Rockwood is proud to announce the inaugural cohort of the Fellowship for Techquity!
The purpose of this fellowship is to build the leadership capacity of organizations to put technology and equity at the center of their approach. The intention is to create a learning community to strategize about effective technology platforms for their work towards an increased understanding of emerging tech resources.
Please join us in congratulating the 2017 fellows:
As Chief of Staff, Glen works with SumOfUs’ senior leadership team to define organizational strategy and identify new opportunities for members to take action in the fight against corporate power. Glen was first drawn to activism as a student at Monash University where he helped lead and grow Australia’s largest youth-run aid and development organization, Oaktree. Since then he has worked with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition to mobilize young people across the country in support of Australia’s first ever carbon price and helped found Australian Progress, a nonprofit focused on building the advocacy capacity of Australia’s civil society organizations.
Augie is responsible for promoting Fresno Building Healthy Communities goals and mission through public and media relations and communications programming as well as assisting with marketing and event planning for the coalition. He received his degree in Mass Communications & Journalism with an emphasis in Advertising from California State University, Fresno. Before coming to Fresno Building Healthy Communities in 2012, Augie worked as a Marketing Assistant for the Central California Blood Center and as the Marketing and Public Relations Assistant for the Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. He also serves as vice president and Communications Director for the Fresno Reel Pride LGBTQ Film Festival Board of Directors.
Jane Booth-Tobin | Principal, Movement Technology, Wellstone Action
Jane comes to Wellstone after seven years with TakeAction Minnesota. During her time at TakeAction, she built the organization’s digital organizing program from the ground up – more than quadrupling their online base of supporters and turning it into a powerful part of any campaign. She led online work as part of successful campaigns to defeat the voter ID amendment at the ballot box, ban the criminal records box on employment applications, raise the minimum wage, and most recently to pass earned sick and safe time in Minneapolis – reaching hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans and engaging supporters in every legislative district in the state. In addition, Jane developed training curriculum for staff and members to use online tools effectively and worked closely with partner organizations to build their online power. At Wellstone, she focuses on building the capacity of digital organizers to wield online tools powerfully and transformatively.
A data professional with over ten years of experience managing data for municipal, statewide and federal campaigns; Risa uses her background and experience to help progressive campaigns target key constituencies and develop best practices for moving voters to action. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University strongly influenced by the spirit of Damus Nostrum, Risa enjoyed volunteering at Los Angeles Regional Food Bank and the Union Rescue Mission while living in California. In 2015, she joined the PICO National Network and currently serves as their National Data and Targeting Director. At PICO Risa hopes her skills can help the faith community implement the change needed to create a just and more equitable world.
Sandra Celedon is responsible for guiding and supporting multi-sector, diverse stakeholder collaboration in order to foster and encourage thriving communities where all children and families can live healthy lives. She received her degree in Public Health from California State University, Fresno and spent her college years traveling to Egypt, Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago and Brazil to learn about international health systems and policies. Prior to coming to Fresno BHC, she served as Outreach and Enrollment Programs Manager at Clinica Sierra Vista and has developed a number of public health programs with special focus on prevention and primary care access. Sandra adheres to the public health principles which recognize that all people must have access to the resources necessary for health and that people and their physical environment are interdependent, which is why she dedicates herself to building healthy communities.
Marianne Chung, MPH, is Senior Director of Community Initiatives at the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), a national health justice organization which influences policy, mobilizes communities, and strengthens programs and organizations to improve the health of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Marianne is responsible for directing the organization’s work to build a national network of community based organizations and health leaders for collective action, as well as overseeing APIAHF’s launch of new innovations and strategies for network development. She has almost fifteen years’ experience working with Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander community based organizations and multicultural coalitions to expand access to health care, improve the quality of care, and increase investments in community-driven health strategies. Her experience focuses on development national networks for action, training and technical assistance, strategic planning, group facilitation, leadership and organizational development.
Brandi serves as Senior Campaign Director for Color of Change and oversees the Media, Economic and Environmental Justice departments. In her tenure she has overseen a number of corporate and government accountability campaigns that tackle online discrimination, hate speech and representation in media. She comes to COC from The Center for Media Justice, where she worked on issues such as net neutrality and the cost of phone calls from prison. Previously, Brandi worked at Safer Foundation in Illinois, where she crafted state and national recommendations and statements on workforce development, community capacity building, and prisoner reentry.
Mishara serves as the National VAN (Voter Activation Network) Administrator at State Voices. She works directly with Tools For All partner organizations in the 30 at-large states that do not have a State Voices civic engagement table. Her prior experience includes marketing and development, campus organizing, issue advocacy, and coordinating volunteers in political campaigns. Most recently, Mishara worked as a lead organizer in a presidential race in New Hampshire and Mississippi. Mishara graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Political Science & Urban Planning. She lives in Northern Virginia and enjoys mini-golf, biking near the national mall, and trying new restaurants.
Courtney prides herself on being a Technical User Experience(UX) leader who’s dedicated to using technology to improve access and create opportunities for underrepresented communities. Before coming to Color Of Change, she was the UX Lead at the United States Digital Service team at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where she lead a multi-disciplined UX engineering team in product development efforts, with a focus on brand consistency, and diversity and inclusion through accessibility. Prior to the U.S. Digital Service, Courtney spent several years in civic tech, building applications that help people reach voters and get people involved in the political process. Campaigns and Elections Magazine named Courtney a “2015 Rising Star”, which only fueled her flame for public service.
Ashley Fairbanks | Director of Narrative & Network Building, Voices for Racial Justice
Ashley Fairbanks is an Anishinaabe artist, organizer, and designer and the Director of Narrative and Network Building at Voices for Racial Justice. Ashley is a founding member of the ROVE project, a united effort of Rhymesayers Entertainment, community organizers, and artists utilizing hip hop to impact our electoral process. She attended the University of Minnesota and studied American Indian Studies and Political Science and has completed Intermedia Arts Creative Community Leadership Institute, People’s Action Alliance Native Organizers Alliance training, the Humphrey School’s Roy Wilkins Community Policy Fellowship, was the 2016 Forecast Public Art Emerging Public Artist and is a 2017 Bush Foundation Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar
Tina ensures a consistent and effective work culture across her organization, continuous staff development, and that CPD’s infrastructure is adequate to support its work. Prior to helping launch CPD in April 2012, Tina worked for nine years at the International Education Resource Network (iEARN-USA), where she held various positions, including Co-Executive Director. In her time there she worked to design and implement pioneer public diplomacy initiatives through the State Department, developed for American students and their peers throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia following 9/11. In this capacity, she provided intensive training and technical assistance to establish and sustain operations in over 40 countries. Tina is a graduate of New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service and Rutgers University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their three sons.
Susannah has spent a decade building and leading teams at the forefront of technology and organizing. Before joining the Courage team, Susannah spent 3 years at the Citizen Engagement Lab, holding positions as Deputy Director of the CEL Climate Lab and then Chief of Staff for the Lab’s overall programmatic work. Prior to joining CEL, Susannah spent 5 years with MoveOn.org, helping build MoveOn’s first in-house field organizing program and then pivoting to a more online-centric role as Campaign Director. She also spent time in Australia working with MoveOn’s sister organization, GetUp, to build and execute a successful election season field program. Susannah is incredibly excited to shift her focus to her chosen home-state of California, and organizing to pass policies and build a political culture that can provide a model for the rest of the country.
Vina Kay | Executive Director, Voices for Racial Justice
Vina Kay is the executive director at Voices for Racial Justice. The daughter of immigrant parents from Thailand, she was raised in Omaha and is a graduate of Carleton College and the University of Minnesota Law School. She worked for several years with john powell at the Institute on Race and Poverty, first as legal fellow and then as senior researcher and director of the Racial Justice and Regional Equity Project. Vina is a writer of poetry and creative nonfiction, as well as a documentary filmmaker. Her current project, Building the Pink Tower, reimagines schools and learning through the lens of Montessori education.
Kimberly Longey co-founded Free Press in 2003 and serves as chief operating officer. She has more than 25 years’ experience building, growing and reinventing nonprofit organizations. Before joining Free Press, Kimberly served as deputy director of the Proteus Fund and executive director of the Hilltown Community Development Corp. She has held numerous elected and appointed government and civic positions in Massachusetts and is a past board president of the Solidago Foundation and the Old Creamery Co-op. She holds a master’s degree in community economic development from the University of Southern New Hampshire.
Lucia is a digital campaigner at Free Press where she coordinates the technical execution of Free Press’ online advocacy and focuses on digital engagement, content creation, social media strategy and co-leads the race equity working group. Lucia earned her B.A. in Latino/a & Latin American Studies at Occidental College, where she was an organizer with the Coalition at Oxy for Diversity and Equity. She is a recipient of the 2017 Kairos Fellowship, an opportunity for digital campaigners of color to help bridge the gap between online advocacy and racial justice. Lucia is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a longtime member of Generation Justice as well as a Civic Opportunities Initiative Network scholar. She currently resides in Washington D.C.
Vincent is a 35 year old software engineer. Born in Spain, he spent a good part of his teens in Africa, which definitely had a big influence in who he is today. Shortly after studying Software Engineering, Vincent was looking for a change and, being passionate about technology, history, and ethnic cultures, a move to Sociology seemed like a natural fit. It wasn’t quite what he expected, so after a few years of sociology, it was back to technology. In 2009, he moved to London to start a new chapter, and he’s since then fallen in love with the city’s ever changing landscape, and its cultural diversity.
As Organizing Director, Tim is in charge of mobilizing thousands of Californians on the ground, throughout the state and in Sacramento, to pass progressive legislation that can serve as a model for the country and hold Democrats accountable the needs of everyday Californians. Before coming to Courage, Tim was at Brave New Films as their Outreach Director where he directed national campaigns around BNF’s full-length documentaries and short videos, working on issues ranging from mass incarceration, workers rights, immigration, and U.S. wars. Prior to joining BNF, Tim worked with MoveOn.org as a National Field Organizer, where he oversaw over 1 million MoveOn members in CA, HI, and AK. Tim started his organizing career as a Labor Organizer with SEIU Local 1021 based out of San Francisco. Originally from Los Angeles, Tim is currently based in Sacramento.
A SF Bay Area native, McCrae has spent 20 years working at the intersection of digital access, media advocacy and community empowerment. His roles at local, state and national levels have ranged from educator to media policy advocate to special initiatives director. Prior to his position at the CMJ, McCrae was the Managing Director of ZeroDivide where he designed and implemented capacity building and leadership development projects that leveraged digital technology in under-resourced and under-served communities for social equity and justice outcomes. McCrae is currently a Board Member for Idealware (National) and an Advisor for Public Matters, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA).
Yolanda Perkins is the Data and VAN Administrative Manager/Director of the Data and Organizing Fellowship at Wisconsin Voices. Yolanda was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After years of bad decision making, and a lot of self-reflection, Yolanda finally made up her mind to want something different, not even knowing what that would look like; the unknown had to be better. Yolanda started volunteering and learned the words to describe her struggles. She now passes on the structure of investment in the ladder of greater, training other people of color to create, build, and develop strategies to more effectively organize their communities, integrating data and tech tools and tactics as well as modeling and training on leadership development. All while keeping intentional focus on cultural adjustments and relational base building. Yolanda loves data and identifies with its unlimited potential, quality, effectiveness, and uniqueness!
Rabia Syed is the Director of Technology and Systems at the Center for Popular Democracy. At CPD, Rabia is responsible for all things tech, ranging from CRM for organizing and programs to oversight of IT. She came to CPD from Transportation Alternatives, where she led data management and marketing automation. Prior to TransAlt, she was a CRM Consultant for Build Consulting, where she helped nonprofits better leverage technology to increase public engagement. Rabia’s nonprofit career started at Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. In addition to her decade of experience at the intersection of tech and social change work, Rabia is also a proud former board member of the South Asian American Digital Archive. Rabia is a graduate of Temple University and currently based in Brooklyn, NY.
AJ has an expertise in visual storytelling, social media, brand awareness, and multimedia design. She currently manages online mobilization campaigns, oversees branding and marketing strategies, and provides strategic communications technical assistance to partnering agencies across the country and in the Pacific jurisdictions. She is also a member of the Bay Area Cause Communications group, a former board member of the Daly City Partnership Collaborative and the Liwanag Kultural Center, and has provided communications and design support to local community-based organizations and small businesses. AJ graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Asian American Studies with a focus in Communications and from the Art Institute of San Francisco with a degree in Advertising and Design. She loves interweaving data and storytelling into purposeful design, runs marathons for the views, and loves getting lost in new places
Arianna is Principal of Movement Technology at Wellstone Action, where she leads on data and analytics trainings, including Data and Analytics Camp. She has over a decade of experience in community, labor and electoral organizing on and offline. Before coming to Wellstone, Arianna served as Deputy National Data Director for Bernie 2016, where she crafted the tech infrastructure behind the national distributed volunteer program, including the dialer engine which powered 75 million remote phone calls. An alumna of the 2008 Obama Campaign, the 2010 South Bay Labor Council and NationBuilder, her organizing philosophy is grounded in a firm belief that communities bound by empathy and driven by hope are unstoppable.
Turner is the Digital Manager at Center for Media Justice where they develop and implement resource generation and digital organizing strategies to advance racial justice. Prior to joining CMJ, Turner mobilized resources for the reproductive justice movement as the Development Assistant at Forward Together. They have also worked with organizations in support of API women nail salon workers’ rights, immigrant rights, and environmental justice. Turner is a proud second-generation, queer, trans, prison abolitionist and mixed-race Filipinx. In their spare time, they enjoy hiking around the Bay Area, providing support to incarcerated trans and gender non-conforming people, cooking with friends, and organizing against US and state-sponsored violence in the Philippines. Turner holds a BA in Environmental Science & Policy and Women & Gender Studies from Smith College.
Felicia manages PICO’s CRM platforms (Salesforce & Salsa), leads the civic engagement equipment & technology program, and provides technical support to PICO’s network affiliates. She recently developed a digital data training program to build a security savvy culture in the organization and is the co-creator of PICO’s internal organizer training curriculum for the operations staff in the network. A self-described hybrid of data, technology, and interpersonal skills; she holds undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Education. Felicia is based in Washington, DC.