent in five different languages (including: Czech; Russian; Belarusian; English; and limited Polish)
Rabita Tareque
Education and Membership Chair
Rabita Tareque joined UNA-USA in 2016 and served as the Founding President of the UNA City College campus chapter in order to promote youth engagement in international affairs and support for the United Nations. In 2017, she was awarded to be one of the GenUN Fellow assigned to all the campus chapters in the Northeast region, where she worked very closely with the UNA-USA's Youth Engagement team and coordinated resources for young student leaders.
Born and raised in Bangladesh, Rabita immigrated to the United States when she was 13 years old and have always been passionate about human rights issues. She graduated from The City College of New York with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies with a concentration in International Relations and double-minor in Public Policy & Affairs and Women's Studies.
Rabita started her career in international affairs as an intern at the Permanent Observer Mission of the OIC to the UN, where she worked on various projects to raise public awareness on the Sustainable Development Goals and with Doctors Without Borders, where she assisted the communications team in hosting nationwide exhibitions. As an outspoken activist, she has worked with Womankind to provide empowerment counseling services to gender-based violence survivors and with Graham Windham to promote education for children living in homeless shelters. Rabita attended the 2017 Clinton Global Initiative summit as a Commitment-Maker to present her project 'RefuGirl', which addressed the issue of the global refugee crisis and promoted mentorship for young refugee women. Through her various advocacy work, she had the opportunity to speak on various high-level panels at UNESCO, UN Foundation and the United Nations Headquarters.
Rabita is fluent in 3 Asian languages and spends her free time trying out various different cultural cuisines.
Ryan Karczag
Community Service Director
Ryan joined UNA-USA Brooklyn in 2019. As the newly appointed Community Service Director, he aims to cultivate partnerships between UNA Brooklyn, local non-profits, foundations, and organizations whose values align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Originally from Los Angeles, Ryan graduated from New York University in 2018 with a B.A. in Economics, concentrated in policy and open market operations.
While at NYU, Ryan served as an organizing member of NYU Divest, working with faculty at the NYU Stern School of Business to evaluate university investments in fossil fuels. He also worked with 350.org in San Francisco to advocate for renewable energy investment at the local level. In addition to climate policy, Ryan is also a tireless advocate for LGBTQ and women’s rights.
In his free time, Ryan enjoys fashion, art, and film. He is fluent in French and holds a black belt in Taekwondo.
Somalia-Rose Muhammad
Finance Director
Somalia-Rose joined the UNA-USA Brooklyn chapter in 2017 after her wonderful experience at the Annual UN Day at Brooklyn Borough Hall. Her goal is to help all people in Brooklyn gain access to fresh fruits and vegetables along with spreading awareness about foreign issues.
She attended St. John’s University where she obtained both her Bachelor of Science in Finance with a minor in International Business and Master of Science in Accounting. She is currently working on obtaining her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license.
During her time at St. John’s she was able to study abroad in three different countries in Europe. This is where both her love of travel and want to educate and advocate for foreign affairs developed.
Outside of working as an accountant and traveling, Somalia-Rose loves to dance, experience food from different cultures, and teach financial literacy.
Michelle Lung
Marketing Director
In line with the theme of being a global citizen, Michelle relocated to New York from Australia and joined UNA-USA Brooklyn in 2019.
Michelle is a passionate brand builder with international marketing management experience across 12 countries and 3 continents.
Driven by the belief that compelling communication has the power to change the way we think and feel, her work with well-known household brands at P&G has allowed her to gain insight and understanding of people from all walks of life, positively impact social change and initiate large scale philanthropic campaigns around the world.
Michelle also has an affinity for sport, wellness and design. When out of office, you can find her exploring the great outdoors, sprinting at the athletics track or meandering through a museum!
Aisha Campbell
Social Media Director
