Meet the Team

Our Officers

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Garrett Barnes, President & Founder

From Fair Bluff, NC, a town of less than 500 in the southeastern region of North Carolina, Garrett is a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Garrett nurtured a passion for education advocacy beginning in his sophomore year at UNC when he realized a common theme about many of his friends who were or had been struggling to adapt to life at Carolina: they were all rural students. He began working in organizations at UNC, primarily in student government, he believed were dedicated to supporting students in their academic journey. Believing that assistance needed to be tailored to student needs more closely, Garrett sought to found the Education Symmetry Project with Neil Sharma, the now Vice-President of the Project with whom he grew close through their shared dedication to elevating students from backgrounds similar to their own.

Neil Sharma, Vice-President & Founder

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William Epley, Secretary

William Epley is a graduate from UNC Chapel Hill who studied Political Science and English. Originally from Wilkes County, and a graduate of Wilkes Community College, he is interested in providing more rural, first generation, and non-traditional students with access to essential information to help them succeed academically. Through working with ESP, he hopes to increase educational equity across North Carolina.

Andrew Forbes, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Our Division Directors

Annabel Dougherty, Director of Programming and Outreach

Annabel Dougherty is a recent graduate of UNC Chapel Hill, where she majored in Management and Society and minored in Entrepreneurship. Originally from Chicago, she is passionate about building community and expanding access to opportunity. While at UNC, Annabel co-founded the UNC Transfer Lounge—the university’s first dedicated space for transfer students—creating programming focused on mentorship, connection, and resource sharing. She also served as a Peer Financial Coach, teaching students essential financial literacy topics. Annabel now works in Sales at Dell Technologies in Austin, Texas, where she continues to apply her passion for people, problem-solving, and impact. She is excited to be a part of the ESP family to continue her work combatting information asymmetry and hopes to allow every student equal access to make the most out of their undergraduate experience.

Katie Hopkins, Director of Research

Our Programming Team Leaders

Aakash Palathra, Pre-Law Team Leader

Lyla Bullard, Pre-Medicine Programming Leader

Matthew Thornton, First-Generation Programming Leader

Our Administrative Division

Doug Daniel, Recruiter

Our Board of Directors

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