| Home > Staff > Collegiate Forum > Executive Board > President | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||\ |
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||
|
Podium Journal . |
Jonathan Fantini Porter
Position: President School: Georgetown University Contact: president@collegiateforum.org Jonathan Fantini Porter, a native of California, is studying in Washington, DC. A student at Georgetown University, Jonathan is Founder and President of the Collegiate Forum. During his time at the Forum, he has lead the founding of chapters in 4 countries, introduced an online component and increased the organization's capital by more than 32% in one year. Jonathan has been involved in progressive causes since he was 11. In 1994 he was joined by 4,000 peaceful demonstrators in a march opposing California's Proposition 187, for which he was featured on the front page of the Los Angeles Times. In the 1970's Jonathan's mother was a member of a small Texas chapter of the human rights organization, Amnesty International. After years of dedicated work, his mother managed to secure the release of an Argentine political prisoner who she had never met, by the name of Nestor Fantini. Years after meeting on the day of his release, they were married. As Student Body President of his Southern California High School, Jonathan founded the school's first chapter of Amnesty. This chapter established a cross-network of student advocates in the US, which waged similar direct-campaigns to the one responsible for the release of Jonathan's father years before. For this, Jonathan was invited to meet with Amnesty International's Executive Director, Jack Healy, in Boston, Mass. During this period, Jonathan served as President of the chapter of Free the Children, which raised funds to provide running water and the first primary and secondary school to the rural community of Waslala, Nicaragua. In 2003, Jonathan was elected Chairman of an advisory commission to the Speaker of the California State Assembly. As the Chairman he directed four subcomittees which produced legislative advise to the Speaker. For his work, Jonathan was one of fourty students from across the country invited to attend the Elie Wiesel Conference for Tomorrow's Leaders. Following the conference, he was awarded a grant by the Elie Wiesel Foundation to establish what would later become the Collegiate Forum. Jonathan has interned in the office of the Los Angeles County District Attorney, US Congressman Howard L. Berman, US Congressman Brad Sherman and United States Senator Dianne Feinstein, where he worked with the Senator's Legislative Assistant on Economic Policy to reinstate legislation which protects minority owned businesses in the federal bidding process. In his Junior year of college, Jonathan sought out ten investors, partners and friends to establish Denison & Porter, the parent company of a managed fund and real estate investment trust with an office in Washington, DC and London. The company donates 25% of its profits to charity. Jonathan writes for Georgetown University's student newspaper, The Hoya and is a member of the Georgetown University Men's Crew Team, Georgetown University Student Investment Fund, Philodemic Society and the Georgetown chapter of Young Democrats. Jonathan speaks English, Spanish and German |
| ||||||||
 |
Copyright © Collegiate Forum |
