Who we are
Who we are
Who we are
Students for Abundance (SFA) is a growing coalition of students and young people committed to a new political project. We believe in a future where stability, opportunity, and the means to build a good life are within reach for all.
Students for Abundance (SFA) is a growing coalition of students and young people committed to a new political project. We believe in a future where stability, opportunity, and the means to build a good life are within reach for all.
Students for Abundance (SFA) is a growing coalition of students and young people committed to a new political project. We believe in a future where stability, opportunity, and the means to build a good life are within reach for all.
Victoria grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with an apolitical, increasingly disillusioned family, and she grew frustrated as more and more communities were left behind. In fall 2024, attending the inaugural Abundance Summit in Washington, D.C., she saw a growing movement that crossed old boundaries, rewarding newcomers and upstarts in an effort to help everyone afford the basics and take part in the promise of a better future. She was inspired to organize the first chapter of Students for Abundance, which has offered her a way to focus her frustrations and hopes, along with those of a growing abundance community, into meaningful action. ~Victoria Ren, Stanford University
Maxwell grew up in Oakland, California, where his mom, despite working full-time, struggled to buy a home in the neighborhood his family had called home for two decades. Later, while working in Rust Belt towns in Pennsylvania, he kept hearing the same story he had heard back in the Bay Area: people struggling with the rising cost of living. Interning for an Abundance-aligned candidate in San Francisco showed him that a new kind of politics was possible. Abundance gave him a vocabulary for what he had long felt: that the high cost of living and slow government weren’t inevitable, but problems that can be solved with the right vision. ~ Maxwell Stern, University of California, Berkeley
Emily grew up in a small rural town in western Maryland, home to government workers, farmers, ranchers, small business owners, and people from nearly every walk of life. In her community, she hears the same concern repeated: our political systems are broken and failing Americans across the spectrum. Through her work with the University’s Institute of Politics, she was encouraged to imagine a world that was not just an improvement on the present but a radical reinvention of it. She hopes to use Abundance as a framework to build the political will to make hope and progress once again the center of American politics. ~Emily Price, The University of Chicago
Daniel is from northern New Jersey and has always considered himself standing firmly on the side of those overlooked by the system. As a student at WashU studying economics and environmental analysis, he has focused on how solutions to complex, systemic issues almost always require trade-offs. Any political movement has to acknowledge this if it wants to actually get anything done , and Abundance is about looking to fix real issues in America today in an unapologetically wonky way. Its focus on helping our communities today, driven by an ethos of data-driven pragmatism, is unique in our political environment, and one he wholly supports. ~ Daniel Singh, Washington University in St. Louis
Caleb is from the suburbs of Tucson, Arizona, where from a young age, he took note of how NIMBY pushback against sustainable housing and commercial development stunted the potential growth and vitality of his community. Now, as an economics and math major, he is interested in applying research findings to public policies on housing, technological development, and social welfare. Reading Abundance opened his eyes to a new kind of policy regime — one that combines the concepts of efficiency from the right and emphasis on common good from the left — that can guide America to a new age of prosperity for all. ~ Caleb Rasor, Claremont McKenna College
Fayaz grew up in Wichita, Kansas in a household shaped by the experiences of immigrant parents who came to the United States seeking opportunity and stability. Their journey instilled in him the values of self reliance, initiative, and drive to seize every opportunity. He was drawn to the movement for its focus on practical solutions that foster innovation, efficiency, and measurable results. He believes college campuses need more spaces for serious policy discussion and debate, and Abundance will contribute to a future where more people have the tools and freedom needed to thrive. ~ Fayaz Ul-Alam, University of Kansas
Diego hails from a small town in southern Oregon, and has always been passionate about Economic Development. This gave him a front seat to the bottlenecks that prevent our society from building enough to reach the abundance of housing, energy, and healthcare that we need. Since starting at Willamette, Diego has founded Salem YIMBY Action to mobilize his classmates to fight for Housing Abundance in Oregon and is looking forward to bringing this broader Abundance framework to this campus. ~ Diego Diaz, Willamette University
Growing up near Boston Logan International Airport, Julia saw the city’s infrastructure, communities, and coastline strain under the pressures of climate change. Now, she cares deeply about using local and state government to prepare our cities and towns for the future by updating the grid, investing in clean energy, and building resilient communities. To Julia, abundance advances the effective governance and community investment needed to set the people and places we care about on a track for success. ~ Julia Dickinson, Bowdoin College
Shreya is from West Richland, Washington, and became passionate about government through her local and state education policy advocacy, which gave her a close-up view of challenges in governing responsively. A current data science student at Stanford, Shreya has a strong interest in technology and AI adoption, and is passionate about helping create an innovative government that can better serve the American people. She hopes for a future where the American dream is a reality, and everyone, regardless of their background, has an abundance of opportunity. ~ Shreya Mehta, Stanford University
Cadin grew up in Denver, Colorado. In high school, he spent a sizable amount of time in developing countries, where he came to recognize energy poverty and lack of infrastructure as the cause of significant human suffering. Now, studying mechanical engineering and working at a nuclear laboratory, he hopes to sizably expand nuclear energy production throughout the world, and believes that widespread dissemination of Abundance principles is the only way that this vision can be achieved. ~ Cadin Dinneen, Texas A&M University
Our Story
Aidan is from the suburbs of Cleveland and has always loved cities. Growing up, he was excited by the prospect of new development in the region but was disappointed by how few projects ever got completed, and even fewer were completed on time. Transportation and housing were in high demand, yet something seemed to be holding them back. Abundance by Derek Thompson and Ezra Klein gave voice to these frustrations and tied them to his growing concern about the cost of living. This movement has given him an outlet to promote policies and a kind of politics that is constructive, forward-thinking, and driven by an optimistic vision for America.
Aidan Cullers, George Washington University
Emily grew up in a small rural town in western Maryland, home to government workers, farmers, ranchers, small business owners, and people from nearly every walk of life. In her community, she hears the same concern repeated: our political systems are broken and failing Americans across the spectrum. Through her work with the University’s Institute of Politics, she was encouraged to imagine a world that was not just an improvement on the present but a radical reinvention of it. She hopes to use Abundance as a framework to build the political will to make hope and progress once again the center of American politics.
Emily Price, The University of Chicago
Caleb is from the suburbs of Tucson, Arizona, where from a young age, he took note of how NIMBY pushback against sustainable housing and commercial development stunted the potential growth and vitality of his community. Now, as an economics and math major, he is interested in applying research findings to public policies on housing, technological development, and social welfare. Reading Abundance opened his eyes to a new kind of policy regime — one that combines the concepts of efficiency from the right and emphasis on common good from the left — that can guide America to a new age of prosperity for all.
Caleb Rasor, Claremont McKenna College
Shreya is from West Richland, Washington, and became passionate about government through her local and state education policy advocacy, which gave her a close-up view of challenges in governing responsively. A current data science student at Stanford, Shreya has a strong interest in technology and AI adoption, and is passionate about helping create an innovative government that can better serve the American people. She hopes for a future where the American dream is a reality, and everyone, regardless of their background, has an abundance of opportunity.
Shreya Mehta, Stanford University
Growing up near Boston Logan International Airport, Julia saw the city’s infrastructure, communities, and coastline strain under the pressures of climate change. Now, she cares deeply about using local and state government to prepare our cities and towns for the future by updating the grid, investing in clean energy, and building resilient communities. To Julia, abundance advances the effective governance and community investment needed to set the people and places we care about on a track for success.
Julia Dickinson, Bowdoin College
Victoria grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with an apolitical, increasingly disillusioned family, and she grew frustrated as more and more communities were left behind. In fall 2024, attending the inaugural Abundance Summit in Washington, D.C., she saw a growing movement that crossed old boundaries, rewarding newcomers and upstarts in an effort to help everyone afford the basics and take part in the promise of a better future. She was inspired to organize the first chapter of Students for Abundance, which has offered her a way to focus her frustrations and hopes, along with those of a growing abundance community, into meaningful action
Victoria Ren, Stanford University
Diego hails from a small town in southern Oregon, and has always been passionate about Economic Development. This gave him a front seat to the bottlenecks that prevent our society from building enough to reach the abundance of housing, energy, and healthcare that we need. Since starting at Willamette, Diego has founded Salem YIMBY Action to mobilize his classmates to fight for Housing Abundance in Oregon and is looking forward to bringing this broader Abundance framework to this campus.
Diego Diaz, Willamette Univeristy
Maxwell grew up in Oakland, California, where his mom, despite working full-time, struggled to buy a home in the neighborhood his family had called home for two decades. Later, while working in Rust Belt towns in Pennsylvania, he kept hearing the same story he had heard back in the Bay Area: people struggling with the rising cost of living. Interning for an Abundance-aligned candidate in San Francisco showed him that a new kind of politics was possible. Abundance gave him a vocabulary for what he had long felt: that the high cost of living and slow government weren’t inevitable, but problems that can be solved with the right vision.
Maxwell Stern, University of California, Berkeley
Fayaz grew up in Wichita, Kansas in a household shaped by the experiences of immigrant parents who came to the United States seeking opportunity and stability. Their journey instilled in him the values of self reliance, initiative, and drive to seize every opportunity. He was drawn to the movement for its focus on practical solutions that foster innovation, efficiency, and measurable results. He believes college campuses need more spaces for serious policy discussion and debate, and Abundance will contribute to a future where more people have the tools and freedom needed to thrive.
Fayaz Ul-Alam, University of Kansas
Daniel is from northern New Jersey and has always considered himself standing firmly on the side of those overlooked by the system. As a student at WashU studying economics and environmental analysis, he has focused on how solutions to complex, systemic issues almost always require trade-offs. Any political movement has to acknowledge this if it wants to actually get anything done , and Abundance is about looking to fix real issues in America today in an unapologetically wonky way. Its focus on helping our communities today, driven by an ethos of data-driven pragmatism, is unique in our political environment, and one he wholly supports.
Daniel Singh, Washington University in St. Louis
Cadin grew up in Denver, Colorado. In high school, he spent a sizable amount of time in developing countries, where he came to recognize energy poverty and lack of infrastructure as the cause of significant human suffering. Now, studying mechanical engineering and working at a nuclear laboratory, he hopes to sizably expand nuclear energy production throughout the world, and believes that widespread dissemination of Abundance principles is the only way that this vision can be achieved.
Cadin Dinneen, Texas A&M University
Our Team
Our Team
Our Team
Victoria Ren
Executive Director
Victoria is a senior at Stanford studying data science and history. Previously, she’s worked at Commerce and in local government. She is interested in new media, institutions, and technology.
Victoria Ren
Executive Director
Victoria is a senior at Stanford studying data science and history. Previously, she’s worked at Commerce and in local government. She is interested in new media, institutions, and technology.
Victoria Ren
Executive Director
Victoria is a senior at Stanford studying data science and history. Previously, she’s worked at Commerce and in local government. She is interested in new media, institutions, and technology.
Matthew Meyers
Policy Director
Matthew is the Abundance Coordinator at The Niskanen Center. He previously worked in the Senate and the Treasury Department. He is interested in housing and clean energy deployment.
Matthew Meyers
Policy Director
Matthew is the Abundance Coordinator at The Niskanen Center. He previously worked in the Senate and the Treasury Department. He is interested in housing and clean energy deployment.
Matthew Meyers
Policy Director
Matthew is the Abundance Coordinator at The Niskanen Center. He previously worked in the Senate and the Treasury Department. He is interested in housing and clean energy deployment.
Maxwell Stern
Organizing Director
Maxwell is a senior at UC Berkeley studying political economy. He has worked on a house committee and in the California State Assembly. He is interested in science policy and institutional design.
Maxwell Stern
Organizing Director
Maxwell is a senior at UC Berkeley studying political economy. He has worked on a house committee and in the California State Assembly. He is interested in science policy and institutional design.
Maxwell Stern
Organizing Director
Maxwell is a senior at UC Berkeley studying political economy. He has worked on a house committee and in the California State Assembly. He is interested in science policy and institutional design.
Our Advisors
Our Advisors
Our Advisors
Misha Chellem
Abundance Network
Misha is the co-founder of Abundance Network, a membership organization helping actualize the movement. He has founded a number of projects including a bootstrapped learning community that scaled to $10m in revenue.
Misha Chellem
Abundance Network
Misha is the co-founder of Abundance Network, a membership organization helping actualize the movement. He has founded a number of projects including a bootstrapped learning community that scaled to $10m in revenue.
Misha Chellem
Abundance Network
Misha is the co-founder of Abundance Network, a membership organization helping actualize the movement. He has founded a number of projects including a bootstrapped learning community that scaled to $10m in revenue.
Marshall Kosloff
The Niskanen Center
Marshall is the host of The Realignment, which maps out the changing landscape of ideas in American policy and was once called “Abundance Podcast HQ” by Ezra Klein. Previously, he worked on Firing Line with Margaret Hoover.
Marshall Kosloff
The Niskanen Center
Marshall is the host of The Realignment, which maps out the changing landscape of ideas in American policy and was once called “Abundance Podcast HQ” by Ezra Klein. Previously, he worked on Firing Line with Margaret Hoover.
Marshall Kosloff
The Niskanen Center
Marshall is the host of The Realignment, which maps out the changing landscape of ideas in American policy and was once called “Abundance Podcast HQ” by Ezra Klein. Previously, he worked on Firing Line with Margaret Hoover.
Steve Teles
Johns Hopkins University
Steve is a Political Science Professor at Johns Hopkins University and a Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center. He has shaped the movement with pieces such as “Kludgeocracy in America,” “Minoritarianism is Everywhere,” and “Varieties of Abundance.”
Steve Teles
Johns Hopkins University
Steve is a Political Science Professor at Johns Hopkins University and a Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center. He has shaped the movement with pieces such as “Kludgeocracy in America,” “Minoritarianism is Everywhere,” and “Varieties of Abundance.”
Steve Teles
Johns Hopkins University
Steve is a Political Science Professor at Johns Hopkins University and a Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center. He has shaped the movement with pieces such as “Kludgeocracy in America,” “Minoritarianism is Everywhere,” and “Varieties of Abundance.”
Jen Pahlka
Recoding America
Jennifer is the author of Recoding America: Why Government is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better. She founded Code for America, served as U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer, and helped found the United States Digital Service.
Jen Pahlka
Recoding America
Jennifer is the author of Recoding America: Why Government is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better. She founded Code for America, served as U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer, and helped found the United States Digital Service.
Jen Pahlka
Recoding America
Jennifer is the author of Recoding America: Why Government is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better. She founded Code for America, served as U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer, and helped found the United States Digital Service.
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