The California Black Freedom Fund is a five-year, $100 million initiative to ensure that Black power-building and movement-based organizations have the sustained investments and resources they need to eradicate systemic and institutional racism. Key Contributions: 1. Manage the State of Black California event series in partnership with the California Legislative Black Caucus. 2. Coordinate and advise state legislators and their staff on the event program, talking points, and logistics for each event. 3. Develop and track the project budget, contracts, provide direction to contractors for the event series including communications, researchers, and services.4. Coordinate with CBFF grantees and community leaders on their involvement and outreach for each community event. 5. Manage the Chinedu Valentine Okobi Sabbatical Program by developing the application process, leading the review, and coordinating with community leader recipients.

At Dream Chase Media, we specialize in helping nonprofits, foundations, and social businesses improve communications, programs, and fundraising strategies for growth and impact. We've served many incredible social justice organizations including One Voice (MS), La Plazita Institute (NM), Freedom Project (WA), OPAL (OR), ReInventing Social Enterprise (OR), New Mexico Asian Family Center, Casey Family Programs, Frontline Solutions, and more.

Winner of the Best Documentary Award at the Hollywood International Diversity Film Festival, and an official selection at Portland Film Festival, Bronzelens, Denton Black Film Festival, and Austin Lift-Off Film Festival, GRANDMA’S ROSES is a raw, intimate documentary exploring the labor & love women invest in their families and communities.

The Alliance for Boys and Men of Color is a national network of hundreds of community and advocacy organizations who come together to advance race and gender justice by transforming policies that are failing boys and men of color and their families, and building communities full of opportunity.Also, with the Alliance, I've helped launch and co-led Healing Together, a campaign that engages men and people of all genders in the work to build safe and accountable communities by focusing on healing, gender justice, and racial equity—instead of punishment—to end intimate partner violence. We aim to shift away from punitive policies and systems that produce violence and expand community-based approaches that focus on prevention, accountability, and healing for all.Highlights of the campaign include the passage of the CRISIS Act in California, which invests public dollars into community-based alternatives to law enforcement, and co-authoring a groundbreaking policy research paper entitled "Healing Together: Shifting Approaches to End Intimate Partner Violence."Key Contributions: 1. Help the organization develop and implement fundraising and coalition-building strategies in California and nationwide.2. Manage the regranting process for Healing Together microgrants. 3. Facilitate annual team retreat and strategic planning process. 4.. Produce media and communications assets for fundraising and the Healing Together campaign, including the Digital Toolkit, promotional and outreach graphics and videos. 5. Design and facilitate Healing Together virtual learning sessions and project planning, including the expansion of the Call for Change Helpline to California.

The Delta Proud Youth Initiative is a partnership between private foundations, higher education, public school districts, and local stakeholders to improve school climate using strategies to increase high school graduation rates for African American males. The initiative began with a focused on three counties of the Mississippi Delta: Bolivar, Leflore, and Sunflower and has now broadened to six counties.Key Contributions: 1. Produce an internal chronicle of the evolution and expansion of the initiative over a five-year period. 2. Use photography, video, and writing to tell the stories of youth impacted by the initiative. 3. Advise on youth engagement and youth leadership programming. 4. Lead workshops and provide mentorship at Delta Proud Youth Initiative programs.

A powerful tool for educators and parents to talk about racism in ways that go beyond interpersonal interaction, and recognized in over a dozen of top kids books list for teaching anti-racism. Systemic racism is incredibly difficult to understand for grownups! This book was made to help kids understand what systemic racism is and how it's built into laws, schools, stories, and other institutions in a way that collectively makes life much harder for people of color.Notable Recognition: - Oprah's "Favorite Things List" 2020- Good Morning America- CBS Morning News- Portland Monthly- Portland Business JournalAs a part of the book's engagement campaign, I led book readings and workshops for companies and organizations, such as Adidas, Twist Bioscience, Montessori Schools, Gartner, Parents for Public Schools San Francisco, Portland Public Schools.

My consulting assignments with Frontline Solutions have helped philanthropic groups assess their impact, identify growth opportunities, and launch grantmaking initiatives. Key Contributions: 1. Helped Feeding America design and launch the Food Security Equity Impact Fund to grant over 20 million dollars to BIPOC-led food justice organizations (2021-2023). As lead consultant for the project, we co-designed the grant program, including the eligibility criteria, proposal application, review rubric, and decision-making process. In preparation for the second round of funding, we conducted an equity and accessibility assessment to improve the process. 2. Designed and facilitated a community of practice for grantees of the Elevate Initiative, a national grantmaking program for grassroots economic mobility. We provided workshops on communications strategy and organizational development, as well as one-on-one coaching and technical assistance for executive leaders. 3. Co-led a strategic planning process for the Philanthropy Network of Greater Philadelphia (2021). In partnership with my Frontline colleagues, we conducted interviews with funders, members of the Philanthropy Network, and leaders of community-based organizations in the region to develop practical recommendations to improve local nonprofit investment in BIPOC and social justice groups.4. Helped the Schott Foundation for Public Education explore strategies to deepen impact in the South (2021).5. Designed and managed a community of practice for violence prevention grantee organizations in Washington, DC, on behalf of the Public Welfare Foundation and the Greater Washington Community Foundation (2020-2021). As co-lead of the project, I developed and facilitated monthly workshops on fundraising, strategic communications, and organizational capacity building.

The Beaverton Black Parent Union is a volunteer-led collective of families with Black children organized to create community, advocate for culturally relevant resources, and ultimately support the success and well-being of our children and families in Beaverton. We engage in community building and grassroots organizing to unify Black families across Beaverton and Washington County. Key Contributions: 1. Raised over $300,000 in our first two years largely through grants.2. Co-designed and led programming for student support, mental health, parent organizing, community building, and cultural awareness. 3. Fostered partnerships with school district leaders, parks department, and the city. 4. Supervised contractors and volunteers. 5. Managed and tracked organization budget, grantwriting, grant reporting, and funder presentations.

Open Signal Labs is an incubator for Black filmmakers based in Portland. The career-altering Labs fellowship program supports emerging filmmakers with a year of training, access to top-of-the-line media equipment, mentorship, and much, much more.Key Experiences: 1. Participated in writing, producing, and cinematography workshops. 2. Built relationships with fellow Black filmmakers and writers in the Pacific Northwest. 3. Received financial investment for the documentary film "GRANDMA'S ROSES."4. Partnered with the Portland Art Museum for the films in-person premiere.

The Virtual Beaverton Night Market was an interactive, live-broadcasted-and-streamed television program that aired over two nights in August of 2020. The program was developed in response to the national quarantine as an alternative to the annual Beaverton Night Market experience. The program highlighted a diverse set of local entrepreneurs, sharing their personal stories and their products. Key Contributions: 1. Served as lead writer and producer of the television program. 2. Produced and directed 12 pre-recorded short documentary segments to air during the program. 3. Supported the set design in the style of a South Asian open-air market. 4. Managed a team comprised of city staff and volunteers from the Diversity Advisory Board.

The New Mexico Asian Family Center provides culturally sensitive programs and services creating a Pan-Asian community that advocates for and supports itself.Key Contributions: 1. Facilitated strategic communications planning retreat. 2. Co-developed the mission, vision, and values statement with the client. 3. Designed a root cause analysis and theory of change model for the client.

PolicyLink is a national research and action institute dedicated to advancing racial and economic equity. Through my work at PolicyLink, I aimed to eliminate race and gender injustice by advocating for legislation and building partnerships across issue areas. Key Contributions: 1. Served as the education policy lead in California, working with legislators and community groups to pass legislation on student discipline reform, college access for undocumented students, dropout prevention, and school safety measures. 2. Managed a national Community of Practice for nonprofit professionals serving youth of color through webinars, conferences, and site visits. 3. Helped establish and manage an intermediary fund for grassroots organizations advancing race and gender justice. 4. Helped create a statewide table of philanthropic leaders committed to improving conditions for boys and men of color. 5. Conducted community capacity assessments in twelve cities as a part of the My Brother's Keeper investment strategy. 6. Co-led the development of a domestic violence prevention program for men and boys in California.

As a leader at Frontline Solutions, I managed internal communications and provided consulting services in media production, organizational development, philanthropy, youth engagement, and fatherhood.Key Contributions: 1. Produced UnderConstructionProject.com - a storytelling series for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2. Helped launch and staff the Executives' Alliance for Boys and Men of Color, a network of foundation CEOs investing in racial equity.3. Co-facilitated the Living Cities strategic planning retreat. 4. Co-led growth strategy planning for the Center for Urban Families. 5. Organized and presented at conferences on successful interventions for boys and men of color.

In The Black Fatherhood Project, filmmaker Jordan Thierry leads viewers through an honest and essential exploration of fatherhood in Black America, providing historical context and conversation for an issue at the core of the Black experience today. Key Accomplishments from Community Engagement Campaign: 1. Developed and led a national community engagement plan for The Black Fatherhood Project documentary film that reached over two thousand people. 2. Served as the public face of BFP, interviewed with media, and spoke to large audiences.3. Built a professional network of national and local leaders in the men and boys of color, fatherhoodand family success, education advocacy, and criminal justice reform movements.4. Fostered partnerships with institutions that play a part in the lives of Black youth or fathersand families.5. Planned and facilitated workshops and screenings for the general community and specific groups, including the Boston Public Health Coalition, National Alliance for Children and Families, Ohio University, Hillsborough County, City of Newark, and Oregon Youth Authority. 6. Secured fiscal sponsorship and tracked financial expenses by fiscal sponsor policies.

At the Funders' Committee, I served as a Program Associate, managing programming showcasing impactful civic engagement programs to philanthropists. Key Contributions: 1. Developed and managed FCCP programs, including webinars, briefings, training, and conferences.2. Led bi-annual conference planning, including agendas and task delegation to the planning committee. 3. Tracked national and regional news on voting rights, elections, redistricting, and campaign finance.4. Wrote, edited, and distributed FCCP e-newsletters that reached over five hundred funders.

Teacher, Grade 4 at William H. Horton Elementary School.

Black Youth Vote! is a broad-based coalition of organizations and individuals committed to increasing political and civic involvement among black men and women aged 18-35. It is youth-led and dedicated to educating young voters in the Black community who are increasingly disenfranchised and alienated from the electoral and legislative process. Key Contributions:1. Collaborated on special projects with media, government, financial and non-profit organizations such as Rock the Vote, Essence Magazine, Young Voter Strategies, B.E.T., Congressional Black Caucus, the National Urban League, National Council on Negro Women, Hip Hop Caucus and the National Education Association.2. Organized and led voter rallies on university campuses in South Carolina, Georgia, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, and Florida. 3. Managed voter registration drive data and tracking. 4. Organized the annual Black Youth Vote! Summits. 5. Facilitated workshops on student organizing, voter engagement, and policy.

Key Skills Gained: 1. Researching news stories 2. Writing news stories 3. Producing local stories4. Assisting reporters in the field 5. Pitching6. Video editing

KBOO "is a Volunteer-Powered, Non-Commercial, Listener-Sponsored, Full-Strength Community Radio for Portland, Oregon, Cascadia & the World." At KBOO, I had the opportunity to work with veteran newsman Robert Jefferson, as well as experienced citizen journalists from Oregon. Key Contributions: 1. Reporting on the evening public affairs newscast 2. Producing news stories 3. Research 4. Interviewing in the field5. Responding to community inquiries

Worked under the guidance of world leaders in urban fashion design and marketing.