SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
FosterClub Inc.
Policy Lead, Panelist, & Blog Writer
June 2016 – Present
Seaside, Oregon
Public Policy|Campaigning|Outreach Strategies|Presentation|Advocacy|Strategic Partnerships|Public Speaking|Workshop Facilitation|Professional Writing|Project Development|Project Management|Engagement|Written Communication|Verbal Communication|
Lead contributor to the passing of two federal legislations, The Health Care for Former Foster Youth Act/ SUPPORT Act and Family First Prevention Act.
Participated in and contributed to the National Campaign launch of HR4998, Health Care for Former Foster Youth Act under the Affordable Care Act, and in collaboration with Representative Karen Bass (CA), Senator Bob Casey, FosterClub CEO, Celeste Bodner, national child welfare and medicaid stakeholders, advocates, and policy makers.
Wrote blogs, newsletters and Op-Ed pieces for FosterClub’s “Fostering Healthy Outcomes” project, their nation wide media blitz and their online Story Bank, in collaboration with the Juvenile Law Center and SPARC.
FosterClub used my blog for their new online training for foster parents, stakeholders, and other child welfare professionals.
Educated and communicated with state leaders to encourage states to cover foster youth no matter where they reside, make the enrollment process easier, as well as improve general awareness of the provision.
Advocated for the Family First Legislation Act and participated in phone conferences and video recordings with Senator Hatch (Utah), Senator Wyden (Oregon) and child welfare professionals; Assisted with calls and social media campaign.
Participated in the #fixtheglitch for former foster youth campaign to congress.
Authored blogs, newsletters, and Op-Ed pieces and delivered national campaign launch speeches, influencing online training programs for foster parents, stakeholders, and child welfare professionals and the passing of two federal legislations, The Health Care for Former Foster Youth Act/ SUPPORT Act and The Family First Prevention Act, improving the lives of 500,000+ foster youth in and out of foster care and 1,000’s of child welfare agencies, organizations, and professionals in America.
Foster Youth College Tour Program
Founder, Organizer, Facilitator, and Presenter
October 2016 - May 2017 (8 months)
Geneva, NY
Created, organized, and led four college tours and one on one mentoring sessions with 40 foster youth between the ages of 13-17 in New York State, in collaboration with Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the organization Youth In Progress, and sponsored by the Intercultural Affairs Department.
Coordinated facilitated workshops by eight departments on campus, educating youth on financial aid, scholarships, and opportunities available for foster youth and the opportunities college offers.
Enabled youths understanding of college opportunities and the financial assistance provided for foster youth in NYS, resulting in 95% of attendees to want to college opportunities after college.
Removing artificial limits that college and success as a foster youth in not a possibility.
Encouraging and educating foster youth on how to maximize their foster care experience.
Resulted in 3 publications and state recognition.
Developing a state and national model for colleges and universities to replicate for foster youth in their communities to establish a national and state standard for foster youth access to college.
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Annual Giving Student Ambassador – HWS Connect Crew
September 2016 - May 2017 (9 months)
Geneva, NY
The HWS Philanthropy Ambassador Program.
Assisted with research projects, constituent outreach, donor stewardship, and partnership relations.
Solicited alumni, alumnae, parents, faculty, staff, and friends of the Colleges.
Raised $30,000 in donations for the Colleges’ greatest needs, academic departments, and athletics department.
Demonstrated interest in innovation, leadership, and the values of HWS.
Demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit and comfortability speaking with people on a range of topics about HWS, including Title IX, The Pitch Contest, and The Gearan Center for Performing Arts.
Received training and guidance to better equip myself to reach out to alumni/alumnae, surrender students, parents, faculty, staff and friends.
Served as student caller and the voice and face of HWS when making calls, writing thank you notes, and doing other outreach with supporters.
Focused on expressing appreciation for the time, talent, treasure and ties of everyone who supports HWS.
Campus Tour Guide and Facilitator
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
October 2013 – March 2014 (6 months)
Participated in a Middle School day-long visit to campus. In an effort to encourage students to pursue higher education and introduce the opportunities provided by the Colleges.
Led a campus tour of Hobart and William Smith Colleges for the Geneva 2020 – 3rd Annual Geneva Middle School 6th Grade College 101 Visit (October, 15th 2013) and the Geneva 2020 College 101 – GHS 9th Graders Visit (March 28, 2014).
Facilitated an interactive activity to develop debate skills. Divided students into small groups, and asked each group to brainstorm and formulate an arguments for their chosen topic – which they then presented.
Led 6th graders in a “dream board - goal setting” activity.
Provided insight to college opportunities during a luncheon in the Scandling Center.
Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Executive Council
International Model African Union Conference
January 2017 – March 2017 (3 months)
Participated in the annual simulation of the African Union to study the continent in context, learn about current issues and role-play delegate responsibilities while debating the challenges that are critical to Africa and to the world.
Collaborated with the African Union Mission and U. N. Member State Embassy sponsors.
Participated as the Executive Council, responsible to the Assembly, and represented Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
Increased awareness of the role, structure and performance of the African Union.
Studied key economic, social and political-security issues prior to conference.
Demonstrated the patterns of cooperation between the African Union, the United Nations and other international organizations.
Generated understanding of the multi-various determinants, capabilities and constraints that shape the foreign policies of member states of the African Union.
Highlighted the impact of major power global policies on economic, social and political-security issues.
Met ambassadors, show picture
Youth In Progress
Workshop Facilitator
September 2016 - February 2017 (6 months)
Geneva, NY
Assisted in planning and facilitating Youth In Progress events and workshops held throughout region three of New York.
Presented and facilitated FosterClub workshops such as, youth adult partnerships, strategic sharing, and permanency pact.
Created, presented and facilitated college workshops. Provided one-on-one peer mentoring to Foster Youth.
Led Hobart and William Smith College visits to promote higher education and HEOP/EOP Programs.
Home Group Leader
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
January 2014 – January 2017 (3 years 1 month)
The Centennial Center for Leadership Annual Leadership Institute Conference.
Facilitated and engaged in conversations, keynote addresses, and workshops with community members to draw together personal, political, local and global ideas to enhance the conference experience.
Developed new skills, strategies, and perspectives in leadership.
Focused on critical dialogue to investigate and explore local, national, and global issues and emphasized unity and common purpose that drew from personal experiences to explore the concept of uniting and building common ground through an understanding of differences.
The Leadership Institute focused on community, global, and entrepreneurial leadership with over 100 Geneva community members from Hws college and Geneva high school.
Participated in the Centennial Center for Leadership Annual Leadership Institute Conference in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017.
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Workshop Facilitator
October 2015 - October 2016
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
HWS Impact - Exploring Campus Culture.
Participated in facilitation training.
Facilitated debriefs of personal narratives to empower students and engage in action-oriented conversations.
Shared personal narrative of Foster Care experience to explore campus culture.
https://www2.hws.edu/article-id-19185/
FosterClub Inc.
All Star Intern
June 2016 - September 2016
Seaside, Oregon
Received intensive leadership, public speaking, presentation, advocacy, and professional development training.
Assisted in planning and facilitating independent living teen conferences, foster care and child welfare events and other national held conferences held throughout the country.
Participated in the Foster Youth Success Initiative Summer Institute and provided training to Pierce Colleges students and staff in a facilitated led workshop on Strategic Sharing and Youth-Adult Partnerships, to empower youth to share there story and to train staff to support foster youth.
Encouraged cross systems collaboration, building a cohesive network, and strengthen coordinated services.
Connected and represented foster youth across America; created a peer support network for youth in foster care.
Influenced 3,000 foster youth in their transition from foster care to independent living.
Led two fundraising projects—a local fundraising campaign and a national auction fundraising event.
Participated in a Portland State University Ph.D. student, Katie Winter’s research study on siblings in child welfare.
Participated in town hall meeting with Representative Suzanne Bonamici.
Presented and facilitated over 20 workshops.
Accepted as 2017 Level II All Star Intern.
Initiated child welfare events, encouraging cross systems collaboration and coordinated services.
Connected, educated, inspired and represented 3,000+ foster youth in their transition from foster care to independent living through town hall meetings with house of Representatives and Senators and 30+ facilitated workshops on 16 topics at nationally and state held child welfare conferences, scaling the national peer support network for foster youth in America.
https://www.fosterclub.com/biographies/cody-rivera
https://hwsinterculturalaffairscenter.wordpress.com/2016/09/19/summer-time-happenings-experiences/
https://www2.hws.edu/article-id-19813/
ACE Mentor Program of Greater NY
ACE Student
September 2010 - May 2012 (1 year 10 months)
Greater New York City Area
Mock designed a SkyScraper consisting of Architecture, Construction, Engineering, and Interior Design aspects.
Worked with real professionals, Architects, Engineers, and Construction managers, in a real work environment. Received an hands-on education and learned to understand the day-to-day workings of a business.
Constructed 3D models to understand building facades.
Served as group leader of eleven ACE members to create architectural, engineering, and constructional plans.
Participated in a field trip to the One World Trade Center Building, after the last steel beam was put into place and announced, and outlined construction methods, materials used, and project timeline.
Discussed architectural designs with professional engineers and architects.
Presented overall design and final presentation at the General Soceity of Mechanics and Tradesman to the ACE board of directors and NYC ACE participants across, 500 attendees.
Public Speaker, National Advocate
NYS Office of Children and a Family Services
January 2018 – September 2018 (9 months)
Participated in the NYS Office of Children and Family Services Foster Care Awareness Month Media Campaign.
Participated in a video shoot that showcased stories of an adult in my life that made a difference and supported me in a positive way and what that meant to me.
Developed marketing strategy and partnership between Youth In Progress, FosterClub, and Alia Innovations with the NYS OCFS Office.
Alia Innovation
Cohort Guide
February 2019 - Current
Minnesota, Minneapolis
Influencing the future of the child welfare system by operationalizing the UnSystem, a new child welfare system, with 30+ child welfare innovators across 5 jurisdictions and 14 counties.
Guiding change, grounding innovation, creating the process, and challenging agency leaders to do more and become bolder and more courageous through rapid prototyping, experimentation and rapid cycle innovation to maximize impact.
Ideating, designing, testing, failing, and retrying transformative, radical, ideas.
Scaling and delivering evidence based research and proof of concept to be highlighted by Jerry Milner, Commissioner for the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, in Congress as the national model for child welfare.
Establishing Alia as the answer to child welfare reform in America.
Developing methods to measure our impact through evaluation maps, consolidation, mining our evaluation maps, all-group report-outs, change frameworks, presentations, worksheets, and in-depth peer-to-peer, all-group consultations.
Identifying and evaluating how can we do more, bigger, faster?
Shifting judicial landscape with judges and attorneys to inform a trauma-responsive approach judicial processes.
Organizing events, webinars, and in person talks with legal and financial officials to develop strong partnerships.
Identifying and encouraging the highest potential agencies and counties to adopt the UnSystem model and join the Innovation cohort.
Developing public awareness campaign
Informing five publications, two case studies on process, learning, and outcomes and three research briefs on the economic cost of child welfare.
Learning how to write effective Op Ed’s to maximize impact and reach.
Alia Innovations
10 of 10 Innovator
May, 2017 - October, 2017
Minnesota, Minneapolis
Ideated, prototyped, designed, and reimagined a new child welfare system, developing 30 prototypes, thousands of ideas, and hundreds of evaluations, over 3.5 days of design and subsequent months of national listening and design sessions, with design pioneers, IDEO, and 100+ leaders at all levels in child welfare, innovators from diverse industries, child development experts, achievement and innovation fellows, child welfare founders, and child welfare-affected individuals.
Built the UnSystem to preserve and strengthen family connections.
FosterClub
Board Member
August 2018 - Present
Seaside, Oregon
Ensuring FosterClub is the number one go-to resource for every youth in and out of foster care by strengthening and guiding the one and five year strategic plan of the organization,
Identified two strategic partnerships, one with New York State’s Office of Children and Family Services Foster Care Awareness Month Media Campaign and the second with Alia Innovations UnSystem Cohort, resulting in an increase in 1,000’s of youth views on multiple social media platforms.
Provide thought leadership and strategic direction for the organization.
Discuss strategic partnerships, financials, and FosterClub organizational strategy.
Raising visibility of FosterClub’s mission.
Ensuring FosterClub achieves it’s mission in that young people in and from foster care are connected, educated, represented, and inspired.
Hi-Zor Farm Industrial Hemp Processing
Co Founder, Partner & Processor
December 2016 – Present
Seneca Castle, NY
Enabling and accelerating Industrial Hemp market opportunities and research in New York State through New York State’s Industrial Hemp Agricultural Research Pilot Program and in partnership with the Department of Agriculture and Markets and Cornell Universities College of Agriculture and Life Science.
Introducing mobile hemp processing through a portable decortication system, developing an unfair advantage for acquiring strategic partnerships by offering more cost effective, environmentally conscious, processing.
Delivered 10+ speeches, wrote 5+ papers, and completed 3+ architectural design projects on industrial hemp.
Strengthened relationships and gained support with Hobart and William Smith Colleges Finger Lakes Institute, Centennial Center for Leadership, Fribolin Farm, Alumni Associations Office, Alumnus, Geneva community members and former President, Mark Gearan.
Designed and integrated 3D printed hemp filament cylinders apart of Hobart and William Smith Colleges RockSat-C teams aerospace research payload competition that was used to detect radiation shielding properties in space to conduct product and market research for hemp products.
Co-manage resources and operations.
Produce business, grants, and partnership proposals.
Drafted and developed operations strategy, market strategy, timeline, and research proposals.
Initiated business relationships with farmers, processors, and product manufacturers to advance research, economic development, and market opportunities.
Advocated and communicated support to New York State Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo and Senator Thomas O’mara for the 2017 Hemp Bill revision at the first-ever Industrial Hemp Summit in New York State as a representative for Hi-Zor Farm.
Received one of the first Industrial Hemp Processing Licenses in New York State.
Bard College Center for Environmental Policy
C2C Fellow
December 2016 – December 2016
Graduate of the Bard Center for Environmental Policy Northeast Regional C2C Fellows Workshop, a national program for undergraduates and recent graduates aspiring to leadership positions in sustainable policy, politics and business.
Part of a national network with access to continuing educational and professional opportunities and an ongoing network to lead change.
Participated in training focused on developing a network, developing a persuasive pitch’s, identifying strengths and skills, raising funds, and blog writing.
Part of a cohort of leaders whose vision is to change the world.
C2C stands for Campus to Community, to Congress, to Corporations, to Capitol, or to City Hall, emphasizing the importance of sustainable leadership in all of these areas.
Civic Leader
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
January 2013 – May 2014 (1 year 5 months)
Developed strategic partnerships on diversity, sustainability, and community across five departments on campus; Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, Centennial Center for Leadership, Office of Sustainability, Intercultural Affairs Department, and Finger Lakes Institute.
Facilitated identification and implementation of collaborative projects, such as Earth Week and Food Week.
Identified shared values and action areas for the sake of greater reach, efficiency, and power, with the ultimate goal of moving conversations that have existed on the periphery to the center.
Supported a constructive team climate for accomplishing service activities.
Convened monthly coalition meeting and took meeting notes.
Coordinated a master calendar of events for all participating offices.
Assisted in event planning, communications, outreach and weekly progress updates.
Created semester report enumerating success and challenges and made recommendations about events and activities that the group should pursue and how students can become more engaged in the coalition.
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Colorado Space Grant Consortium RockSat-C Program
Outreach and Radiation Subsystem
September 2016 – September 2017
Participated in the National RockSat-C Program, an aerospace research opportunity that allows students to design and build a sounding rocket research module (payload).
This was the 3rd time HWS was selected to participate in this program.
Selected for flight as one of eight colleges with the most advance and abled research rocket payload to be constructed, attached to a Terrier-Orion rocket and launched into space out of NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops, Virginia.
Our payload detected Muon particles at high altitudes and took spectral images of different layers of earths atmosphere as the rocket ascended and descended and measured radiation shielding of various plastics.
(Link to Live Video Stream of Rocket Launch: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/NASA-tv-Wallops).
Participated with a team of eight students and two faculty members.
Conducted multiple teleconferences with with the RockSat-C Program Manager, a liaison for Wallops Flight Facility.
Completed the design phase and presented three design reviews during the fall semester; Conceptual Design Review (CDR), Preliminary Design Review (PDR), and the Critical Design Review (CDR).
Completed the integrated phase and presented four interim reviews; Subsystem Testing Review (STR), Intergrated Subsystem Testing Review (ISTR),
Full Mission Subsystem Review (FMSR), and Launch Readiness Review (LRR).
Completed Preliminary Report and Final Results documents to be included in a scientific journal at the end of the year.
Conducted final presentation to NASA Offcials, directors, and participant, along with my team members.
Assisted with grant and fundraising proposals for up to $20,000-$30,000. Applying for grant funding from Hobart Student Government, NY Space Grant Consortium, HWS Presidents Office, KETEK Corp, and Alcoa.
Created a website (https://hwsrocksatc.wordpress.com) that blogs our daily activities and tasks at NASA Wallops.
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
RockSat-C Aerospace Research Competition
GSat-1 Outreach Program
December 2016 – August 2017
Established a Geneva Middle School Outreach Program, now in its third year, for students to have hands on experience with STEM and NASA aerospace research, through an application process, in partnership with Hobart and William Smith Colleges and the Colorado Space Grant Consortium’s RockSat-C Program
Oversaw the assembling, testing, and integration of four Geiger Counter Radiation Sensor Kits that were attached to HWS’s RockSat-C teams research payload that was launched into space out of NASA Wallops Flight Facility.
Led workshops, over nine weeks-two times a week, and a full campus tour for 26 students, generating electronics, programming, 3D-printing, machining, payload design, shop work, and drone skills, resume experience, and a model for future years, which is now currently in its third year, showing that they built part of a rocket payload that was launched into space.
The students first learned how to solder. Than the students practiced soldering two practice kits, one siren and one voice changer. After, when they become comfortable with soldering, they soldered our Radiation Sensors, which were attached on our final payload.. Throughout the nine week program, the students also went on a full college tour of HWS, learned about 3D Printing, and were able to test their Radiation Sensor by flying it on a Drone.
GSat-1 stands for Geneva-Satellite Iteration 1. The reason we chose this as the programs name is because our team wanted to represent the programs location, while mimicking the Satellite portion of the RockSat-C name. Than we included the number one because our team wanted to emphasize that there will be other opportunities in the following years. If HWS competes in the program next year, the year after, and the year after that, than their will be a Geneva-Satellite Iteration 2 program, than Geneva-Satellite Iteration 3, and so on.
Seamen’s Society Cocktail Party
Staten Island Advance/Hilton Flores
Wednesday, May 2nd 2012
“Gathered at the Seamen’s Society for Children and Families Cocktail Party at the group’s St. George headquarters, from left, are Ralph M. Brands, president and CEO of Victory State Bank; Nancy Vomero, president and CEO of Seamen’s Soceity; Tottenville High School senior Cody Rivera, who impressed former President Bill Clinton with his speech at the Seamen’s Society’s Black and White Gala In October and received a full scholarship to Hobart College in Geneva, NY, AND Annette Angiuli. The event thanked those who donated toward the $100,000 goal for educational programs.”
HWS Courses: list courses
Lacrosse Captain