Meet The Team

Thank you to everyone that made the block party a success

Amanda Tingle-Oline SDA AIM Academy

Amanda is the Assistant Director of College Counseling at AIM Academy, a private school for students with language-based learning disabilities. Before serving as a counselor, she was a high school English teacher for four years in Northeast Philadelphia. She serves as Faculty Advisor for AIM Academy's chapter of SDA. She is honored to mentor young students in SDA and encourage them to use their voices to advocate for important issues such as gun safety and gun violence prevention.

Isabella SDA Western PA

Isabella (she/her) is a High School student and dually-enrolled Community College student in Southwestern PA, and she is a co-lead of the Western PA SDA Chapter. Isabella first became passionate about gun violence prevention at age 12 after the tragic school shooting in Parkland, FL. Just a few months later, a mass shooting happened in Pittsburgh, PA at the Tree of Life Synagogue, which confirmed to her that it could happen in your own city. Ever since, Isabella has been an advocate for gun reform, climate justice, racial equity, economic justice, and more. In her free time she enjoys playing piano, writing, and crocheting. Isabella believes that activism and art go well together and can make an incredibly meaningful impact. The activist that continues to inspire and motivate her the most is Audre Lorde, and Isabella frequently finds herself asking ‘what would Audre Lorde say/do’ in many situations. In the future, Isabella hopes to pursue a degree in journalism to help others have their voices be heard.

Avery Hamill SDA Philly

Avery is a high school student at AIM, a school for children with language-based disabilities. They have co-founded their school's chapter of SDA and the Philly Chapter. Avery also focused on using theater and performance arts for social justice. He had a background in running large-scale fundraising events and helping to create their school's service club. Running service events for around 15 people. During COVID he pulled together a weekly speaker series for his school's service club connecting students with service opportunities while at home. You can connect with him on Instagram @avery_hamill or his website https://averyhamill.weebly.com

Marissa Gioffre Political Organizer

Marissa Gioffre is a political organizer, educator, and activist. She focuses on Youth Organizing and has worked with NextGen America, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Pete For America. She became involved in campaigns and advocacy because she believes in a new era of politics that instills hope and inspires change in working-class Americans.

Before working for Pete for America, Marissa earned her M.Ed in secondary citizenship education at St. Joseph's University, as well as a BA in International Relations and History at Saint Elizabeth's University. She taught middle school civics in Philadelphia for three and a half years, where she was inspired to fight for equity in our education system. Marissa is a proud educator and is always looking for new opportunities to make America fair and equitable for all individuals.

Taylor Shaw SDA Pitt

Taylor is a junior Environmental Studies and Political Science double-major, with a concentration in International Relations at the University of Pittsburgh. She assumed the position of Group Lead of the U’Pitt Students Demand Action chapter in 2020, restructuring the group and officially registering the organization with the university. Taylor also serves as a Co-Lead of the Students Demand Action Western PA chapter, along with having served as a lead in the SDA Virtual Field Office in Pennsylvania, and as a fellow in the SDA Virtual Activist Institute.

Taylor is currently an Legislative Intern for Pennsylvania Representative Dan Frankel’s office. She had previously served as a Policy Intern with Pittsburgh City Councilperson Erika Strassburger. Upon completing her undergraduate career, Taylor plans to pursue an MPA (Master’s of Public Administration), along with serving in either the Peace Corps or AmeriCorps. Taylor also plans to study law and pursue a J.D. at some point in the near future. Vote for her when she runs for office!

You can follow her on Instagram here: @tjtaylor86 and Twitter here: @taylorjo86

Meet The Team: Sponsors