In our name itself, Labor of Change acknowledges the labor of love, commitment, and care that change needs.
Labor of Change (LoC) is a youth-led, non-partisan organization building democratic tools for economic progress. To bridge the gap between academic research and real-world impact, we wish to reimagine democracy as a social technology. By connecting young creatives, policy leaders, and social entrepreneurs with a network of resources, we seek to empower youth to design and implement innovative democratic solutions by leveraging public education, technology, policy advocacy, and art. You can read more about our vision and mission in our founding essay. Meet the team behind LoC and see answers to frequently asked questions.
Meet the Team
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Wena Teng
Founder
Wena is a student at Columbia University studying History and Political Economy. She works to imagine and design culturally responsive social institutions that enable radical social change and economic justice amidst accelerating technological change. Born in New York and living several years in Asia, before attending NYC public schools, these experiences drive her political and legal advocacy for migration labor and transnational development. Most recently, she worked as a Research Assistant in economic development and legal history. She previously worked on labor policy and legal writing at the White House, the Urban Justice Center, the New York State Senate, and the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies. As an APIA Scholar, Truman Scholar (NY’24), and Laidlaw Scholar, she intends to pursue a JD/PhD to reconcile the gaps in labor law and immigration policy to build institutions designed by social technology and democratic innovation.
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Rachel Tao
Chief of Staff
Rachel is a student at Georgetown University studying Government and Sociology. She is also the daughter of Chinese immigrants, born in Iowa and raised in Auburn, Alabama. After watching her family and many others experience isolation and marginalization in the Deep South, she became deeply committed to racial and economic justice. She has worked in all corners of the political world, from the Departments of Labor and Justice to the House of Representatives and Senate to the Democratic National Committee and a Congressional campaign. Most recently, she interned in the White House and volunteered for Stop AAPI Hate and APIAVote. All of these experiences shape her passion for the Asian American community and worker justice, which she will continue to pursue through her public service.
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Jay Philbrick
Director of Strategy and Policy Development
Jay is a student at Brown University studying economics, applied mathematics, and computer science. Growing up in rural Maine, Jay saw firsthand the life-changing impact of public investment in education and defense. Inspired by this, he has interned with the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, the US Treasury Department, the US State Department's Office of Monetary Affairs, and in Maine's Governor's Economic Recovery Committee, helping save Americans nearly $4 billion and guiding $1 billion in effective investments in broadband and workforce development. Jay has also conducted research at Yale Law School, the Federal Reserve, the Brookings Institution, and Brown University, focused on social safety net and international economic policies. He has presented his research to executive and legislative branch policymakers, as well as academics. He intends to pursue a JD and a PhD in economics to analyze and implement evidence-based policy as a researcher and policymaker.
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Lia Busby
Director of Digital Strategy
Lia Busby is a senior at Bowdoin College with a background in government, urban studies, and dance. She was born and raised in Riverside County, California, and is driven to transform America's approach to affordable housing through innovative economic solutions and local empowerment. Her experience in grant writing, strategic planning, volunteer coordination, and public service through Bowdoin's McKeen Center has allowed her to engage with an array of Maine nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and students driven to benefit the common good. Lia previously worked on infrastructure, labor, and economic policy in the U.S. House of Representatives and tenants’ rights law at Community Legal Aid Southern California. Most recently, she was the youngest guest speaker on affordable housing policy development at a state-wide conference of building professionals and elected officials. After graduating from Bowdoin, Lia intends to pursue a JD/MPP to deconstruct barriers entrenched in both law and policy and ensure a more just, accessible, and affordable future in housing.
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Edith Philip
Director of Projects and Programming
Edith Philip is a student at Tufts University studying Economics and English. Hailing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a region marked by crime, she saw how poverty can grip a city when opportunity is scarce and a government is neglectful. Passionate about making economics accessible to the working class who are often overlooked in these conversations, she aims to bridge progressive economic policy with public understanding. She is inspired by this bell hooks quote: “Were a love ethic informing all public policy in cities and towns, individuals would come together and map out programs that would affect the good of everyone”, and is planning to pursue a PhD in Public Policy to do so.
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Anthony Zhou
Director of Research & Development
Anthony is a computer science major at Columbia who builds technology that addresses social challenges. His work has tackled issues like loneliness, mental health, and air pollution, earning recognition from the Today Show, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. Most recently, he led a product team in Tokyo developing exercise technology for older adults. Building on his experience in software development, he aims to pursue applied economics research examining how technological progress and automation reshape the economy, with a focus on balancing innovation incentives with the public good.
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Emani Fung
Co-Publisher
Emani is a current senior at Columbia University from West Orange, New Jersey. A student of Economics and Political Science, Emani has wide-ranging research and professional experience. Her objective is to use research as a tool to improve political and economic outcomes at various levels of society. Her recent positions include interning in the U.S. House of Representatives in the legislative office of Rep. Mikie Sherrill, as well as internships in portfolio analytics and corporate sustainability research with a financial services company. In 2023, Emani participated in the University of Chicago’s Expanding Diversity in Economics Fellowship. She has also served as a Deputy Field Director and fieldwork intern on various political campaigns, and has worked as a research assistant on an FDA-sponsored public health project at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. A French minor, Emani recently completed a French immersion program at Columbia’s Reid Hall Center and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University.
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Thai Loyd
Co-Publisher
Thai is a student at Columbia University from Bloomington, Minnesota. He has previously worked on international trade and economic policy at the Office of the US Trade Representative and US House of Representatives. Passionate about civic engagement, he has conducted research on how Ranked Choice Voting affects minority voters and interned for national civil rights organizations including the Human Rights Campaign and OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates. He is the New York State Policy Director for What We All Deserve, a youth-led organization advancing economic justice and access to basic needs through grassroots and legislative advocacy.
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Sikirat Mustapha
Publication Fellow
Sikirat Mustapha is a student at Columbia University studying Statistics-Political Science and Business. Born and raised in NYC but receiving multidisciplinary studies in South Africa and Mexico, these experiences drive her commitment to democratizing knowledge and began her founding of Sikirat Tutors, where she provides tangible solutions and aid to under-resourced communities, closing learning gaps all while highlighting the importance of youth voice and communal service. Most recently, Sikirat has worked in legal literacy at Revolt PopLaw, where she analyzes high-profile entertainment law cases to make complex legal concepts more accessible to diverse audiences. Sikirat's love for equity also branches outside of education, where she can be seen at firms like Morgan Stanley and Amazon Web Services, utilizing her learnings to advocate for financial literacy, fair housing, and technological accessibility. As a Stanford Law Scholar and Pimco Future Leader, she intends to pursue a JD/MBA to to combine her expertise in technological innovation with legal accessibility, focusing on making legal services and financial education more accessible to underserved communities while driving systemic change in the intersection of law, technology, and social impact.
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Lillian Han
Publication Fellow
Lillian is an undergraduate junior at Columbia University majoring in Economics-Mathematics. She is interested in monetary policy, game theory, and labor economics, and works as a research assistant on projects related to child health and welfare policy in the US. Born in Texas, she has also lived in Shenzhen (China), Washington State, and New York, experiences that have shaped her global perspective. She enjoys teaching and works as a teaching assistant for Columbia’s math department and taught a course on Game Theory and Economics at Johns Hopkins’ Center for Talented Youth. In her free time, you can find her shooting archery, watching movies, and reading fiction novels.
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Audrea Chen
Publication & Digital Strategy Fellow
Audrea Chen is a student at Columbia University studying Political Science and Statistics. As a native New Yorker, she is interested in exploring income inequality and sustainability infrastructure. She has previously interned at the Queens County Supreme Court and corporate law firms in NYC.
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Tahm Loyd
Publication Fellow
Tahm Loyd is a student at Deep Springs College and formerly an undergrad at Cornell University studying Religious Studies and Economics. Originally from Bloomington, Minnesota, he angrily witnessed climate change dwindle his snow days. Now, he is interested in using finance to fund the green transition and create green policies that are no longer a detriment to growth, but instead, a boon that delivers greater growth rates than traditional fossil-fuel centered society.
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Jorge Hernandez-Perez
Publication Fellow
Jorge Hernandez-Perez is a senior at Columbia University majoring in Ethnicity and Race Studies with a concentration in Statistics. He researches and designs social policies with poor families at the center—paid family leave and public child care among them. Born in Cuba and raised in Florida, Jorge received care and support from his mother and grandmother, the public schools of Sarasota County, and government assistance. Currently, Jorge is a Research Assistant at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Universal Education. Throughout his time at Columbia, he has interned at the Brookings Institution, the Center on Poverty and Social Policy, the New York State Department of Education, the Energy, Equity, Housing, and Health Program (E2H2), and the Early Childhood Initiative at the Bipartisan Policy Center. He co-led a research project on immigrant integration for Columbia’s Undergraduate Committee on Global Thought as a Bartsch Fellow, developed his leadership as a LeadNext Fellow for the Asia Foundation, learned from education experts at the American Enterprise Institute’s Summer Honors Program, and, with an open letter, demanded that Columbia decrease the tuition of affiliated child care centers as the Education Center Director for the Columbia Policy Institute. As a finalist for the Fulbright Scholarship, Jorge intends to research Honduras’ child care programs during his gap year and then pursue a joint JD and Master of Public Policy.
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Ada Wu
Digital Strategy Fellow
Ada is a Tufts University student studying in Computer Science and Cognitive & Brain Science with a Minor in Urban Studies. A first-generation college student from Boston’s Chinatown, she is passionate about using technology to bridge divides in immigrant communities. Honored with the National Association of Asian American Professionals’ Future Leaders Award, Ada spent years organizing events and advocating for affordable housing and community land protection with Asian Community Development Corporation. Her technical work includes developing AI-powered chatbots for nonprofit leaders nationwide and responsive web applications. Professionally, Ada has interned at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Accenture, and MIT’s Breakthrough Tech AI. Drawing from her experiences, Ada aspires to reconcile cultural, linguistic, and generational gaps through innovative education and nonprofit solutions.
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John Bahia
Digital Strategy Fellow
John Bahia is a first-generation Filipino American and an undergraduate at Columbia University, where he majors in Urban Studies with a focus on Political Science. Born and raised on the Pacific island of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, John has lived in the Philippines, Long Island, California, and now resides in New York City, which he now considers his home. After completing his bachelor’s degree, he plans to pursue a Master of Public Policy and potentially a Juris Doctor, with a focus on civil rights law and litigation. -
Nancy Qi
Digital Strategy Fellow
Nancy is a recent graduate of Columbia University with a degree in Computer Science. She mainly grew up in the Bay Area but also lived in Texas and Washington State. Nancy is most driven by the intersection of tech and human impact and also bridging the gender gap in tech. She hopes to continue to explore this interdiscpline and human-centered engineering through initiatives like Labor of Change, and is excited to continue to pursue this full time as a SWE at Google.
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Steven Wang
Digital Strategy Fellow
Steven is a first-generation Chinese American and recent graduate of Columbia University, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science with a minor in Linguistics. Growing up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Steven developed a passion for technology, artificial intelligence, and language. He has applied his technical expertise at Morgan Stanley and the Columbia Daily Spectator, where he designed and built websites and mobile applications serving over 11,000 users. Steven is dedicated to leveraging his skills to drive innovation and plans to pursue a career in Software Engineering full time.
FAQs
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Labor of Change is a youth-led, non-partisan organization committed to advancing tools for economic progress.
Our mission is to bridge the gap between academic research and real-world impact through public education. We prioritize accessibility and creativity, promoting innovative technologies that build democracies and empowering large networks in the process.
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Labor of Change offers numerous opportunities for getting involved.
Sign up for our newsletter to find out about upcoming panels, speaker series, and more events.
Read more about our youth fellowship program in New York City, a summer-long intensive paid program for New York City high school students to engage with local economic justice institutions. The inaugural application cycle opens in March 2025.
Apply to join our team: contribute an article for our website or help direct our digital strategy.
Support our mission for economic justice by contributing a donation. Your donation goes to building our team, fellowship program, and tools.
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Labor of Change was born in the spaces between translation and the tensions of organizing/ academia. How do we translate the innovative ideas of academia to organizing? How do we translate the innovative practices of organizers to policymakers/academia? Our founder and executive director, Wena Teng, is a first-generation Chinese American and the daughter of two migrant workers. Born and raised in Flushing, Queens, she’s always seen the innovative, clever, and self-sustained practices of diverse communities to engage with participatory governance for economic progress. Much of this, however, is not included in academic literature or policy research. These practices operate outside of the framework of electoral politics as the only channel of change and instead question what emerges as an attempt to push democracy to a place we prefer it to be. Thus, democratic innovation has always been pushed by the labor of diverse communities, and they deserve to be highlighted and built upon.
Wanting to highlight these institutions like data cooperatives and credit unions, given that young people are increasingly questioning their belief in electoral politics, the idea for Labor of Change started in the summer of 2024. Leading up to the 2024 election and solidifying after, our collective is a team of students with backgrounds in organizing, policy, coding, and art to think about the question of how we use mechanism design to innovate democracy to advance economic justice. After a few months of coordination and planning, Labor of Change launched on inauguration day, January 20, 2025.
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We wish to view democracy as a verb and democracy as a system that is ever-changing. Democratic innovation refers to new methods, processes, or technologies designed to enhance democratic participation, governance, and decision-making. We ask: what are the different existing approaches and new mechanisms we can design to improve how individuals engage with government and influence policy?
In addition to highlighting the work of institutions that have reimagined the way we participate in democracy or emphasized participatory governance and pluralism, we develop tools from concepts like Quadratic Voting that offer practical mechanisms for addressing economic inequality and creating fairer markets. Amidst accelerating technological advancements, we also see democracy as a social technology that can be changed, designed, and built. We aim to do this by bridging theory and practice through an interdisciplinary community of economists, technologists, artists, policymakers, and activists.
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Labor of Change recognizes that policy is a question of labor. Our name challenges the common belief that change “just happens” through the passive act of hoping for the better. It acknowledges the commitment communities must make to guide their own future. In the name itself, Labor of Change acknowledges the labor of love, commitment, and care that change needs.
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Contact us here if you’re interested in partnering with us to design a tool, support our youth fellowship, or anything else.