MISSION STATEMENT
Civic Duty Rice strives to build and empower a diverse community of Houston youth around civic participation and action. We work with local and national organizations to reduce and remove barriers to civic participation that disproportionately impact youth, communities of color, and low income communities, among others. We are committed to ensuring that the ideals of our representative democracy are fully and fairly reflected in our federal, state, and local systems of government while simultaneously recognizing the systemic barriers that prevent some from participating. As a student-led, nonpartisan organization, we seek to institutionalize reform at Rice and engage college students to create meaningful change in their communities through increased service activities, political activism, voter registration and participation, and civic education.
WHO WE ARE
Executive Committee
Joshua Fang (they/he) is the President of Civic Duty Rice, and this is their second term in office. Josh is a senior at Hanszen College studying Mathematical Economic Analysis and Social Policy Analysis with a minor in Data Science. Josh joined Civic Duty Rice in the spring of 2021 as the Houston Engagement Committee Head in hopes of empowering Houston youth to become active, engaged citizens capable of mobilizing their communities to create positive social change. Since then, Josh has been deeply involved in grassroots organizing to promote youth civic engagement at Rice and in Houston. Previously, Josh served as a 2021-2022 Texas Civic Ambassador with the New Politics Forum of the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life at The University of Texas at Austin. Josh also organized the Houston Youth Voters Conference for the past three years. Now, Josh represents Civic Duty Rice within Rice University’s RiceVotes Collective as well as Houston in Action’s GenHTX initative and Voter Engagement Working Group. In these coalitions, Josh actively coordinates with partners to plan and implement voter mobilization and civic engagement promotion efforts at Rice and in Houston.
Caitlin Claxton (she/her) is the Houston Engagement Chair of Civic Duty Rice, and this is her first term in office! Caitlin is a junior at Baker College studying Political Science and Social Policy Analysis with a minor in Politics, Law, and Social Thought. She is also deeply involved with Baker College as both a Socials Chair and a Spirit Chair.
Jocelyn Wang (she/her) is the Rice Engagement Chair of Civic Duty Rice. She is a sophomore majoring in Political Science and minoring in Politics, Law, and Social Thought. She is involved in her college and the Student Association as the Baker Parliamentarian and SA Director of Elections. Jocelyn is extremely passionate about increasing voter equity and accessibility, and looks forward to furthering these interests this year in Civic Duty Rice!
Katherine Jeng (she/her) is the Student Engagement Chair for Civic Duty Rice. She is a junior at Hanszen studying English and Social Policy Analysis, as well as pursuing a minor in Politics, Law, and Social Thought. On campus, she’s a Democracy Fellow for Campus Vote Project, serves on the RiceVotes Executive Coalition, manages a cohort of Civic Engagement Representatives, and is an editor for the Rice Journal of Public Policy. She has also been a poll worker for the on-campus, student-run polling location at Rice the past two years. In her freshman year, Katherine created an advocacy group called One Year Harris, which centered on the need for mental health diversion services for justice-involved 17-year-olds in Harris County and ultimately led to the creation of a juvenile diversion center in Harris County. She’s dedicated her college career to voting rights, civic engagement, and advocacy, and is looking forward to getting other Rice students involved through Civic Duty Rice.
Alumni Board
Carolyn is currently an Associate Consultant II at the Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit consulting firm that helps nonprofits and philanthropists with strategy, giving, and operations. She will be starting at Harvard Law School in Fall 2023 to pursue her goal of becoming a public interest lawyer. While at Rice, Carolyn double majored in Social Policy Analysis and History, and also received a Certificate in Spanish. Carolyn co-founded the Houston Youth Voters Conference in 2018 and was a member of Civic Duty Rice for 4 years, serving as a Houston Engagement Committee Member, Committee Head, and then Vice President. Outside of community work and activism through Civic Duty, Carolyn was highly involved in McMurtry student government, the Center for Civic Leadership, and the Baker Institute Summer Program, and successfully advocated for the passing of a bill banning non-consensual pelvic exams in the Texas Legislature. In her free time, Carolyn loves playing soccer, baking, and hiking. Carolyn’s family lives in both Texas and New York and she loved her time as a Houstonian!
Meredith is the cofounder of Civic Duty Rice and served as its President from 2017-2020. She completed her BA in Political Science and French and went on to do a Master’s in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action at Sciences Po Paris. She currently works as a Program Associate at the International Republican Institute, helping implement election observation and civil society strengthening projects in West Africa. She is passionate about youth civic engagement and political inclusion, which guided her work throughout her time with Civic Duty Rice.
Sonia was born and raised in Caguas Puerto Rico, and completed high school and college in Houston, Texas. Sonia’s experiences as a member of the Boricua diaspora and Houstonite influenced their policy and research interests in racial equity, housing justice, and reparative economic policies.
Sonia earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematical Economic Analysis from Rice University as a Trustee Distinguished Scholar. While at Rice, they co-founded Civic Duty Rice, the Houston Youth Voters Conference, and the “In the Loop” Podcast. Additionally, they served as president and violinist of Mariachi Luna Llena, an Urban Immersion coordinator, a Rice Student Volunteer Project (RSVP) outreach coordinator, a CCL Student Ambassador, an Annette Strauss Texas Civic Ambassador (TCA), and a Mi Familia Vota Emerging Latino Leader. As a national competitor for the George R. Brown Forensics Society and Rice Debate team, Sonia and their partner Jason Barton finished second at the 2019 National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence, a first in Rice history. At the 2019 graduation, Sonia was selected as one of two recipients of the Annise Parker Impact through Public Service Award. And in the summer of 2020, they supported the organizing efforts for a community-based mutual aid campaign, Rice for Black Life, which raised $93,000 dollars for Houston-based Black-led or Black-serving organizations.
Currently, Sonia is a research associate at the Urban Institute in DC, where they use empirical research methods and data science to explore ethical uses of machine learning, racial equity, neighborhood change, and Latinx outcomes. Within the Office of Race and Equity Research, they contribute to work for the Racial Equity Analytics Lab and the inaugural Community Engaged Research Methods Center. Concurrently, they are completing a Masters of Science in Applied Economics from Johns Hopkins University, with coursework in regional economics, microeconomics, econometrics, and machine learning. In their free time, they love to volunteer, travel, learn new languages, and cheer on the Astros!