Welcome, New Generation Hope Team Members!

We are so excited to be growing our team. Get to know the newest members of our staff, below!

Alejandro Del Pino Caicedo
Scholar Program Coordinator

Hi! My name is Alejandro Del Pino Caicedo, and I am a recent graduate from Florida State University where I majored in International Affairs and Political Science with a concentration in Sociology. In my free time, I enjoy reading, roller skating, taking care of my plants, and exploring D.C. I have always enjoyed working with children and youth and I am very honored to be part of the Generation Hope team as I strongly believe that through education we can make the world a better place for everyone.

Ashley Stant
Program Assistant

Hi everyone! My name is Ashley Stant, and I am the new Program Assistant for Generation Hope. I’ve realized my main goal in life is to serve others in any way I can — I had several jobs in food service and childcare during my time studying English at Virginia Tech, and then I went on to teach elementary school students in South Korea for two years. I was drawn to Generation Hope for their unique mission and direly needed efforts, and I am so grateful to have the chance to be a part of the team. When I graduated from my small high school in rural Virginia, ten percent of my graduating class were already parents or expecting. At the time, everyone I knew just assumed that my classmates would stay at home and forfeit any dreams they had of pursuing higher education. This foregone conclusion many people in society have about teen parents is wrong, especially when a college degree is so important for economic mobility. In addition, I’ve heard that being a young parent can be lonely. I believe relationships and camaraderie are incredibly important, yet undervalued, aspects of the human experience. I am a person who always enjoys introducing my friends to each other — which has led to some pretty amazing partnerships and creative feats! This is why I love that Generation Hope has a focus on bolstering connections between Scholars and Mentors. You never know what amazing things could happen if we all just helped each other.

Carolyn “CiCi” Felton
Family Program Coordinator

Hey! My name is Carolyn “CiCi” Felton and I am the new Family Program Coordinator. I am a proud alumni of Generation Hope and recently graduated from Morgan State University with a bachelor’s in social work. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to give back to the community that fostered my success as a student parent. I have such a strong passion for dismantling the systems that have been put in place to act as barriers for teen parent success. My belief is that I can leave a lasting impact on Scholars because I understand the struggle of maintaining a healthy work/parenting/life balance. A fun fact about me is I have traveled internationally performing spoken word poetry and leading workshops to youth in underserved communities. I genuinely believe in the mission of Generation Hope and I am so proud to be an advocate for student parents.

Grace Mangino
Executive Assistant to the CEO

Hi! My name is Grace Mangino and I’m the Executive Assistant to our CEO, Nicole Lynn Lewis. It’s been a joy to get to know the inner workings of Generation Hope’s strategic plans as well as meet our Board Members, Staff, Scholars and their families over the last few weeks. 

I am originally from Colorado Springs, CO, but have lived in Virginia since starting at Virginia Tech in 2012. I graduated with a Political Science degree and had the opportunity to study a variety of topics in the social justice realm. I love getting to support the mission of Generation Hope and build connections across our organization and external partners to help us better serve our Scholars and their families. 

I enjoy eating the food my roommates cook, cheering at basketball games, and exploring zoos across the country.

Nayeli Sanchez
Scholar Recruitment Coordinator

Hello everyone! My name is Nayeli Sanchez and I am so happy to be Generation Hope’s Scholar Recruitment Coordinator! I was born in Mexico, and immigrated to the U.S. when I was five. I grew up in west Michigan and was lucky enough to win a full ride scholarship to Western Michigan University in eighth grade. This scholarship changed my life because at the time I was undocumented. During my time at undergrad, I was able to get DACA and then Permanent Residency. I am super proud of my immigrant identity and super passionate about the potential for education to change people’s lives. 

After graduating with a B.A. in Global and International Studies and a Minor in Chinese, I immediately moved out to Washington, D.C., and I have been happily living here for three years now. My career has been centered around working with nonprofit organizations. The main themes of my work have included public diplomacy programs for international emerging leaders, as well as workforce development and financial literacy programs focused on communities of color. 

Education, opportunity, resilience and passion. That is what I live my life by, and that is what I saw in Generation Hope. I am so thankful to be a part of this family and so excited to continue building together! 

Sanah Jivani
Community Engagement Manager

Hello! My name is Sanah Jivani, and I am thrilled to be the new Community Engagement Manager at Generation Hope. I just finished up a dual masters degree at The University of Pennsylvania studying Non-Profit Leadership and Education, Culture, and Society. My passion for helping students reach their full potential and love of education brought me to Generation Hope. I have always loved working with nonprofits and always had an entrepreneurial spirit. When I was 15 years old, I founded a non-profit organization called The Love Your Natural Self Foundation, which provided free social and emotional learning programming to K-12 students. I was inspired to start this organization after losing all of my hair to Alopecia and struggling with severe bullying, mental illness, and low self-worth. My organization was rooted in lived experience, and I know that is what made it successful. I feel that Generation Hope follows the same scholar-centered approach, and I can’t wait to use my voice to serve our scholars! In my free time, you can find me at a cute coffee shop, thrift shopping, or traveling with loved ones.