Kayla Tawa

Senior Policy Analyst, Youth Policy
Policy expertise: 
Children, Youth & Families
Criminal Justice
Health and Mental Health
Opportunity Youth
Racial Equity
Young Adult Behavioral Health
Youth and Young Adults
Youth Employment

Kayla Tawa is a senior policy analyst on the youth team and provides support to the youth, mental health, and justice teams. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Mount Holyoke College earning a degree in English and anthropology. While at Mount Holyoke, she explored the intersections of migration, labor, race, and trauma, writing her senior thesis on the role of trauma literature in reconstructing national memory. Prior to joining CLASP, she worked at NYU Shanghai as a Global Writing and Speaking Fellow, conducting research on the human rights implications of decriminalized sex work.