Team Kenan - The Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University

A mobile ethics salon

Team Kenan is a part of the Institute’s social and intellectual community, creating spaces for students, faculty, and Institute staff to think and talk about ethics outside of the classroom in fun and engaging ways. TK programs serve as a complement to the Institute’s curricular offerings, giving students who are interested in ethics additional opportunities to chat, think, and challenge one another and the wider Duke community. The team, made up of a diverse cross-section of Duke students, engages the Duke community through “couching”: students are welcome to sit in Kenan’s mobile living room and discuss selected topics related to ethics. Meant to inspire spontaneous, unplanned moments of connection, the TK Couch brings ethical inquiry—and comfy chairs—to Duke students wherever they might be.

Members of Team Kenan develop interviewing and surveying skills; learn methods for effective communication in conversation, writing, and design; work on personal and professional presentations; and take part in event planning. Team Kenan participants receive a $1,000 honorarium.

Meet the 2022-2023 Team

Millicent Caughey
Millie Caughey is a freshman from Auckland, New Zealand. She enjoys debating, writing and roller skating. She is excited to learn more about how people’s backgrounds shape their ideas of ethics.

Rodrigo De La Vega
Rodrigo De La Vega is from Guatemala City, Guatemala. He is a Duke Kunshan student majoring in biology interested in pursuing a career as a researcher. Outside of school, he enjoys hiking with friends and playing sports like basketball and volleyball.

Dagny Edison
Dagny Edison is a junior double majoring in Political Science and Classical Civilizations from Charlotte, North Carolina. She enjoys reading about ethics and philosophy and is excited to engage with the Duke community on ethical issues. Dagny is a member of Phi Alpha Delta, Duke’s Pre-Law fraternity, and works as an SAT and ACT tutor. Outside of school, she loves playing disc golf, painting, discovering new music, and going to local concerts.

Debosir Ghosh
Debosir Ghosh is a student in Duke’s Class of 2024 and is currently pursuing a major in Neuroscience with minors in Statistics and Music. He enjoys working with others and looks forward to being on Duke’s Team Kenan to bring awareness to topics and conversations on how we can continue to make Duke a better place for students. Aside from his studies and musical pursuits, Debosir also enjoys plane-spotting and studying aviation.

Sonia Green
Sonia Green is a freshman from Durham, North Carolina who is interested in having ethical conversations with peers on campus. She enjoys hearing what others have to say and finding unique ways to connect to the person behind the opinion.

Jill Jacobs
Jill Jacobs is a sophomore from Frankfort, Kentucky who plans to double major in Political Science and Philosophy. As an alumna of the Envisioning Human Rights FOCUS cluster, Jill is also working to earn a Human Rights Certificate. After graduating, she hopes to attend law school. At Duke, Jill serves on the Human Rights Student Advisory Board and is a member of Duke-UNICEF. In her free time, she enjoys watching bad movies and, of course, talking about ethics.

Gianni Lacey-Howard
Gianni Lacey-Howard is fourth-year undergraduate student from Durham, NC. She is studying Sociology with a minor in Chemistry on the pre-med track. After graduation, she intends to work in sociological community-based research before pursuing an MD. Ultimately, she aspires to work in the field of clinical academic and community medicine. She plans to use her experience and knowledge as a physician to implement cultural health and wellness initiatives in her tribal community and Indigenous communities throughout North Carolina.

Mauro Mastrapasqua
Mauro Mastrapasqua is a first-year student and is excited to be a part Team Kenan. He is from Nashville and is planning to major in physics at Duke. Outside of classes, he plays piano in the jazz ensemble and is also involved with Project Wild. In his free time, he likes to go for runs around East Campus and jam with friends.

Gabriel Reis
Gabriel Reis is a freshman from Brasilia, Brazil, planning on majoring in Public Policy and Cultural Anthropology. He is passionate about bringing people together through debate and has previously worked to advance that in his country with Models United Nations. He intends to continue to do so at Duke with Team Kenan, the Duke International Relations Association, and the Alexander Hamilton Society. In his free time, Gabriel enjoys watching Oscar-nominated movies and trying to predict the winners of the next ceremony.

Julia Young
Julia Young is a native of Durham and is in her freshman year at Duke. She’s hoping to explore a major in International Comparative Studies or Political Science with a concentration in Security, Peace, and Conflict. Her favorite ethical topics to explore are those related to religion and fate. Fun Fact: Julia’s common app essay topic was about the branching tree multiverse theory and its impact on her moral compass.

team kenan couch