National Organizing Board

Gavin Bendross

(He/Him)
Florida A&M University
Tallahassee, FL

Gavin Bendross is a Florida A&M University graduate based in Tallahassee, Florida.  He began with Students Demand Action through the Young Black Changemakers Summit in Atlanta, GA, and following his participation he founded a Students Demand Action group at FAMU. Since then, Gavin’s efforts toward gun violence prevention have focused on organizing students to push the Florida State Legislature, collecting dozens of testimonials from students for legislators to reject dangerous bills. As he looks towards pursuing law school, Gavin looks forward to creating and demanding change as he continues with Students Demand Action.

Ashley Castillo

(She/Her)
Los Angeles, CA

Ashley is a college freshman, youth organizer, and community activist. She is the founder of Chapines United for Liberty and Justice, the first nonprofit organization fighting for Guatemalan inclusivity in legislation, and a National Organizing Board member for Students Demand Action, the largest student-led gun violence prevention movement in the country. Being a gun violence survivor since the age of 6, living in South Central Los Angeles, gun violence has been a constant in her life. Ashley now advocates for gun violence prevention through the power of education, legislative policy, screenwriting, civic education, and activism.

Erin DeSantis

(She/Her)
Lewisburg, PA

Erin DeSantis has been involved in Students Demand Action since 2020. She is a member of the National Organizing Board, National Training Team, Text Team, and a graduate of Demand A Seat. She additionally leads the Lewisburg Community chapter of Students Demand Action in Central Pennsylvania, and is passionate about bringing the gun violence prevention conversation to her rural community.

Justin Funez

(He/Him)
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL

Justin Funez is a 2024 Graduate of the University of Chicago, and a Students Demand Action volunteer and National Organizing Board member. He joined Students Demand Action in 2019, as part of the first SDA Summer Leadership Academy (SLA)when he realized gun violence was a big issue in his new community. Like thousands of other young kids and teenagers, Justin realized too many inner-city gun violence experiences go uncovered by the media. For these reasons, he became involved in the gun violence prevention movement, because he wanted students to be able to attend places without having to fear. Since 2020, he has organized various Summer Leadership Academies similar to the one he was part of, and hopes to continue working with high school students who might also experience inner-city gun violence.

Stella Kaye

(She/Her)
Denver East High School
Denver, CO

Stella is a rising senior at Denver East High School, the vice president of her school’s Students Demand Action chapter, and a member of the Students Demand Action National Organizing Board. Stella is a survivor of gun violence and a passionate activist who strives to elevate everyone’s voices for a future free from gun violence. Stella is often found at the Colorado statehouse testifying and speaking with legislators alongside hundreds of her Denver-based peers to advocate for strong state gun violence prevention legislation.

Reem Khalifa

(She/Her)
Stuyvesant High School
Richmond Hill, NY

Reem is a rising senior at Stuyvesant High School in New York City, leader of the New York City community Students Demand Action group, and a member of the Students Demand Action National Organizing Board. In addition to their work organizing students and youth-based community partners across the five boroughs of New York City, Reem has spent the past year advocating for groundbreaking state legislation and learning about running for office through Everytown’s Demand A Seat program.

Sam Mell

(They/Them)
North Carolina School of Science and Math
Cornelius, NC

Sam is a rising first-year at North Carolina State University, where they are starting a Students Demand Action group on campus. In addition to their local advocacy, Sam serves on the Students Demand Action National Organizing Board and helps to lead the Students Demand Action National Training Team, working with student volunteers to train their peers across the country on organizing skills, leadership development, and gun violence prevention priorities.

Cora Lynn Mundy

(She/Her)
Staten Island Academy
Staten Island, NY

Cora Lynn is a rising first-year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a member of the Students Demand Action National Organizing Board. Cora has served as the president of the Staten Island Academy Students Demand Action chapter since her sophomore year of high school, organizing her peers to phone bank for gun sense candidates, advocate for innovative state legislation, register young voters, and hold the gun industry accountable.

Leighanne Muñoz

(She/Her)
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, NM

Leighanne is a rising senior at New Mexico State University and a survivor of gun violence. Leighanne is a member of the Students Demand Action National Organizing Board and leads her college’s Students Demand Action group. For years, she has served as a trusted community advocate for violence prevention in Las Cruces, NM. On the federal level, Leighanne has become an outspoken voice supporting Senator Heinrich’s innovative GOSAFE Act legislation.

Penelope Oliver

(She/Her)
Horizon Charter & Sierra College
Folsom, CA

Penelope is a recent high school graduate of Horizon Charter and Sierra College and a member of the Students Demand Action National Organizing Board. She is also the executive director & founder of All Access Arts, a 501c3 nonprofit working with shelters and community organizations to provide trauma-informed Arts & STEM education free of charge. In teaching arts and STEM across the Sacramento community, she witnesses how many of the children served have been impacted by gun violence and domestic violence.

Insherah Qazi

(She/Her)
Agnes Scott College
Little Rock, AR

Insherah is a rising junior at Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, Georgia, and a survivor of gun violence. She serves as the founder and president of her school’s Students Demand Action group and a member of the Students Demand Action National Organizing Board. Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, Insherah joined Students Demand Action in high school to address the gun violence her community faced. Insherah’s college group has become a leader in the movement to hold the gun industry accountable.

Jorge Sanchez Bautista

(He/They/El)
McDaniel High School
Portland, OR

Jorge is a rising Senior at McDaniel High School in Portland, Oregon, and a member of the Students Demand Action National Organizing Board. In addition to Jorge’s commitment to youth community organizing around the issues of climate change, affordable housing, and education equality, he leads Portland’s Students Demand Action group to advocate for state gun violence prevention legislation.

Mia Tretta

(She/Her)
Brown University
Valencia, CA

Mia is a rising sophomore at Brown University and a member of the Students Demand Action National Organizing Board. Originally from Valencia, California, in her freshman year, Mia survived being shot by a ghost gun during the school shooting at Saugus High School. While Mia survived, her best friend, Dominic, was shot and killed. In the years since becoming a survivor of gun violence, Mia has started Students Demand Action groups at her high school and college and has become a leader in the effort to prevent the proliferation of ghost guns in America.