NEPA STANDS UP - Key Persons
The NEPA Stands Up LGBTQ Committee is dedicated to protecting queer and trans youth in schools, lobbying local and statewide legislators to pass protections for LGBTQ folks in our communities, and developing workshops for political education for our allies and supporters who will stand with us and demand better for us.
In our community, everyone belongs. Join our LGBTQ Committee the 3rd Monday of every month at 6PM.
NEPA Stands Up is committed to recruiting, training, and running transformative candidates for local offices in the communities they live in. Our volunteers knock doors, make calls, write postcards, and strategize!
We deserve elected officials that represent us. Join Our Movement Politics Team the 4th Monday of every month at 5PM.
Our labor team works to build relationships with and support organized labor across the county.
Celine Schrier was born and raised in Berks County making her a great fit as the Local Organizer at Berks Stands Up. She got involved in activism when she realized the world wasn't going to get any better unless we made it that way ourselves. At Berks Stands Up, she is responsible for base-building and supporting leaders to create a Movement Politics team and Housing Justice team, together they went on to win $125M for Whole-Home Repairs, and shutting down the Berks Detention Center as a part of the Shut Down Berks Coalition. In their free time, they can be found ravenously reading about history & fantasy, petting their (or anyones) precious cats, and having the audacity to try any craft that catches her eye.
Carrie Santoro is a proud mom and working-class organizer. Prior to becoming the Executive Director at PA Stands Up, she was a founding member of our Lehigh Valley chapter and the Chair of our Delegate Assembly. She has held senior organizing and communications roles in electoral campaigns and labor, faith, and immigrants' rights organizations. Carrie wants PASU to help end the shame and blame working people carry for ourselves and each other, and that can only happen through intentional story sharing and shared values. She works with organizers and members to build beloved community on our path to power, with curiosity and compassion for each other, strategy to build the conditions we need to win, discipline in our mission, and revolutionary joy in the work we do.
Our communications team handles the ongoing work of writing emails, making social media posts, designing graphics, and managing our blog in order to keep our members, volunteers, and supporters in the loop.
Job Titles:
- Berks Stands Up Organizer
Celine Schrier was born and raised in Berks County making her a great fit as the Local Organizer at Berks Stands Up. She got involved in activism when she realized the world wasn't going to get any better unless we made it that way ourselves. At Berks Stands Up, she is responsible for base-building and supporting leaders to create a Movement Politics team and Housing Justice team, together they went on to win $125M for Whole-Home Repairs, and shutting down the Berks Detention Center as a part of the Shut Down Berks Coalition. In their free time, they can be found ravenously reading about history & fantasy, petting their (or anyones) precious cats, and having the audacity to try any craft that catches her eye.
Job Titles:
- Movement Politics Organizer
Deena Stoudt has been organizing since 2020 with PA Stands Up. She was a member of Lehigh Valley Stands Up, engaging with folks about issues such as housing and racial inequality. In 2021 she moved to Reading and became a member of Berks Stands Up. There she continued her fight for housing equality and became the housing justice leader with Berks Stands Up! She engaged members on things like Whole Home Repairs and tenant rights education. She graduated from Kutztown University with a degree in Sociology, minoring in Political Science with a focus on South American politics. Aside from fighting for working-class people in her free time, she loves to read and travel!
Job Titles:
- Lancaster Stands Up Organizer
Duncan Hopkins was born and raised in Lancaster and has been active in local grassroots organizing since volunteering with the Jess King for Congress campaign in 2018. Since then, he has worked as an organizer on several campaigns, notably Bernie Sanders for President, Eugene DePasquale for Congress, and Hobie Crystle for District Attorney. Throughout 2021, he volunteered with LSU's Electoral Team and joined as a full-time organizer in 2022. Duncan is a proud J.P. McCaskey graduate (Class of 2015) and graduated from Dickinson College in 2019 with a degree in Political Science.
Job Titles:
- Director of Narrative and Communications
Emily Pratt got involved as a deep canvassing volunteer in summer 2020 with Berks Stands Up, when it felt like her city and state was coming apart at the seams. After running phone banks, joining the leadership team in Berks, and chairing the Queer Liberation Caucus at Reclaim Philadelphia, Emily joined the staff team at PASU. Now she is responsible for keeping our complex work compliant, making sure systems and tools are running smoothly, supporting statewide events, and providing HR support. Prior to getting involved with political organizing, she was a performing arts administrator, and she continues to love to dance, sing, and produce dance theater projects in Philadelphia, PA.
Job Titles:
- Organizer
- Regional Organizer
Holly VanWert is the Regional Organizer for NEPA Stands Up. Born and raised in Scranton, she is a lifelong activist, writer, and pizza enthusiast. At NEPA Stands Up, she is responsible for base building and overseeing the member-led committees and grassroots organizing happening throughout Northeast Pennsylvania. In the summer of 2022, NEPA Stands Up successfully collected over 13,000 signatures to limit the use of solitary confinement in the Lackawanna County Prison. In addition to organizing for power in NEPA with PA Stands Up, she organizes a weekly mutual aid effort in Scranton primarily serving the unhoused community. In her free time, she can be found with her nose in a book.
Rob Misciagna is a local organizer with Lancaster Stands Up. Raised in Columbia, PA, Rob has an extensive background in electoral work and issue-based community organizing. He has both served as a campaign manager for a State House campaign and ran for local office himself. Rob has a Bachelor's degree in Government, Policy, and Law with a minor in Economics.
Duncan Hopkins was born and raised in Lancaster and has been active in local grassroots organizing since volunteering with the Jess King for Congress campaign in 2018. Since then, he has worked as an organizer on several campaigns, notably Bernie Sanders for President, Eugene DePasquale for Congress, and Hobie Crystle for District Attorney. Throughout 2021, he volunteered with LSU's Electoral Team and joined as a full-time organizer in 2022. Duncan is a proud J.P. McCaskey graduate (Class of 2015) and graduated from Dickinson College in 2019 with a degree in Political Science.
Lancaster Stands Up is a chapter of Pennsylvania Stands Up that works to build independent political power, organizing our communities across race, class and gender.
Ronald Byron Johnson has lived in the greater Lehigh Valley region since he was four years old. Ron's mother is from Chiclayo, Peru and his father is from North Carolina. Ron has been obsessed with the advancement of human dignity throughout his adult life. Ron has studied at Northampton Community College, the Pennsylvania State University, and Lehigh University. At Penn State, Ron received his bachelor's degree in international politics with a specialization for international relations theory which focuses on power dynamics. At Penn State, Ron quickly felt the Bern and got absorbed into the realm of student activism, serving as a Senator in the Student Government Association. Ron serves on the board of the Latino Leadership Alliance of the Lehigh Valley and was previously the Allentown Field Organizer for the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee.
Job Titles:
- Movement Politics Director
Maria Andrews invests in local leaders to recruit, train, elect, and co-govern with working-class champions. With a degree in International Studies and Dance, she taught English in Malaysia on a Fulbright Grant, witnessing the impacts of global capitalism. As a Legislative Assistant for the PA House of Representatives, Maria provided vital housing, medical and other assistance. Recognizing the lack of political courage in Harrisburg and the urgent need for transformational change, Maria joined the Bernie 2020 campaign in NEPA where she mobilized over 100 dedicated volunteers, joined the campaign full-time and eventually established NEPA Stands Up. Beyond electoral organizing, she helped spearhead a local ballot initiative to restrict the use of solitary confinement in Lackawanna and Lehigh Counties. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, dancing, karaoke, traveling, and savoring a cup of tea.
Job Titles:
- Lehigh Valley Stands Up Organizer
Ronald Byron Johnson has lived in the greater Lehigh Valley region since he was four years old. Ron's mother is from Chiclayo, Peru and his father is from North Carolina. Ron has been obsessed with the advancement of human dignity throughout his adult life. Ron has studied at Northampton Community College, the Pennsylvania State University, and Lehigh University. At Penn State, Ron received his bachelor's degree in international politics with a specialization for international relations theory which focuses on power dynamics. At Penn State, Ron quickly felt the Bern and got absorbed into the realm of student activism, serving as a Senator in the Student Government Association. Ron serves on the board of the Latino Leadership Alliance of the Lehigh Valley and was previously the Allentown Field Organizer for the Pennsylvania State Democratic Committee.
Job Titles:
- Organizing and Base Building Director
Onah Ossai started organizing with us when she answered her door to talk to a PA Stands Up canvasser in 2019. She has been a canvasser, a chapter organizer, and our Issue Campaigns Coordinator before being promoted to Regional Organizing Manager. As the child of a Nigerian immigrant, she knows how our immigration system can tear families apart. She has also been affected deeply by the US carceral system having witnessed her own father spend a significant portion of her childhood in prison and seen how the long term effects of the PIC can irreversibly alter family dynamics and stability. And as a working class single mother, Onah knows how important it is for everyday people to come together across differences to fight for policy that supports all of us. She has used her attention to detail, facilitation skills, humor and accountability to successfully coordinate our multi-county ballot initiatives to end solitary confinement, as well as our Whole Home Repairs campaign.
Job Titles:
- Movement Politics Organizer
Sarina Torres lives in Allentown, Pa, where she plays an active role in her community and operates a small business. Being in foster care as a child opened up her eyes to an array of social justice issues and eventually drew her into politics. She volunteered for multiple campaigns and ran for office in 2023, which led her to work alongside and eventually for PA Stands Up. She hopes to continue to grow the established chapters and help elect as many politicians who are for the people as we can. In her spare time, she is a Social Work student at Kutztown, an alum of Phi Sigma Sigma, and enjoys exploring local businesses in Allentown.
Sunyoung Strait (they/them) was born in the Oakland, CA area after their parents immigrated from South Korea. After obtaining their Master's Degree in Negotiations, Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding, they spent almost 12 years in labor organizing in CA, OR, CO, and PA. The pinnacle of their career was leading the largest successful nursing home strike campaign in PA history. Coming off that campaign, they felt that it was time to bring their organizing experience to the Asian community, and they remain passionate advocates of workers rights, racial justice, LGBTQIA issues, and mental health. Most recently, Sunyoung served as the Organizing Director for Asian Pacific Islander Political Alliance.