BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Allen Kwabena Frimpong
Board Chair, Development Owl
Independent, Voting Member (2020-Present)
Allen is the co-founder of and Managing Partner of AdAstra Management collective. Formerly a principal consultant and resource mobilizer with Movement NetLab a think-make-do tank based in Brooklyn, NY, he has over 12 years of experience in his field. He is highly talented in working with funders and donors in cultivating grant-making strategies throughout social change initiatives to achieve a just transition to economic democracy. His capacity-building work in philanthropy and government has focused on supporting the development of social programs, service delivery models, community organizing campaigns and cross collaboration system change initiatives. He is a recognized thought leader with a unique perspective on his interdisciplinary work with social movements harnessing his skills from community organizing, resource mobilization, fundraising, as well as participatory planning and design thinking within complex networked systems.
Alisha Williams
Board Member, Legal Owl
Independent, Voting Member (2020-Present)
Alisha (they/she) is a former movement lawyer with deep experience engaging in organizational development with grassroots organizations. Their movement lawyering included engaging in political education for a wide variety of audiences through transgender 101 trainings rooted in a Black abolitionist politic. Alisha has used her voice and position to challenge anti-blackness in philanthropy and the NPIC. She is beyond excited to support the work of Resist from Weeksville Brooklyn where she currently resides and breathes in her ancestors (check out the Weeksville Heritage Center!). They are a proud baba/parent, budding archivist tracing family stories through generations/lands and a forever fan of Tourmaline.
Danielle Coates-Connor
Board Member, Communications Owl
Independent, Voting Member (2020-Present)
Danielle is an internationally known storyteller and communications strategist, dedicated to shifting how humans live on the planet towards justice, sustainability, peace, and happiness. Her creative work spans genres, from documentary film, photography and writing to podcasts and immersive video installation. Danielle is the founder of Infinite Growth where she designs and facilitates interactive learning experiences for online and face to face environments, developing vision and voice with groups and individuals.
Jax Gil
Board Member, Resource Redistribution Owl
Independent, Voting Member (2020-Present)
Joby Gelbspan
Board Treasurer, Sustainability Owl
Independent, Voting Member (2018-Present)
Joby has organized for decades against many forms of oppression and abuse, especially those perpetrated with the power and shield of big corporations. She especially loves to share financial tools and analysis to help people build strategic and sustainable movements, individually and organizationally. She has served a range of groups in roles from adviser to director to CFO, and currently coordinates corporate research and financial analysis for Corporate Accountability International’s grassroots campaigns. She also teaches on politically-informed investing, and shows up in her local Providence community in as many other ways as her limited human form will allow.
Kathy Lebrón
Board Clerk, Resist Staff Member
Co-director Communications and Storytelling (Board term: 2020-Present)
Kathy Lebrón is a radical, anti-racist and culturally responsive maestra with a passion for design and communications. Born to a fearless Dominican immigrant mother, Kathy is committed to decolonizing the Dominican mind, amplifying the work of diasporic communities and folx who are most impacted by structural inequities, and making communications more transparent, accessible and engaging for said communities. Kathy loves getting down on the dance floor, traveling to new places, and building with dope BIPOC folx in the fight for justice and liberation.
Luana Morales
Board Member, Circle of Elders Owl
Independent, Voting Member (2021-Present)
Luana Morales is a Birth and Bereavement Doula, Midwife, Circle keeper, Spiritual Coach, Officiant, Reiki Master Teacher, and Herbal Apprentice devoted to reclaiming our birth, death, and Afro-Indigenous healing practices. She creates containers that support reflection, experimentation, healing, learning, collaboration, and joy for our individual and collective liberation, be it through individual sessions, group facilitation, workshops, or retreats. Prior to her current work as a full-time healing arts practitioner and facilitator, she dedicated 18 years to working in human services with individuals in a variety of settings, including residential long-term treatment, outpatient, and supportive housing with individuals and families struggling with mental health issues, trauma, addiction, chronic health conditions, and homelessness. She also dedicated 11 years to community-based parenting education, supporting families affected by substance abuse, mental illness, and trauma. In 2017, she founded Seeds of Our Ancestors, a mobile interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and multi-lineage healing squad. Luana‘s website is https://www.handsofgaiareiki.
Maanav Thakore
Board Member, Worker Self-Direction Owl
Independent, Voting Member (2018-2020)
Maanav Thakore has dedicated his life to facilitating the evolution of social justice work and culture with a keen focus on racial justice efforts. He is a self-described “transformative systems nerd” and has spent more than a decade leading change processes in support of countless individuals, organizations, networks and municipalities.
Maanav has lived, learned, worked and organized in Louisiana, New Mexico, Connecticut, Minnesota, Colorado and Massachusetts. His primary focus has been on developing thousands of intersectional racial justice leaders across many sectors and consulting with over one hundred organizations to live their values and integrate them to day to day programs and operations. He is an expert facilitator with an organizer’s heart and has extensive experience leading winning campaigns, applying network theory to movement building and developing cultural change strategies.
In addition to being a profoundly impactful change agent, Maanav is a deejay, multi-instrumentalist, holistic-foods chef, and father to two beautiful children.
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