KIKI WHITMAN

Growing up in the Kern River Valley, a small town in California, Kiki learned early how much community matters and how deeply decisions made far away can shape everyday life. hat perspective was shaped not only by where she grew up, but by what she grew up with: a congenital heart condition, and life inside a blended family with five adopted siblings. Because of that, hospitals, court systems, schools, and social services were never abstract ideas in her life. They were real systems her family had to navigate, rely on, and sometimes push back against.  Those experiences shaped her political view in a deeply personal way. As she began speaking more openly about her beliefs, she noticed how often people disagreed—not always because of the facts, but because of upbringing, access, and exposure. That realization became the fuel behind AVZ: to highlight how deeply beliefs are shaped long before people ever choose them, and how rarely people are given space to truly understand perspectives outside their own. Now a Political Science student at the University of California, Berkeley, she spends much of her time thinking about power, policy, and why people believe what they believe, especially in the realm of international relations. She is less interested in talking at people and more interested in talking with people, while creating space for real conversation, especially across differences. She co-founded AVZ to channel that perspective into something constructive: a place that makes learning accessible, encourages curiosity, and creates room for dialogue that leads to understanding and action.