Reesa Venterea

Reesa Venterea (she/they) is a Columbia College student in the Urban Studies and Public Health departments and is pursuing a minor in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. She is a Mexican-Italian-American from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and brings this lens into her focus on affordable housing, immigration reform, and anti-surveillance methods within urban spaces. In 2025, she was named an Oslo Human Rights Scholar and a PBS 20-under-20 journalist. At Columbia, Reesa works with the Housing Equity Project to redistribute resources to the West Harlem neighborhood affected by Columbia’s historical and ongoing gentrification. She also works closely with the Columbia University Tenants' Union to address Columbia's role as a landlord and collective access to fair housing conditions. Reesa additionally works at the Columbia School of Social Work’s Center for Justice, focused on post-incarceration educational resources and alternative approaches to justice. She is a violinist interested in all genres of music, performing in a Mexican folk music/Mariachi group, Afro-Cuban and Brazilian ensembles, and a Bluegrass band.