Introducing the ARIN 57 Fellows

By Amanda Gauldin – Senior Project Manager

ARIN staff is busy preparing for ARIN 57, our spring Public Policy and Members Meeting taking place 19-22 April in Louisville, Kentucky. Meanwhile, we are also excited to be kicking off the ARIN 57 Fellowship Program!

An Engaging Experience

The Fellowship Program agenda includes:

• Four virtual sessions before the meeting to introduce the workings of the organization and the ARIN Policy Development Process (PDP),
• The virtual ARIN 57 Meeting Orientation, and
• Participation in ARIN 57 either virtually or in person in Charlotte.

Throughout the program, Fellows will also benefit from mentorship by an ARIN Advisory Council member.

To learn more about the Fellowship Program and this spring’s agenda, read the blog post: “Apply Today for the ARIN 57 Fellowship Program.”

The ARIN Fellowship Program provides a fun and engaging way for Fellows to get immersed in ARIN’s work and feel ready to participate in the upcoming meeting. With the addition of this group of 15 Fellows, we have now welcomed nearly 290 new voices to our community over the last 11 years.

Meet the Fellows

To get to know them better, we asked each of our new Fellows to share a few tidbits of information about themselves, including: one word that describes how they felt upon learning they were selected for the program; what they are most looking forward to about the experience; and their favorite book, movie, podcast, or hobby. Let’s meet the ARIN 57 Fellows!

Canada

Jasmine Cha – RISE Program Coordinator, Apathy is Boring; Graduate Student, University of the People
Reaction: Recognized
Looking forward to: Sitting in the room where Internet number policy decisions happen and learn from the people shaping that process
Favorite book: “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson

Zulqar Nayen – Principal Instructional Designer, Independent Consultancy
Reaction: Exhilarated
Looking forward to: The mentorship and the opportunity to engage directly with the professionals managing the backbone of our Internet
Favorite podcast: “Darknet Diaries”

Caribbean

Altie Jackson – Telecommunications Consultant
Reaction: Excited
Looking forward to: Knowledge gain
Favorite mobile app: Instagram

Arsenia Brown – IT Instructor, HEART/NSTA Trust
Reaction: Overjoyed
Looking forward to: Networking with other members of the community, exchanging ideas, and exploring strategies and solutions to challenges faced in the Internet industry
Favorite movie: The “Saw” franchise

Brandon Powell – Founder and Chief Executive Officer, BugHunt Inc.
Reaction: Excited
Looking forward to: Networking opportunities
Favorite book: “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter

Nnandi Robinson – Junior Cybersecurity Analyst, Government of Grenada
Reaction: Grateful
Looking forward to: The opportunity to build relationships with experienced professionals and mentors, learn from regional perspectives, and better understand how Caribbean voices can contribute to policy discussions
Favorite hobby: Traveling

Rodney Payne – CEO, Houston Nexus Partners
Reaction: Excited
Looking forward to: Understanding how it can be used to enable innovation
Favorite movie: “Lean on Me” (1989)

United States

Henrik Van Tassell – Student, University of Vermont
Reaction: Excited
Looking forward to: Meeting and learning from industry professionals
Favorite book: “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir

James Lord – Network Administrator and Network Architect, Intlos
Reaction: Elated
Looking forward to: Learning about things that are integral to the Internet’s operation that I’d only read about in books and Wikipedia articles before
Favorite mobile app: Pokémon GO

Justin Gehrke – Vulnerability and Threat Program Manager, Rush University Medical Center
Reaction: Humbled
Looking forward to: Hearing and learning from other forward-leaning professionals who share my passion for technology and the benefits it can bring when ethically developed and delivered
Favorite podcast: “The Rest is History”

Michael Torres – Senior Network Engineer, Blue Stream Fiber
Reaction: Grateful
Looking forward to: The mentorship, the policy discussions, and connecting with people from various industries who share similar goals
Favorite book: RFC 1925

Navin Suvarna – Principal Architect, Cisco
Reaction: Honored
Looking forward to: Learning from the experience of operators and policy contributors and understanding how those discussions translate into real-world network operations
Favorite podcast: “Packet Pushers”

Robert Jones – Network Engineer, Adams Telephone System
Reaction: Excited
Looking forward to: Learning and having a full understanding of ARIN as a whole
Favorite hobby: Bowling

Tyler Forajter – Cybersecurity Engineer, Community Health Network
Reaction: Overjoyed
Looking forward to: Being able to participate in the policy development process
Favorite mobile app: Chess.com

Weitong Li – Researcher, Virginia Tech
Reaction: Honored
Looking forward to: Joining the public policy meeting
Favorite hobby: Ski boarding

Our Mentors and Special Guests

Fellows will be paired with an experienced ARIN Advisory Council (AC) member to help guide them through the meeting and policy discussions. During the preparatory sessions, Mentors also lead small group breakout sessions to discuss policy development and other topics in more detail. Additional members of the AC and ARIN staff will join us throughout the program to explain the PDP, what policies to expect on the docket for discussion at ARIN 57, and ARIN resources and services.

Thank you to these volunteers for their involvement in the ARIN 57 Fellowship Program — their participation is key to the success of our Fellows!

Mentors

Douglas Camin (ARIN AC, Vice Chair) –  Chief Information and Technology Officer, Coordinated Care Services, Inc.
Gerry George (ARIN AC) – ICT consultant
Kaitlyn Pellak (ARIN AC) – IPv4 acquisition specialist
Matthew Wilder (ARIN AC) – Senior Engineer, TELUS Communications

Learn about the history and impact of Fellowship Mentors and how this program builds the next generation of Internet policy and governance leaders through hands-on learning experiences in this blog post: Mentorship Powers ARIN’s Fellowship Program.

For more updates, follow us on Instagram @arin_rir, on LinkedIn at ARIN’s company page, and at @TeamARIN on Facebook and X. Stay tuned for information regarding the ARIN 58 Fellowship Program in the summer!

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Post written by:

Amanda Gauldin
Senior Project Manager

Recent blogs categorized under: Fellowship Program

• A Launchpad for Engagement: An ARIN Fellowship Program Experience
• Apply Today for the ARIN 57 Fellowship Program
• Mentorship Powers ARIN's Fellowship Program
• Introducing the ARIN 56 Fellows