Carlos Mark Vera is the Program Manager of CPL’s Equity Fellowship. Prior to HKS, Carlos co-founded and served as the Executive Director of Pay Our Interns. Originally from Colombia, Carlos was raised in California but moved to Washington, D.C., to attend American University. While at AU, Carlos was an unpaid intern at the White House, the European Parliament, and the House of Representatives. He knows firsthand the struggles of trying to survive while interning for free. As a result, he founded Pay Our Interns in 2017 with less than $2,000. Under his leadership, Pay Our Interns has successfully convinced Congress to pass more than $150 million in funding for interns in Congressional offices, at the State Department, and in the White House. He has helped nonprofits, companies, and presidential campaigns create their internship programs. Carlos’ advocacy efforts led him to be named a Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree, Top 20 Changemaker by NBC Latino, Hispanics in Philanthropy Lideres Fellow, Echoing Green Fellow, Camelback Ventures Fellow, New Profit Civic Lab Fellow, and an Aspen Ideas Fellow. He has been featured in The Washington Post, NPR’s All Things Considered, The New York Times, and The Atlantic. He has also written for The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, USA Today, MSNBC, and NBC Latino. Most recently, his work at Pay Our Interns was featured in a case study titled "Entrepreneurial Leadership Must Help Meet America’s 21st Century Challenges in a Post-Pandemic World." A former college dropout, Carlos went back to school and graduated in May 2020 with a B.A. in Political Science from AU. He also served in the Army Reserves as a generator mechanic. When he's not writing, Carlos is most likely at a National Park hiking up a mountain.