CONTEXT OF ISLANDS
Pasquines is a nonprofit news organization, led and run by volunteers, dedicated to ending the insularity between the United States and its territories.
We believe that the United States territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands, are needlessly absent from national conversations involving politics, policy, design, and innovation. At the same time, local discussions negate the impact that federal issues have on life in these jurisdictions. That is why we are focused on bringing local issues to the national conversation, and national issues to local consideration. In the face of a challenging environment for journalism, we seek to pioneer innovative news publishing that is focused on rising students and journalists; raise awareness of the existence and conditions of the territories; and inspire inclusion of these citizens in all critical considerations. With ardent tenacity to eradicate the insularity between the nation and the territories, we publish the context of islands.
The work by Pasquines is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, except where otherwise indicated.
OUR MISSION
To end the insularity between the United States and its territories and to inspire the inclusion of these citizens in all critical considerations.
OUR VISION
To provide factual, accurate, and thorough content for unreported and ignored issues, focusing on the affairs of the United States territories.
We are produced by a team all over the world but are headquartered in Washington, DC, on the ancestral lands of the Anacostans (Nacotchtank) and the neighboring Piscataway and Pamunkey peoples.
Pasquines is fiscally sponsored by The Hack Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN: 81-2908499).
William-José Vélez González
Editor in Chief
William-José Vélez González is a native from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and a graduate from Florida International University in biomedical engineering, engineering management, and international relations. A designer with a strong interest in science, policy, and innovation, he previously served as the national executive vice president of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association. William-José lives in Washington, DC, where he works at the Children’s National Research Institute and runs Opsin, a nonprofit design studio dedicated to making design more accessible. You can see him on Love is Blind as Lydia’s brother. He is the founder and Editor in Chief of Pasquines.
Kabir Buch
Northern Mariana Islands Affairs Intern Editor
Kabir Buch is a senior at the Harker School in California. He’s passionate about constitutional law and political science, and worked on a lawsuit protecting free speech rights on social media (Cool World v. Twitter). He’s deeply interested in global affairs and is a captain of his school’s debate team. In his free time, he loves hiking, strolling through his neighborhood, and reading fantasy novels.
Holger Droessler
American Samoa Affairs Associate Editor
Aamir Jamil
Federal Affairs Intern Editor
Aamir Jamil is a student at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. After living in Switzerland and Saudi Arabia, he became fascinated with international affairs, politics, and history. He enjoys reading, researching politics and political trends, discovering American and world history, and poring over the news in his free time. Other hobbies include playing the clarinet and writing for the university newspaper.
Angelica La Marca
At Large Intern Editor
Angelica La Marca is an alumnus of the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she earned degrees in politics and literature with an emphasis on writing. In 2023, she was chosen by the UCSC Literature Department as the recipient of the Best Senior Creative Writing Prize of her graduating class on account of her works included in her senior thesis. Before joining Pasquines, she served as a copyeditor at Catamaran Literary Reader, a print magazine based in Santa Cruz, California, which has published work from several nationally distinguished authors. She has an interest in decolonization, demilitarization, and degrowth, paradigms that she wishes to develop and broaden her knowledge of during her time at Pasquines.
