NAME: JONATHAN PEREZ-REYZIN

HOMETOWN: CAMBRIDGE, MA

Meet Jonathan, a member of the Brooklyn site team! Jonathan is a recent graduate of Harvard University, where he studied Philosophy. While in college, Jonathan gained experience in law and education, working at CityYear New Orleans and Bay Area Legal Aid. He has brought his devotion to public service to America Works, where he has developed a Youth Pathways Financial Literacy training inspired by his experience interning in consumer law and working with clients undergoing serious financial problems and debt. He has also taken on the fun, yet challenging, role of teaching pre-HSE Science courses to clients in New York, where he enjoys interacting one-on-one with clients and helping them through the learning process. For his research project, he is interested in investigating the question of what motivates people to seek workforce development services voluntarily in times of crisis, with an eye toward the COVID-19 situation.

JONATHAN’S FAVORITE MOVIE:

The original Blade Runner

Jonathan says: “It's stunningly beautiful, the special effects hold up today, and the soundtrack is perfect 80's sci-fi. Beyond the audiovisual experience, the content grows increasingly relevant as technology advances. Just this last week I was seeing tons of comparisons of San Francisco during the fires with the dystopian California of Blade Runner (which is supposed to have taken place in 2019). The similarities are striking!’

JONATHAN’S FAVORITE BOOK:

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Jonathan read this book, an autobiographical account of Stevenson's first experiences representing death row inmates in the Deep South as an attorney, for the first time in high school. When he watched the recent movie adaptation, he remembered how important it had been to him, cementing his interest in criminal justice reform, which he has taken with him through college and into his career.

A HOBBY JONATHAN ENJOYS:

EDM and Music Festivals

Jonathan loves electronic dance music, and in pre-COVID times, he would travel to music festivals across the country. Although the live events are on pause, he enjoys listening to dance music and reminiscing about concerts.

After his fellowship year, Jonathan will be attending Yale Law School, where he hopes to focus on criminal justice and direct service work as a student and eventually as an attorney. He believes his time as a Work First Fellow will be invaluable in better understanding the needs of the clients and populations he will be representing.

Now that you’ve met some of our Work First Fellows, keep up with them! Follow Work First on Twitter and Facebook to support our work connecting people with jobs and researching innovative strategies to combat poverty.