Xavier Roberts

Homeschooled until college, Xavier graduated with his associate’s degree from Piedmont Virginia Community College at the age of eighteen before traveling to India for six months to study yoga and meditation in advance of completing a year of service as a third grade teacher in Southeast Washington, D.C., with the AmeriCorps program, City Year. Subsequently, Xavier completed his bachelor’s degree at the University of Virginia, majoring in Global Development Studies, before relocating to Hawaii to teach eighth grade special education as a Teach For America corps member. After four years of teaching, Xavier began his transition into a career in social justice, public policy, and community development, becoming an inaugural Oramenta Newsome Fellow with Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC), where he served families experiencing homelessness. Simultaneously, Xavier began interning on Capitol Hill for Congresswoman Kathy Castor, Chair of the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. Before becoming an Emerson Fellow, Xavier interned full-time with the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, where he further developed his knowledge of food and agriculture national public policy.

Field placement: Washington Food Coalition

Seattle, Washington

Policy placement: National Conference of State Legislatures

Washington, DC