ANDREW GOODMAN FOUNDATION - Key Persons
Abigale Belcrest currently serves as the special assistant to the undersecretary in the Bureau of Industry and Security within the United States Department of Commerce. Abigale has been active in the voter rights space in various capacities: previously they were the program coordinator for the MIT Election Data and Science Lab. Abigale also managed the Michigan Voter Protection Hotline with the Democratic Party in 2020.
Job Titles:
- Business Analyst With McKinsey & Company
Adam Gerard is a Business Analyst with McKinsey & Company, where he focuses his efforts on projects in the public and social sector, along with higher education. He graduated summa cum laude from Yale with a degree in Global Affairs in 2017.
Formerly, Adam served as President of the Tree Musketeers, the world's first youth-led non-profit organization. During Adam's tenure as President, the organization worked with youth to plant over 250,000 trees around the world and received over $1 million in donations. The organization has received recognition from multiple leaders including Bill and Hillary Clinton, members of Congress, and the National Arbor Day Foundation. Adam also served on his hometown of Manhattan Beach's Environmental Task Force, which generated recommendations implemented by the California town to become a global leader in environmental stewardship.
Adam has also delivered multiple speeches on the topic of youth leadership and environmentalism, including a keynote speech for the Korea Council of Overseas Schools. He is excited to bring his experience in youth leadership and activism to the Andrew Goodman Foundation.
Alana Glover is a recent alumna of the University of Baltimore School of Law, where she graduated with multiple honors. Alana served as an Andrew Goodman Ambassador at the University of Baltimore from 2018-2019. She is currently in the process of starting a nonprofit called the Black History Initiative, which will act as a nationwide campaign to include Black history in the k-12 curriculum in each individual state across the country. Alana has also recently been chosen to be a member of the inaugural class for Majority Leaders, for Supermajority. Supermajority is "an inclusive, national membership of women who are connected, empowered, and taking action-from increasing their level of civic engagement and advocacy to voting in record numbers." Prior to law school, Alana graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a double major in criminal justice and African American studies and a double minor in political science and homeland security. In between her studies, Alana served as an AmeriCorps volunteer and a field organizer for New Virginia Majority.
Amaya Rearden is a student at Alabama A&M University majoring in Communications Media with a Concentration in Film & Production and a minor in Political Science. She is a Presidential Scholar and a member of the University's Honors Program, both which have helped her to develop a passion for civic engagement that she intends to carry into her career. She is thrilled to be a part of The Andrew Goodman Foundation team as an Ambassador and is proud to carry on the work and legacy Andrew left behind.
Andrew Young is an American politician, diplomat, activist and pastor from Georgia. He has served as Congressman from Georgia's 5th congressional district, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and Mayor of Atlanta. He served as President of the National Council of Churches USA, was a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) during the 1960's Civil Rights Movement, and was a supporter and friend of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He helped draw up the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In 1981, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Amy Solas has over 30 years of experience in financial communications, marketing and strategy consulting, and journalism. She is the Founder and Managing Member of Solas Communications, which helps alternative investment managers and growing companies create clear, concise, and persuasive messages and materials that further their strategic objectives.
Prior to launching Solas Communications, Ms. Solas was a vice president in both Latin America Investment Banking and Corporate Communication at J.P. Morgan. She was a news assistant at The New York Times early in her career.
Amy began working on political campaigns before she was old enough to vote. She co-founded and co-leads her block organization and has served on several nonprofit boards. She has been a judge for double-bottom-line business plan competitions and is a contributor to the book Generating and Sustaining Nonprofit Earned Income (Jossey-Bass).
A native New Yorker, Ms. Solas graduated from Hunter College High School. She holds a BA cum laude from Georgetown University and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.
Andrew Tomback is a partner in the Global Commercial Litigation Group and is based in the New York office. He focuses his practice on litigations and investigations involving federal securities laws, complex litigation and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Andrew has over 25 years of experience drawn from business, private practice and government service. He handles a full range of civil and criminal litigation before the courts, US Securities and Exchange Commission and various other regulators.
Before entering private practice, Andrew was deputy general counsel of the Resolution Trust Corporation, where he managed several hundred attorneys handling federal savings and loan resolutions. He also served as senior advisor to the Under Secretary for Enforcement at the US Department of the Treasury. Earlier in his career, he served as an Assistant US Attorney in the criminal division of the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where he conducted grand jury investigations and prosecuted criminal cases, concentrating on complex securities frauds, including stock manipulations, insider trading, international tax evasion enterprises and penny stock schemes. He tried 12 cases, all to conviction, and successfully argued over a dozen appeals. Andrew also clerked for the Honorable Stanley Sporkin of the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Prior to joining McLaughlin & Stern, Andrew was senior vice president and general counsel at Scientific Games Corporation. Andrew also practiced litigation at another global law firm.
Job Titles:
- Interagency Subcommittee Member / Simpson College
Angela has been involved with The Andrew Goodman Foundation since being an Andrew Goodman Ambassador at Simpson College in 2014. Angela graduated from Simpson in 2016 with a degree in Economics and went on to get her Masters in Public Administration from Drake University in 2018. Angela currently serves as the Director of Economic Development for Hardin County, Iowa. Angela remains committed to all that The Andrew Goodman Foundation stands for and is excited to continue to serve in the Alumni Network and the Interagency Committee.
Anissia Sherelle Fleming is a student majoring in Political Science. On campus, Anissia serves as the Executive Chief of Staff and the Executive Assistant to the President of the Groundbreaking 81st Student Government Association. She too is a member of her school's Honors College and Pre-Alumni Council. As an Andrew Goodman Ambassador, she hopes to educate the students on TSU's campus to the best of her ability about everything voting related because it's imperative that they know more than just what's needed for a presidential election. Outside of school, Anissia enjoys spending time with her family and listening to music!
Anya Gandy has spent her career at the intersection of agriculture, energy, and climate change. She currently spearheads Sustainability at Inari Agriculture, a Series D agritech startup enabling a more resilient food system. Prior to Inari, she worked with Google's global startup accelerator, Launchpad, and Google's renewable energy department. She's done policy work in Washington, D.C.; research and consulting in the Southwest Cattlebelt region; and cowboy'd on sustainably managed ranches in Australia, New Zealand, Montana, and Oregon. Anya graduated with dual degrees from Cornell University and hails from a permaculture farm in Oregon.
Austin Boral is joining AGF's Board of Directors after three years as co-chair of the Associate Board. He is passionate about civic engagement, economic inclusion, and democratic reform. Austin brings perspective from federal and state government as a policy analyst, from local government as an economic development strategist, and from the private sector as a management consultant.
Most recently, Austin worked on the Strategy team at New York City Economic Development Corporation - a quasi-governmental agency that serves as the city's primary vehicle for promoting economic growth. Prior to joining NYCEDC, Austin spent three years in the public and social sector practice at McKinsey & Company where he served federal government agencies in capability building and organizational transformation, while also leading pro bono projects with the office's Social Impact Group. Previously, he interned for the Office of Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand on Capitol Hill, the Office of President William J. Clinton in Harlem, and the White House Office of Public Engagement & Intergovernmental Affairs.
Originally from Long Island, Austin graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Geography and Public Policy. He is currently pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School and MPP at Harvard Kennedy School.
Austin Smith is a student at Alabama A&M University studying Civil Engineering. He is a scholar in AAMU's Honors Program and is striving to become a better leader on campus through service. He is also a member of the Gamma Phi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and wants to achieve a better future for his community. After graduating from Alabama A&M University, Austin plans on attending law school. He is honored and ecstatic for the opportunity to work with The Andrew Goodman Foundation as one of the Ambassadors for his college, and he wants to leave a foundation of democratic engagement for future generations to build onto.
Ayanna Samuels-Francis is a Mass Communications major from Las Vegas, NV. She currently attends Alcorn State University and serves as the Student Government Association 1st Vice President, Student Ambassadors Campus Tour Coordinator, and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. the Gamma Phi Chapter. Upon graduation, she intends to attend graduate school with aspirations of becoming a Vice President of Student Affairs at a Historically Black College or University.
Ayọ (formerly known as Opal) Tometi is a Black feminist writer, communications strategist and cultural organizer. She is a co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter, the historic political project and leader-full network was launched in the wake of the murder of Trayvon Martin in order to explicitly combat implicit bias and anti-black racism and to protect and affirm the beauty and dignity of all Black lives. Ms. Tometi is currently at the helm of the country's leading Black organization for immigrant rights, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), a national organization that educates and advocates to further immigrant rights and racial justice together with African-American, Afro-Latino, African and Caribbean immigrant communities.
Job Titles:
- Journalist and Former New York Times Op - Ed Columnist
Bob Herbert is an author, journalist and former New York Times op-ed columnist. Mr. Herbert frequently writes on poverty, the Iraq war, racism and American political apathy towards race issues. His journalistic awards include the Meyer Berger Award for coverage of New York City and the American Society of Newspaper Editors award for distinguished newspaper writing. Mr. Herbert is now a fellow at Demos.
Brandon "Jack" Lee is a queer tactical creative with a love of storytelling and many years of media production experience. He loves creative agencies, innovative think tanks and nonprofits, and immersive reality! He has collaborated with companies such as Spotify, HYPEBEAST, Proctor & Gamble, Spero Studio, We Don't Have Time, and more. Currently, he is a kick-ass Creative Producer at Circus Maximus, an award-winning small agency.
Brandon L. Daye is an Agribusiness and Supply Chain Management double major student under the highly acclaimed Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics and College of Agriculture and Environmental Systems at North Carolina A&T State University. During his tenure at North Carolina A&T, he's held leadership positions in various organizations on campus. Most notably, SGA Senate Chairperson for the Campus Life Committee, Lead of the GOTV & Excitement Workgroup for the University Wide Civic Engagement Coalition, and Development Coordinator of the Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement L.E.A.D.s. Mr. Daye is beginning his 2nd year an Andrew Goodman Ambassador for North Carolina A&T and he is overly excited to continue his goal of continuously educating and promoting the power of voter, social, and civic engagement. Upon graduation, Brandon hopes to obtain his MBA from Howard University, MISE from Florida A&M University, and PhD from Hampton University. Throughout the work of The Andrew Goodman Foundation, he promises to ensure 100% campus engagement, registration, and voting. Brandon preaches the great words of Barack Obama, "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."
Candaisy Crawford is a 2019 graduate of Allegheny College. She majored in Psychology and minored in Global Health Studies. Candaisy served as an Andrew Goodman Ambassador from 2017-2019. She is dedicated to civil participation when it comes to who represents the people. She is dedicated to social justice alongside Behavioral Therapy. "I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality…. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Job Titles:
- Partnership Strategist
- Senior Program Manager: Partnership Strategist
Caroline Smith is the Senior Program Manager: Partnership Strategist at The Andrew Goodman Foundation. Caroline is from Maplewood, NJ, and received her BA in Sociology and a certificate in Community Action/Public Policy at Connecticut College ('18). After graduation, she began her organizing career with the Student PIRGs at Rutgers University-Newark and then jumped into national electoral work on Senator Cory Booker's presidential campaign for the 2020 primary cycle. Caroline joins AGF excited to re-focus her efforts on combating voter suppression and boosting civic/electoral engagement among young voters.
Chandler Nutall is a third-year student at Spelman College studying English from Washington, D.C. Chandler's passion for promoting civic engagement stems from her desire to increase civics education and training in academic curricula throughout the country. An Ethel Waddell Githii Honors Scholar, Chandler is the Secretary of Academic Affairs for the Spelman Student Government Association and a Fellow of the Spelman College Social Justice Program. She also serves as Secretary of the Honors Program Student Association and Co-President of the National Council of Negro Women, Spelman Section. She was recently named a 2021 HBCU Competitiveness Scholar by the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. After graduation, she intends to pursue a Juris Doctor degree.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director for Student Programming, Interim
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- President
Charles Imohiosen is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Andrew Goodman Foundation. A long-time AGF Board Member, Charles is an entrepreneurial executive with an extensive multidisciplinary strategy and operations background that bridges the private and public sectors. Charles' public sector career has spanned federal, state and local, government, including serving as Chief Operating Officer for New York's leading economic development agency, Empire State Development, and serving in policy-making roles for the White House and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In the private sector, Charles co-founded a social impact-focused real estate development company; was the Chief Operating Officer for a technology-driven practice group at a large AmLaw 100 global law firm, where he also served on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee; practiced litigation as an attorney at another AmLaw 100 law firm; and led global customer engagement for a large privately-held enterprise software company, where he and his team helped businesses, hospitals, and government agencies navigate digital transformation projects.
Charles has a deep and abiding commitment to civic participation, social impact, and innovation. He has been a community leader; worked on dozens of political national, state and local political campaigns, including his own campaign for state legislature; managed several voting rights-related initiatives and pro bono engagements, including serving as Co-Chair for the Voting Rights & Engagement Working Group for an AmLaw 100 firm; served on various non-profit boards of directors; and is currently a Director for Groundswell, a nonprofit that builds community power through equitable community solar projects, clean energy programs, and pioneering research initiatives. He also advises early-stage companies and is a member of the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York.
Charles earned a B.A. with Honors in Philosophy and Physics from Williams College, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and served as a law clerk to Judge Colleen McMahon in the Southern District of New York. He lives in New York City with his wife, two daughters, and dog.
Christina B. Williams is a Philadelphia, PA native and a rising senior at Clark Atlanta University where she is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science as a Provost Academic Excellence and Dean's List scholar. She is a leader in the student civic engagement space and has extensive experience serving in various elected student government positions as well as founding and presiding over several campus clubs and initiatives. Christina has held fellowships and internships with several nationally recognized civic organizations including The Andrew Goodman Foundation, Campus Vote Project, Public Citizen, the ACLU of Georgia, and Rock the Vote. She has also been highlighted by a number of media outlets including The National Journal, The Washington Post, and NPR. Christina aspires to attend law school following her undergraduate studies in order to become an attorney and utilize the law as a tool to defend the civil rights & civil liberties of marginalized communities.
Clarence B. Jones was a counsel and speechwriter for Martin Luther King, Jr. During his residency at the King Institute, Jones has worked on his memoirs and has published two books: What Would Martin Say? (2008) and Behind the Dream: The Making of the Speech that Transformed a Nation (2012). He has received numerous state and national awards as well as an honorary doctorate in recognition of his significant contributions to American society. In addition to his accomplishments in the civil rights movement, Jones was the first African-American partner in a Wall Street investment banking member firm of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and was selected twice by Fortune Magazine's as "A Business Man of the Month."
Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, a third-generation El Pasoan, proudly represents Texas' 16th Congressional District. She is the first woman elected to this seat and the first of two Latinas from Texas to serve in Congress.
Corey Weiss has a background in engineering, physics, business management and philanthropy. He spent the early part of his career in the semiconductor industry in both technical and management positions for a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. In 1998, Mr. Weiss founded Applied Technologies Consulting, a business consultancy that serves clients of technology driven enterprises. Mr. Weiss is also an active investor evaluating, making and monitoring investments across asset classes. He is currently a Board member, advisor and fiduciary to a variety of organizations including the Karan-Weiss Foundation (founded by Donna Karan and Stephan Weiss, founders of the NY based fashion house Donna Karan International) and the Green Meadow Waldorf School, of Chestnut Ridge, NY. Mr. Weiss holds a Masters degree in Applied & Engineering Physics from Cornell University, NY and a BA in Physics and a BS in Electrical Engineering both from Rutgers University, NJ.
Craig Newmark is the founder of Craigslist and craigsconnects. He began his business career at IBM, where he spent nearly 17 years, and later worked in programming for Charles Schwab, Bank of America and other firms.
Job Titles:
- Member of Women for Women International 's Global Board of Directors
Dale Berger is a member of Women for Women International's Global Board of Directors. She currently serves as a member of the Global Revenue & Advancement Committee and the Global Program Committee.
Ms. Berger has a long career as a businesswoman specializing in retail, owning several successful stores in New York City. She most recently worked as a commercial real estate broker, specializing in the leasing of office space and sales of commercial buildings.
Ms. Berger has held numerous leadership roles with various not-for-profit organizations including Her Justice, of which she is a former Board Member, where she founded and organized their successful annual photography auction. She is also a former Board Member of New Alternatives for Children and a Founding Member of the Young Leadership of Israel Bonds. Ms. Berger has counseled City Year New York in their early development.
Ms. Berger holds degrees from Skidmore College and Tufts University. She and her husband, Max W. Berger, have four children and ten grandchildren.
Mr. Glover is a critically acclaimed actor and film director. For decades he has also been on the front lines of civil rights and workers' rights campaigns both in the United States and around the world. While attending San Francisco State University, Glover was a member of the Black Students Union, which not only created the first Department of Black Studies but also the first School of Ethnic Studies in the United States. Mr. Glover champions causes that span from anemia awareness to the AIDS crisis in Africa to mathematics education in the United States. Both the United Nations Development Program and UNICEF have appointed him as a goodwill ambassador. He is a major supporter of the Algebra Project-a math empowerment program developed by civil rights veteran Bob Moses.
Danny Lyon is a photographer, filmmaker and writer. In 1963, he was a staff photographer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). His photos for SNCC appeared in the documentary book, Memories of the Southern Civil Rights Movement.
Job Titles:
- Co - Director of the Council of Federated Organizations
Dave Dennis was a Freedom Rider and Co-Director of the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) in Mississippi, which organized activists for a voter registration drive during "Freedom Summer." Mr. Dennis spoke at the funeral of James Chaney, and he worked closely with both civil rights icons Bob Moses and Medgar Evers.
David Goodman is the brother of Andrew Goodman and the former Chairman of The Andrew Goodman Foundation's Board of Directors. Professionally, David is a civil engineer and holds an MBA from Stanford University. He was the founder and CEO of United American Energy Corp., an electric generation and power company operating in eight states throughout the U.S. David is a member of the Global Leadership Council of the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), member of US Green Building Council, member of American Solar Energy Society, member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, on the Advisory Board of the Natural History Museum of The Adirondacks, and a Trustee Emeritus of the Antioch College Board of Trustees. He brings extensive experience in developing, operating, and expanding organizations.
The 106th Mayor of New York City, Mr. Dinkins began his public service career in 1966 as a member of the New York State Assembly. He was a founding member of the Black & Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus of New York State, the Council of Black Elected Democrats of New York State, and The One Hundred Black Men. Mr. Dinkins was also a Professor in the Practice of Public Affairs at the Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs (SIPA).
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Operations Associate
David Norman is the Operations Associate at The Andrew Goodman Foundation. He has a bachelor's degree in Business Management and a minor in Accounting from Saint Francis College. He believes that effective change begins at the ground level with "you," that we are constantly being nudged to serve a purpose far greater than ourselves.
Job Titles:
- Founder and President of Molpus Woodlands Group
Dick Molpus is Founder and President of Molpus Woodlands Group, LLC, a timberland investment management organization that oversees 1.5 million acres of timberland across the United States. Prior to his work with the Molpus Woodlands Group, Mr. Molpus served three terms as Mississippi's Secretary of State. Mr. Molpus has also taken a special interest in education and racial healing throughout his career. He was instrumental in passing Mississippi's historic Education Reform Act of 1982. In addition, along with his wife, Sally, he founded Parents for Public Schools, an organization that supports local public schools and works with parents to ensure high standards. This initiative now has seventeen chapters in twelve states. Mr. Molpus is a native of Philadelphia, Mississippi. As Mississippi's Secretary of State he made a formal apology in 1989 on behalf of his home town and the State of Mississippi to the families of Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and James Chaney. In 2004 he was involved in the founding of the Philadelphia Coalition, which resulted in the trial and conviction of Edgar Ray Killen, the organizer of the murders of Messrs. Chaney, Schwerner and Goodman.
Job Titles:
- Student Outreach & Leadership Development / Ambassador / Milan Washington
Job Titles:
- Chairman, Division of Social Science / Professor, Political Science
Dr. A. J. Stovall is a non-compromising social activist, educator, author, and lecturer. Stovall has committed his life and career to addressing and researching issues dealing with African American Politics, Economics, Education, and Culture. Stovall has been on the firing line, advocating social change, for more than 40 years. Stovall has been a key figure in directing and coordinating specialized minority, community and student programs and services. He earned the Ph.D. degree, Union Institute University, in Urban Studies (Black Politics); MA degree, Atlanta University, African American Studies; MS degree; Tennessee State University, Education Administration; and BA degree, University of Dubuque, History Psychology and Secondary Education. Presently, Stovall chairs the Division of Social Science, is Professor of Political Science and coordinates the Rust College International Program. Stovall serves on various community and academic based Boards, including the Association for Black Culture Centers and the Southern Association of African American Studies, Inc.
Job Titles:
- Professor in the Political Science Department / Ambassador
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor of Sociology at Spelman College
- Department of Sociology
Dr. Cynthia Neal Spence is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Spelman College and Director of the UNCF/Mellon Programs. Her teaching and research interests in the areas of sociology, criminology, law, and violence against women support the Law and Criminology concentration in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology. Dr. Spence has served in the capacities of Assistant Dean for Freshman Studies, Associate Academic Dean and Academic Dean at Spelman College. Her interest in issues of higher education access, service-learning, gender role socialization and violence against women frame her research, writing, community service involvement, and public speaking. Her publications include "A Woman's College Perspective on the Education of Men" (2004) New Directors for Student Series and "The Spelman College Total Person Commits to Positive Social Change" (2006), Engaging Departments: Moving Faculty Cultures from Private to Public, Individual to Collective Force for the Common Good. Her most recent publication "Does Race Trump Gender? Black Women Negotiating their Spaces of Intersection in the 2008 Presidential Campaign" is included in the edited volume "Who Should Be First? Feminists Speak Out on the 2008 Presidential Campaign" (2010). As Director of the UNCF Mellon Programs, Dr. Spence creates, manages and oversees a suite of future faculty development and faculty career enhancement programs for UNCF (United Negro College Fund) students and faculty. The UNCF/Mellon Programs are housed at Spelman College and funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation.
In her newest role, Dr. Spence serves as the Faculty Lead for the Spelman College Social Justice Fellows Program. Dr. Spence is committed to helping Spelman women fully actualize their commitment to "making a choice to change the world "through social justice advocacy. She has served as a consultant for the Ford Foundation Institutional Transformation Project, the University of Chicago Provost Initiative on Minority Affairs, the Agnes Scott College Center for Teaching and Learning and the Georgia Department of Corrections. She currently serves as Faculty Trustee on the Spelman College Board of Trustees and is the former chair of the Board of the non-profit agency Men Stopping Violence. She is a member of the Board of Directors of Georgia Women for Change and the Women's Solidarity Society for the Center for Civil and Human Rights. Dr. Spence is a graduate of Spelman College where she earned her B.A. degree. She earned both the Masters and Ph.D. degrees from Rutgers University. She is married to Harold W. Spence and they are the proud parents of two daughters, Christie '05 and Courtnee '08.
Job Titles:
- Interim Program Director, Social Work / Assistant Professor, Social Work Program / Department of Social Work and Urban Studies
Dr. Delores Butler has a non-profit organization that focuses on empowering and cultivating spiritual connectedness among children, youth and families, through a holistic approach to promote physical health, mental awareness, social relationships and spiritual unity to advance knowledge of self.
Dr. Janet Dewart Bell is a lifelong social justice advocate, Civil Rights Movement veteran, and communications expert with a doctorate in Leadership and Change from Antioch University. She has been a key strategist and senior executive at several national organizations, including the National Urban League, PolicyLink, and the Opportunity Agenda. Among her accomplishments are an Emmy® for outstanding individual achievement (CBS-TV affiliate in Washington, DC) and programming for National Public Radio, which was honored with a Peabody award.
Bell is the author of the acclaimed Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African American Women in the Civil Rights Movement, which was a nominee for the NAACP Image Award, and is co-editor of a book of the Derrick Bell Lectures on Race in American Society, the ongoing series she founded in 1995. Her forthcoming book is Blackbirds Singing: Inspiring Black Women's Speeches from the Civil War to the 21st Century. She chairs the Women's Media Center and is the founder and president of LEAD InterGenerational Solutions, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and promoting intergenerational leadership.
Job Titles:
- Department Head, Department of Political Science
Dr. Russell M. Frazier is an Orlando, Florida native, and he currently serves as Department Head of Political Science at Xavier University of Louisiana. Dr. Frazier was recently honored in the Cambridge Who's Who Among Executives, Professionals and Entrepreneurs, a nationally distributed publication recognizing exceptional members of our national community. He is also a former Southern Regional Education Board and Benjamin Lever Doctoral Fellow. Dr. Frazier is an active member of the American Political Science Association and an active member of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA). In addition to Dr. Frazier's professional and scholarly endeavors, he serves his community through many Xavier University community initiatives, the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity incorporated, and recently served as a Board member for the New Orleans Court Appointed Special Advocates organization.
Prior to Dr. Frazier's Xavier University faculty appointment, he served as a Western Kentucky University Post-Doctoral Fellow; Special Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Director of Student Programs at Southern University and A & M College; and as the Director of Residence Life at Kentucky State University. He has a progressive and diverse career in higher education that spans almost 20 years. As a result, Dr. Frazier has published multiple articles concerning effective policy implementation, effectively taught complex course material, successfully directed complex administrative agencies, and managed successful academic programs.
Dr. Frazier began his B.A. studies at Kentucky State University where he completed his undergraduate degree in criminal justice. After working for the Kentucky Administrative Office of the Courts, he earned his second degree from Kentucky State University: A Master of Public Administration. After serving several years as a public agency administrator, he earned a Ph.D. in Public Policy with a concentration in community development at the University of Arkansas. Dr. Frazier's desire to understand the intricate mechanisms associated with community development is what led him to pursue this area of study.
Aside from Dr. Frazier's community service and busy career demands, he also manages the responsibility of being a father to his son, Brandon Frazier. In his free time, he enjoys reading literature relative to his research interests: community development, policy implementation, policy evaluation, and organizational theory.
Born and raised in Washington Heights, New York, Elbert Garcia has spent the last two decades working to lift up the voices and experiences of people of color and immigrants. He currently serves as the Director of Strategic Communications at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), a 45-year old Washington DC-based advocacy group that works with leaders to ensure that grantmakers are transparent with, and accountable to, those with the least wealth, power, and opportunity in American society.
His past work has included everything from digital journalism at The New York Times to serving as senior press staffer for Democratic politicians at the national and state level to consulting on social media and communications strategy with movement groups such as New Florida Majority, the Miami Workers Center and Florida Immigrant Coalition.
The proud father and husband is a first generation Dominican-American alumnus of the Prep for Prep and National Urban Fellows programs and holds a B.A. in Urban Studies from Columbia University and a Master's in Public Administration from CUNY's Baruch College. When he is not doing the above, he is also helping with community media efforts like Law@theMargins and the Que Lo Que Podcast.
Job Titles:
- Interagency Subcommittee Member / East Carolina University
Erick Jenkins is currently a master's candidate at Penn State University studying at their school of International Affairs. His focus is on the interconnection of education and economics in the Korean peninsula.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Center for Racial and Social Justice
"The best way to live the legacy is to advance the work of those you look up to." - Evan Malbrough
Fabiana Bonilla-Robles is a sophomore at Dillard University majoring in Criminal Justice and minoring in Psychology. Fabiana aspires to be a lawyer so she can help those who've been wrongfully convicted and advocate for immigrant families who have been separated. Fabiana is passionate about advocating for minorities and educating them on laws to keep them safe and protected. As an Andrew Goodman Ambassador, Fabiana hopes to bring new ideas and reach more people to register to vote. She is specifically excited to do this work at an HBCU and is grateful for the resources The Andrew Goodman Foundation provides so that she can help increase voter education and participation on her campus.
Fred Farkouh is a tax executive with over 40 years of experience in areas of business, financial, and tax consulting. Presently, Mr. Farkouh is a senior partner of Farkouh, Furman & Faccio LLP, a company founded in 1974 that provides tax advisory and compliance services to over 400 companies across multiple industry sectors both domestically and internationally ranging in size from start-up to multi-billion-dollar revenues and market cap.
Mr. Farkouh has also appeared as an expert witness in arbitration hearings as well as in Federal Courts, New York State Courts, Alaska State Court, and New Jersey Courts.
He holds a BBA degree in accounting from the City College of New York as well as a J.D. degree from Brooklyn Law School.
Gabriela Philo is the Director of Development at The Andrew Goodman Foundation. Prior to joining AGF's staff, Gabriela served on AGF's Associate Board and ultimately the Board of Directors. Gabriela was a Development Manager at Los Angeles Conservancy, a nonprofit that works through education and advocacy to recognize, preserve, and revitalize the historic and architectural resources of Los Angeles County. Prior to Los Angeles Conservancy, Gabriela fundraised for The Municipal Art Society of New York and Literacy Partners in New York City.
Gabrielle Slaughter is the HBCU Lead Program Manager at The Andrew Goodman Foundation. Gabrielle is a graduate of Spelman College with a bachelor's degree in Political Science. Her passions include dancing, social justice, and public interest. She takes pride in being a servant leader and mentor for young black and brown girls in her community. Her long term goals include becoming an attorney and serving as representation for others who desire to implement change in our legal system.
Job Titles:
- Business Analyst With McKinsey & Company
Haneul Ryoo is a Business Analyst with McKinsey & Company, where she focuses her efforts on projects at the intersection of digital and the public sector. She graduated from Princeton University in 2020 with a degree in Public and International Affairs and minors in Statistics and Machine Learning and Asian American Studies.
Harry Belafonte is an award-winning singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. Mr. Belafonte was an early supporter of the civil rights movement in the 1950s, and one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s confidants. Throughout his career he has been an advocate for humanitarian causes and since 1987, has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
Hope Mathis is the Development Manager at The Andrew Goodman Foundation. In her role, she supports all aspects of AGF's fundraising efforts and seeks to approach development by actively centering intersectionality, identity, and racial justice. Prior to joining AGF, Hope worked in development at the Legal Action Center, a nonprofit that advocates for folks with arrest and conviction records, substance use disorders, and HIV or AIDS. She received her BA in Communication and Culture from Fordham University and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY.
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair of the Alumni Network / Ramapo College of New Jersey
The essential importance of social justice and equity are hard-wired into Ivan's personal concerns. His destiny was stamped by fate when before he was born, Ivan's father died by violence on a visit to his native Colombia as a direct consequence of the social inequities in that country. Ivan's grandmother and mother are both lifetime workers in creating positive and enduring change for their families and communities. Embracing these values on his own is what led Ivan to undertake the eighteen-month journey to work through the logistics of rechartering the NAACP chapter at Bergen Community College after 15 years of dormancy and grow it to 90+ members before handing the chapter on to new leadership when he moved on to Ramapo College. Work on the chapter helped him get elected as President of the New Jersey State NAACP Youth and College Division from 2013-2015.
Jaleel Ross is a Political Science major from Lafayette, Louisiana. As an advocate for social justice both on his campus and in his community, Jaleel has served as the Vice President of his university's chapter of The College Democrats. While holding this position, Jaleel was able to engage, educate, and mobilize student voters in elections both on and off campus. Additionally, Jaleel has also been a part of various organizations geared toward service, leadership, and social justice on his campus.
Jalen Curry is a political science and urban studies major at Morehouse College from Rock Hill, South Carolina. He is the president of the New Deal Democrats, a campus organization that aims to demystify the democratic process. Jalen also serves as presidential ambassador to the college. He looks forward to getting more people involved in all aspects of the political process.
Janiah Henry, hailing from Middle Georgia, began her freshman year of college during her junior year of high school. She began her first year at Clark Atlanta University as a sophomore. She is interested in law and shaping public policy and is majoring in Political Science. Her highest aspirations are to be a District Attorney and later a woman of the U.S. Congress. Her experience as an African American woman with racial microaggressions, classroom neglect, voter suppression, and witnessing poverty and the school-to-prison pipeline destroy her community sparked her interest in serving her community through law. In high school, Janiah served as a member and ambassador of a civic engagement girls empowerment group by the name of New Vision MSK; with New Vision MSK Janiah worked to increase voting rights, voter registration, and voter turnout during election season. Janiah also served as a head intern on the first African American Woman District Attorney-Elect Anita Howard Campaign team. Janiah also served as a campaign administration for Elizabeth Johnson's Congressional Campaign. In the future, she hopes to attend law school to continue her work systemically helping her community and strengthening her platform for better civic engagement while holding her public offices.
John Quiñones is the Emmy award-winning co-anchor of ABC newsmagazine Primetime and has been with the network nearly 30 years. He is the sole anchor of the Primetime series What Would You Do?, one of the highest rated newsmagazine franchises in recent years. During his tenure, he has reported extensively for ABC News, predominantly serving as a correspondent for Primetime and 20/20. His work for What Would You Do? captures the way people react when confronted with dilemmas that compel them to either take action or walk away. An authority on diversity, he is a powerful and visible voice on social issues such as race, gender, and sexuality.
John R. Lewis was an American politician and civil rights leader. He served as the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 5th congressional district from 1987-2020 and was the dean of the Georgia congressional delegation. Congressman Lewis was the last surviving "Big Six" leader of the American Civil Rights Movement until his death on July 17, 2020, having been the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and playing a key role in the struggle to end legalized racial discrimination and segregation.
Job Titles:
- Associate at Frier Levitt
Jonian Rafti is an Associate at Frier Levitt, LLC, where he focuses on regulatory and transactional law. He advises healthcare clients on regulatory matters related to fraud, waste and abuse compliance.
Job Titles:
- Dean of Student Affairs / Ambassador
Job Titles:
- Director of Digital Strategy and Advocacy
Katy Butler is the Director of Digital Strategy and Advocacy at The Andrew Goodman Foundation. She works with the Programs and Communications teams to support the lifecycle of digital campaigns and strengthen engagement strategies. Katy has more than 8 years experience as an activist, digital organizer, and campaign strategist. Prior to starting a career in social justice Katy was a youth activist focused on anti-bullying and LGBTQ inclusive legislation on a state and national level; now she is passionate about developing students and young adults to become catalysts for change. After working with nonprofits focused on environmental justice, racial equity, LGBTQ rights, job equity, mental health, and gender equality, Katy comes to all her work with a focus on intersectionality. She holds a dual B.A. in Women's Studies and Sociology from The George Washington University and a Master's in Diversity and Equity Education from the University of Illinois. Katy lives in Chicago, IL with her wife, toddler, and furry friends (1 cat and 2 dogs). She plays rugby on the women's team in Chicago and enjoys drinking multiple cups of coffee a day.
Kaylee Valencia is the Program Manager at The Andrew Goodman Foundation. Kaylee is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a bachelor's degree in Political Science. Her passions include creativity, civic engagement, social justice, and community building. Kaylee's experience is in amplifying the voices of young people by working to institutionalize civic engagement in higher education, as well as in helping others find what they care about and encouraging them to fearlessly pursue it. She believes that your vote is your voice, but your capacity to make meaningful change extends so much further than the ballot box.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director at Lafayette Square
- Member of the Council
Keith Walton is a Managing Director at Lafayette Square. His expertise combines legal training with executive and strategic leadership roles in investment, industry, university and the federal government. Prior to Lafayette, Keith held investment roles as founding Principal and Chief Administrative Officer at Global Infrastructure Partners and Venture Partner at Plexo Capital LLC. Keith served as Vice President of Government Affairs for Alcoa Inc., which was a leading supplier and manufacturer of aluminum and finished aluminum products, and as Executive Vice President for Strategy at Zero Mass Water LLC. He also has served as Executive Vice President and Secretary of Columbia University in the City of New York, and as Advisory Vice President for Strategic Industry Collaboration for Arizona State University.
Keith was Chief of Staff to the Undersecretary of Enforcement of the United States Department of the Treasury, its chief law enforcement official, and also Deputy Director of the White House Security Review. He is an honors graduate of Yale College, and the Harvard Law School, after which he clerked for the Honorable U.W. Clemon, Chief Judge (retired) of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama and then began his career at the Atlanta law firm of King & Spalding.
Keith serves on the boards of Bessemer Trust Old Westbury Funds, The Bessemer Trust National Gift Fund, and Virtus Funds, representing more than USD 80 billion in fiduciary obligations.
Keith is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and The American Law Institute. He is a Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, and is a former member of the Trilateral Commission.
Kristy Smith is the Director of Operations at The Andrew Goodman Foundation. She is responsible for processing and recording all financial transactions and will work to ensure efficient financial operations of the Foundation. Kristy holds a BA in Psychology and Educational Studies from the University of Delaware. She recently moved back to the area from Long Island, where she lived for over 10 years. While there she began her career in finance for a local non-profit that helps victims of domestic violence. Kristy is happy to be able to continue to work in the non-profit world and support the important mission of The Andrew Goodman Foundation.
Kyren Clemons is a Marketing major at Virginia State University. He has an extreme passion for voting and has seen the importance of expressing the right to vote well before he was able to himself. To Kyren, everything that deals with voting and getting the message out has a correlation to marketing. Therefore, he is glad to be able to combine two of his passions for a common goal. He is extremely honored to part of The Andrew Goodman Foundation's HBCU Cohort.
Lauren Nicks (She/her) is a junior International Studies major Sociology minor from Long Island, New York. During the Fall 2021 semester, she is interning with the American Civil Liberties of Georgia on their Voting Access Project, focusing her efforts on recruiting poll workers, increasing the voter participation rate among HBCU students, and helping oversee redistricting efforts. During the summer after her freshman year, Lauren interned at Columbia University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, researching the Black maternal mortality disparity and how false assumptions about Black pain tolerance have caused the Black maternal mortality rate to continue to climb.
Job Titles:
- VP for Student and Development Services / Ambassador
Job Titles:
- Co - Chair of the Alumni Network / Simpson College
MacKenzie Bills is a 2016 graduate of Simpson College, where she majored in Political Science and International Relations and minored in French and Religion. While at Simpson, MacKenzie also served as an Andrew Goodman Ambassador from 2014-2016. Since graduating, she was a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Pahang, Malaysia, worked as a Report Editor for the International Religious Freedom Reports covering sub-Saharan Africa, and now works as a Research Analyst in the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. State Department. In her free time, you might find her subcontracting as a dialogue facilitator, doing stand-up comedy, or putting together a 1,000-piece puzzle.
Maddie Ulanow is a second year Masters in Public Policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). Prior to HKS, she worked as a risk analyst at Deloitte and in humanitarian aid in the Middle East, where SHE also worked as a Fulbright fellow with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. In her spare time, Maddie loves baseball, phone banking, and giving monuments tours of Washington, D.C. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from Carleton College.
Job Titles:
- Director of Development and Communications at Protect Minnesota
Allen is a lifelong Mississippian, and he received his bachelor's degrees in public policy, African-American studies, and sociology from the University of Mississippi in 2018. As an undergraduate student, he was involved in local anti-racism campaigns, including the successful student-led effort to remove Mississippi's former state flag (which incorporated Confederate imagery) from the University of Mississippi's campus. During that time, Allen also organized statewide voter registration and education initiatives as an Andrew Goodman Ambassador.
He is currently a third-year student at William & Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he continues his democracy work as a W&M Election Law Fellow and as a leader of Revive My Vote, an organization which helps Virginians with felony convictions restore their voting rights.
MAGGIY EMERY (SHE/HER)
Maggiy Emery serves as the Director of Development and Communications at Protect Minnesota, overseeing all development efforts and messaging strategies to prevent gun violence in the Midwest. She comes to the Associate Board with a background in political and nonprofit development, finance, communications, and messaging. She applies her skills via involvement across a number of organizations working in her passion areas, including Rural Rising Project.
Maggiy is passionate about democracy activism and youth engagement, particularly in the Midwest and Middle America. She lives in Saint Paul.
Job Titles:
- Alumni Support Subcommittee Member / Miami University of Ohio
Makenzie is an alumna of Miami University of Ohio and a current JD Candidate at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Makenzie loves sharing her passion for civic engagement and social justice with others and is ecstatic to continue her work with AGF as a member of the Alumni Network.
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications
Margaret Sasser is the Director of Communications at The Andrew Goodman Foundation. In her role, Margaret works to support the work of AGF's programs with strategic communications and marketing. Prior to joining AGF, she worked at Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center that supports equitable school experiences for all students. As a Research Associate, she developed social justice, anti-bias professional development and curricular resources for K-12 educators. She is a two-time graduate of the University of Alabama, where she obtained a Master's degree in American Studies, focusing on American popular music, and a Bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, concentrating on gender and race theory. Born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama, Margaret is passionate about civil rights issues, storytelling, and helping students to become active members of their communities.
Job Titles:
- Founder and Executive Director and President of Facing History
Margo Stern Strom is the Founder and Executive Director and President of Facing History and Ourselves, an organization dedicated to combatting racism, anti-Semitism and prejudice, while nurturing democracy, through educational programs. She has held this position since the organization's inception in 1976.
Job Titles:
- Founder and President of the Children 's Defense Fund
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional life. Under her leadership, CDF has become the nation's strongest voice for children and families. The Children's Defense Fund's Leave No Child Behind® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director of Openbox
Marquise Stillwell is the Managing Director of Openbox, a strategic planning firm in New York City that uses design and technology to solve business problems. His firm partners with its clients to enhance and accelerate the experience that people have with their products, services and brands. Prior to founding Openbox, Mr. Stillwell held strategic positions in the financial, software, telecom, and internet industries.
Marty Weinberg, CPA, is a partner at Matthews & Co., LLP. He began his career in public accounting in 1980 and joined a mid-sized accounting firm in 1983. In 1987, the firm merged into KPMG Peat Marwick, and he started Matthews & Co. with Robert Matthews in November 1988. Mr. Weinberg and his firm provide pro bono accounting services to The Andrew Goodman Foundation.
Job Titles:
- President of Pace University
Marvin Krislov is the president of Pace University, committed to Pace's mission of Opportunitas-providing all students, regardless of economic background, access to the transformative power of education. He was previously the president of Oberlin College, and, prior to that, vice president and general counsel at the University of Michigan, where he led the legal defense of the University's admission policies that resulted in the 2003 Supreme Court decision recognizing the importance of student body diversity. As a professor, he has taught courses on election law and on public policy.
Maydee Martinez is a graduate of Miami Dade College in Florida, where she studied Political Science. During her time at MDC, Maydee served as a Vote Everywhere Ambassador for The Andrew Goodman Foundation. In 2015, Maydee founded Democracy YOUnited, an educational program that focuses on voter registration, education, and engagement. She also helped found Engage Miami, a non-profit organization with the goal of changing the culture of politics in her hometown of Miami, Florida. Maydee is a 2016 Newman Civic Fellow and recipient of The Andrew Goodman Foundation's 2016 Hidden Hero award for her outstanding achievement as a Vote Everywhere Ambassador. Maydee is currently a junior at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., majoring in Sociology with a minor in Government.
Job Titles:
- Student Outreach & Leadership Development / Ambassador / Milan Washington
Milan Washington is a native Washingtonian majoring in Biology at the University of the District
of Columbia. Washington is working towards becoming a veterinarian and hopes to own an animal hospital and shelter one day. In addition to school, she is involved in the Media Ministry, helping with the video equipment during Sunday services, and administrative services for her church. Milan is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated.
Job Titles:
- Digital Marketing Manager
Mo is the Digital Marketing Manager at The Andrew Goodman Foundation. Mo has been a digital organizer for the past three years, working for a variety of non-profits in the progressive movement space. Mo believes a robust digital strategy is a key factor in leveraging progressive wins, increasing accessibility in our movement spaces, and transforming narratives in service of cultural shifts. They currently live in Arkansas with their wife and 4 kids. They are a meme connoisseur, a Gemini with no behavior, and they have never met a sandwich they didn't love.
Job Titles:
- Coordinator, Student Support Services
- Service Learning Coordinator
Monica Clarke is the Freshman Academy Service Learning Coordinator and an adjunct English faculty member.
Mrs. Arna Shines is excited about being the new Andrew Goodman Campus Champion for Tougaloo College. She looks forward to supporting and contributing to the efforts to ensure that the spirit and tradition of civic engagement continues at Tougaloo College.
Nancy Thomas directs the National Study on Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE) and other initiatives at CIRCLE and the Jonathan M. Tisch College for Citizenship and Public Service, Tufts University. She is also the co-founder and director of the Democracy Imperative, a national network of academics and practitioners working to advance civil discourse and learning for a diverse democracy on college campuses, and a senior associate with Everyday Democracy, a civic organization that works locally and nationally to increase citizen engagement in community and policy change. She earned her EdD at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and JD from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
Nicholas Lemann is a journalist and the former Dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has published five books and continues to contribute to The New Yorker as a staff writer. Mr. Lemann has also written widely for such publications as The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, The New Republic, and Slate.
Patrick Mason is a native of Indianapolis, Indiana. Mason is majoring in Biology with a concentration in medicine at the illustrious Alcorn State University. Patrick is a Spring 2019 initiate of the Delta Kappa Chapter of Alpha Phi Alph Fraternity, Inc. Mason proudly serves as the Student Government Association President. Upon the completion of his undergraduate matriculation, Mason plans to attend medical school in aspirations of becoming a Pediatrician.
Precious Thompson is a student majoring in English at the historic Tougaloo College. She is a 2020 UNCF/Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow. Precious is also a member of the Gamma Omicron chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She is involved in various organizations across campus including but not limited to: Pre-Law Society (where she serves as the Public Policy Committee Chair), Tougaloo Ambassadors and Meritorious Scholars, and Pre-Alumni Council. Her future plans include attending a dual degree JD/Ph.D program. She plans to teach literature collegiately while continuing her research on the experiences of black women in the carceral system. She hopes to use her JD to provide free legal advice to underprivileged and vulnerable persons. Precious is committed to serving her community and improving the lives of those around her.
Rachel Campbell is serving as the Interagency Committee Facilitator. Rachel graduated from Louisiana State University in 2019, where she served as an Andrew Goodman Ambassador for two years, Geaux Vote Vice-President for two years, and as Vice-President of LSU's Student Body. She currently works in management consulting in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and has plans to attend law school in the fall.
"The challenge of maintaining a free and fair democracy is an active, ongoing one - one that requires each person to not only participate, but to advocate for the people around them who lack equal access to the ballot." - Rachel Campbell
Robert Couch is Langston University student from Kansas City, Kansas majoring in Computer Science. He began his experience at Langston as a member of the marching band, playing Trombone. During his sophomore year, he served on the Student Advisory Board for the state of Oklahoma. On campus, Robert is Chair of the Dean's Advisory Board for the School of Business. He is also a Spring '20 Initiate of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, Membership Chair of NAACP, Trombone Section Leader, and a Director of Civic Affairs for the Student Government Association.
Robert Masters is a life-long New Yorker who attended Queens College during the same period as Andrew Goodman. Robert and Andrew drove together from NYC to Oxford, Ohio in June 1964 to participate in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Freedom Summer training to prepare for their volunteer work in Mississippi registering African Americans to vote.
Currently retired, Robert was the Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of Acadia Realty Trust, a fully-integrated equity real estate investment trust focused on the acquisition, ownership, management and redevelopment of high-quality retail properties located in key street and urban retail corridors as well as suburban locations within high-barrier- to-entry, densely-populated metropolitan areas along the East Coast and in Chicago.
Previously Mr. Masters worked in the banking sector, a private law firm, and the Department of Justice. He also served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo and Ghana, West Africa. Robert received his Bachelor of Arts from the City University of New York and his Juris Doctorate from New York University Law School. He currently lives with his wife Carla in White Plains, NY. They have three children and five grandchildren.
Bob Moses was a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement as a field secretary for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1961, Moses initiated SNCC's Mississippi Voter Registration Project, and was appointed its director in 1962. He received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (1982-87), and subsequently started the Algebra Project (AP), which uses mathematics as an organizing tool for a Quality Education as a Constitutional Right (QECR) for all students.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Public Policy at the University of California
Robert Reich is a Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He has served in three national administrations, most recently as Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton. Mr. Reich has written twelve books and is the co-founding editor of The American Prospect magazine.
Job Titles:
- Director of Fred Friendly Seminars
Ruth Friendly is the Director of Fred Friendly Seminars, award-winning television programs that explore ethical, legal and public policy questions. She continues to produce the television seminars at the Columbia University School of Journalism.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO of Proclivity Systems
Sheldon Gilbert is the Founder and CEO of Proclivity Systems. Proclivity is recognized as one of the industry's most advanced predictive analytics and real-time electronic trading platforms for data and digital media and has been featured in Fast Company, The New York Times, AdExchanger, Internet Retailer, and many other major publications on technology and innovation.
An inventor, with numerous patents in machine learning and computational advertising, Gilbert pioneered the use of large volumes of unstructured online data with offline data from retail stores to effectively predict the purchase likelihood and transactional value of consumers relative to any product to maximize sales and profits for brands. This has led to novel applications in the emerging field of real-time automated exchanges where Proclivity enables entities to buy and sell digital ads and data signals at optimal prices in milliseconds to maximize sales.
Gilbert's passion for mining large unstructured data sets began with his early academic research career in molecular genetics, which he studied during his undergraduate years at Yale University, and thereafter at The Rockefeller University and Cornell University Medical Center. In addition, Gilbert is actively involved in a number of non-profits including The Student Diplomacy Corps, The Neighborhood Trust, The Andrew Goodman Foundation, and The Recording Academy Grammy Awards, and regular guest lecturer at Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Partner at Cozen O'Connor
Stuart Shorenstein is a partner at Cozen O'Connor. A member of the Business Law Department, Mr. Shorenstein is a founder of the firm's Public Strategies Group and heads its New York Public Strategies team. Over the past three decades, he has also been actively involved in national, local and state politics. Mr. Shorenstein and his firm provide pro bono services to The Andrew Goodman Foundation.
Terrance Middleton, a native of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is a junior business administration major and marketing minor who attends the historical Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Terrance serves in numerous organizations on and off campus. He serves as the president of the Claflin University Chapter of NAACP and Parliamentarian for the Claflin University Student Government Association. Terrance's life commitment is to his family, his community, and his future alma mater. He strives in life by helping others who need it the most, specializing in the effectiveness of not only young African Americans but of those who are seemingly overlooked. Terrance has made ground shaking movement on the campus by inviting presidential candidates to the campus through his organizations, hosting forums for the betterment of African Americans and minorities, giving back to local community organizations, and serving in his fullest potential regardless of the circumstances.
Thalia Butts (she/her) is majoring in mass communications with a concentration in journalism and a minor in creative writing at Claflin University.
While matriculating at Claflin University, she has served in a variety of leadership positions across the campus, including the Student Government Association, Claflin University Association of Black Journalists, Panther S.T.E.P.S Peer Mentor Program, ACT Honors College, and the Freshmen College. As a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Thalia currently serves locally in the Gamma Chi chapter, on a regional level as the South Carolina State Facilitator, and on a national level as a member of the 2020-2021 Leadership DELTA cohort. While at Claflin, she was blessed many times with opportunities to travel to and study abroad in Japan, South Korea, Poland, and Finland.
She also worked as a Poll Defender with the MTV +1 the Polls initiative in Fall 2020 toward ensuring Claflin students had safe access to a polling place to exercise their right to vote.
After graduation, Thalia plans to pursue a Master of Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina, and then to secure full-time employment as a UX writer before retiring to become a midwife and farmer. As an alumna, she also hopes to travel frequently and be able to serve and contribute to her beloved Claflin University.
Tia Alexander is a student at Xavier University of Louisiana pursuing a Political Science Pre-Law major with a minor in Philosophy. A native New Orleanian, she enjoys attending college in her city and remaining close to its culture and her family. In her free time, Tia enjoys running her Pre-Law Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta as its President, participating in AGF voter engagement efforts with her peers, and volunteering with CourtWatch NOLA. In the future, she hopes to attend law school.
Job Titles:
- Director of Leadership and Engagement / Team Leader
Job Titles:
- Public Affairs Coordinator
Usjid Hameed works as the Public Affairs Coordinator for the Council on American-Islamic Relations Columbus, Ohio Chapter (CAIR-Columbus) where he is tasked with advocating for American-Muslims, monitoring legislation, conducting outreach, organizing civic engagement activities with the Central Ohio American-Muslim community, and much more. Usjid was born in York, Pennsylvania and raised in Baltimore County, Maryland. His passion for service was kindled at a young age thanks to his parents, Pakistani immigrants, frequently drawing attention to his many privileges, such as growing up in a two-parent home in America. Usjid credits the public school system in Baltimore County for providing him with a profound interest in history and government. Usjid attended Towson University for his undergraduate studies where he served as a Vote Everywhere Ambassador for The Andrew Goodman Foundation and as an editor for the Towson University Journal of International Affairs. In addition, Usjid was the field director for a state delegate campaign during the 2014 election cycle and interned in Congressman John Delaney's (MD-06) D.C. office. In his junior year, Usjid was awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship for his Summer 2016 study abroad experience in Jordan. He graduated from Towson University with honors in May 2017 after earning a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and was the Spring 2017 Undergraduate Commencement Speaker for the College of Liberal Arts. Upon graduating, Usjid moved to Columbus in June 2017 to begin work with CAIR.
Wambui Gatheru is the Director of Programs at The Andrew Goodman Foundation. Wambui is a proud first-generation Kenyan-American. She began her career as a grassroots national organizer, quickly working her way into local Massachusetts politics where she successfully managed the 2018 Question 2 ballot initiative supporting a congressional mandate to get big money out of politics. The question had received 80% of the vote on the ballot, making it the winningest question on the ballot that year. Afterwards, she continued her career as a Partnerships and Outreach Manager, where she utilized her experience as a Black woman to form deeply intersectional and inclusive relationships. Now as the proud Director of Programs at The Andrew Goodman Foundation, she supports the visions and power of young voices in our democracy.
Job Titles:
- Chief Counsel & Strategic Advisor ( Outside Counsel )
- Principal of Bromberg Law LLC
Yael Bromberg is a constitutional rights attorney with twenty years of experience in community organizing, advocacy, and campaigns. She serves as Chief Counsel & Strategic Advisor with The Andrew Goodman Foundation, supporting our organizing, advocacy, and legal efforts. Yael is one of the nation's foremost legal experts on the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18 and outlaws age discrimination in access to the ballot. Her legal scholarship, "Youth Voting Rights & the Unfulfilled Promise of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment," has been heralded as a groundbreaking study of this unexamined and under-appreciated area of constitutional rights.
Yael is Principal of Bromberg Law LLC, and a Lecturer at Rutgers School of Law where she teaches Election Law & the Political Process and serves as Faculty Advisor for the Rutgers Law Review's upcoming symposium, Voting Rights Reform: The 26th Amendment, Youth Power, and the Potential for a Third Reconstruction. This spring, she is advancing a new Andrew Goodman Foundation President's Initiative with the Harvard Kennedy School's William Monroe Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice. Yael is a visiting associate with the Eagleton Institute for Politics at Rutgers University, and serves on the cross-partisan advisory council of American Promise, an organization dedicated to eradicating the outsized role of money in politics through constitutional ratification.
Formerly, Yael was a supervising attorney and teaching fellow in the Georgetown University Law Center Civil Rights Clinic and the Voting Rights Institute, where she received an L.L.M. in Advocacy with distinction. She worked in the Washington, D.C. headquarters of Common Cause, and clerked for nearly three years with the Honorable Dickinson R. Debevoise in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Yael is a graduate of Douglass College and Rutgers Law School, where she was a Kinoy/Stavis Fellow in the Rutgers Constitutional Litigation Clinic and received upon graduation the Eli Jarmel Memorial Award for greatest interest and proficiency in public interest law. In 2015, she received the Eric Neisser Public Service Alumni Award in recognition of her work in democracy law, and is the youngest recipient of the award. Yael is barred in New York, New Jersey, and the District of Columbia, as well as the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Sixth and Seventh Circuit.
She has spoken at conferences and events nationwide on democracy law including youth voting rights, and is a frequent commentator for national news publications including the Washington Post, Slate, The Intercept, and CSPAN.