Airenakhue Omoragbon, African Communities Together

Airenakhue B. Omoragbon (she/her) is the New York Policy Manager at African Communities Together (ACT). She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and is the proud daughter of immigrants from Trinidad and Nigeria. As a Policy Manager at ACT’s New York Chapter, Airenakhue supports the organization’s Hair Braiding Campaign, which protects African hair braiders’ ability to earn a dignified livelihood while having their profession and experience respected by clients and the industry. She collaborates with ACT’s Housing Justice Program to enable migrants to secure stable housing and defend New York’s Right to Shelter laws.

Prior to joining ACT, Airenakhue served as Search for Common Ground’s Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) Advocacy Fellow. She has also served as a Legislative Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives and as John R. Lewis Social Justice Fellow through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

Airenakhue received her Master of Science in Social Work (M.S.S.W) from Columbia University, where she specialized in Accelerated Policy Practice on behalf of Family, Youth, and Children’s Services. Her subject matter expertise is in women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender-based violence, human trafficking, and child welfare.

Alexander Ayala, Good Call

Alex Ayala is the Advocacy & Policy Associate for Good Call. He also serves as the organization’s in-house photographer and video producer. Before joining Good Call, Alex held a range of staff writing, photography, and editorial positions at Voices of New York, Do North Tourism, and the Plattsburgh Press-Republican. Alex was inspired to pursue photojournalism by the work of James Nachtwey, the photographer and human rights activist. Alex earned his BA in Multimedia Journalism from SUNY Plattsburgh and has received multiple awards for his photography and journalism. Post-graduation, Alex was selected for the highly competitive Knight Foundation CUNY Summer Internship at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. In his spare time, Alex serves as a board member for Loving The Bronx, a community building and development group focusing on social and environmental issues through the use of parks, open spaces and waterways throughout The Bronx. At Loving The Bronx, Alex is supporting Cap The Cross Bronx, a campaign to cap below grade sections of the Cross Bronx Expressway to create more parkland.

Hilda Bustamante, Korean American Family Service Center

Hilda Bustamante is the Community Outreach Manager at the Korean American Family Service Center. Through volunteering she realized her passion for helping her immigrant community. Now Hilda works in a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence and she is passionate about it.

Dawedo Sanon, Columbia County Sanctuary Movement

Dawedo Sanon is an Organizer and activist in New York’s Columbia, Greene and Albany Counties. She is currently a Staff Organizer with CCSM. As a Community Organizer, Dawedo strives to build relationships, continues to ask tough questions, and fights for the immigrant community.

Diane Cantave, Long Island Jobs with Justice

Diane has been with Long Island Jobs with Justice since 2018 but has been organizing long before this. She was a rank-and-file union member with SEIU 1199 and organized her workplace at Rite Aid where she worked for over 9 years. She became engaged not only as a leader in her shop but as a delegate for SEIU and went on to work for UFCW where she led efforts to organize Best Market/Lidl supermarkets across long Island. She worked tirelessly to build relationships with workers and support them in their efforts to organize as she had done at Rite Aid in her own workplace. Diane embodies a deep commitment to protecting the most vulnerable Black and Brown workers and channels her organizing values and principles throughout all of her work.

She has led direct actions and press conferences, presented on workers’ rights issues to broad audiences including labor unions, churches, community groups and government officials, fought alongside workers in their push for worker-centered legislation in Albany, and supported, elevated and encouraged worker leaders to find their power and voice. A core value of Diane’s is we are stronger together.

Eman Gad, Girls for Gender Equity

Eman is GGE’s Policy Coordinator, a position that allows Eman to combine her love for working with young people with her commitment to gender equity and building up the next generation. Eman was born and raised in Brooklyn by parents who immigrated from Alexandria, Egypt. Though having never lived in Egypt, Eman’s ancestral roots in the coastal city of Alexandria must be behind her love for the beach. Eman solidified her lifelong passion for gender equity by perusing a BA in gender studies and political science at Hunter College, along with becoming a fellow with The Leadership institute for Democracy and Social Justice. Eman hopes to continue dedicating her life’s work to helping create more safety, equity and joy for women.

Hassen Bashir, VOCAL-NY

Hassen is VOCAL-NY’s Civil Rights Union Campaign Coordinator working to end mass incarceration by eliminating policies, practices, and funding that lead to criminalization. VOCAL-NY’s Civil Rights Union campaigns focus on ending discriminatory and abusive policing practices; reducing the number of people incarcerated; removing barriers to jobs, housing and voting for people with conviction histories while supporting the creation of humane services to meet people’s needs. Before joining VOCAL, Hassen has worked on criminal justice reform advocacy with Worth Rises, Center for American Progress, JustLeadershipUSA, and the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth.

Ismael Diaz Jr., Center for Community Alternatives

Ismael Diaz Jr. is a formerly incarcerated individual who served nine and a half years of a twelve-year sentence. While incarcerated he earned his GED.,a Bachelor’s degree and started his on laundry service business when he came home. Today, Ismael is the Downstate Community Organizer at the Center for Community Alternatives (CCA). Ismael is so proud to have played a part in passing the Clean Slate Act.

Jay Edidin, Women's Community Justice Association

After two decades as a writer and editor, Jay Edidin followed a passion for policy and advocacy to earn a master’s degree in Human Rights at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Jay served as the Tow Policy Fellow at the Women’s Community Justice Association from 2022-2023 before joining the organization full-time as Director of Advocacy. He also knits a lot of socks.

Jeemin Cha, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families

Jeemin is the Data Policy Coordinator at Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF). As Data Policy Coordinator, he leads the Invisible No More Campaign for Data Equity (INM) and represents AAPI New Yorkers in data collected by city and state agencies. From his role, he works to rectify the systemic erasure of AAPI New Yorkers in data collected by city and state agencies and ensure that AAPIs and our needs are accurately and properly included in disaggregated data. In his spare time, Jeemin likes watching K-dramas, making quality pour over coffee, and spending time quality time with his mom who owns a crochet flowers store in Flushing, Queens.

Joessie Mathews, New Hour for Women and Children - LI

Joessie Mathews, an Afro-Latina from East New York, Brooklyn, is a dynamic force in philanthropy and social justice. As a mother of three, her personal experiences with the criminal justice system fuel her advocacy for change. Joessie serves as the CEO of Gloria’s Gifted Gems and is a Community Leader for LISJAN, and is involved with CCA, RAPP, and the Alliance for Rights and Recovery Cultural Competence Committee. She spent nine years as a Administrator at Stony Brook University, with her current role as the Culture and Engagement Coordinator, where she promotes social justice and equity. Committed to education and human rights, Joessie strives to empower her community and rectify injustices.

Linda Flor Brito, Immigrant Defense Project

Linda Flor is the Senior Policy and Campaigns Organizer at the Immigrant Defense Project, working to identify and implement strategic organizing and advocacy responses to advance IDP’s mission, to change the narrative on criminalization of immigrants and to build power in the field. Before joining IDP, she was a Senior Organizer at Centro de Trabajadores Unidos working to advance systemic change for immigrant and low-wage workers through grassroots organizing and community-led policy at the local, state, and federal levels. Linda Flor has over seven years of organizing experience fighting at the intersection of immigrant, Indigenous, and labor rights. Linda Flor’s commitment to the movement for liberation is rooted in building collective power and cross-movement solidarity to dismantle systems that uphold border imperialism and criminalize racialized communities. She received her Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. Linda Flor is the proud daughter of the Kichwa Cañari.

Luisa Cuautle, Make the Road New York

Luisa graduated from CUNY Hunter College with a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a minor in Biological Studies. Born in Mexico and raised in New York City, her experiences as a brown immigrant have shaped her passion for social justice, intersectionality, and creating systems that empower people. She has been an advocate for various issues, serving as president of the Hunter College Dream Team, working for a legal services organization supporting mental health rights, and currently working with Make the Road New York on the #Coverage4All campaign fighting for the right to accessible healthcare for all, regardless of immigration status or financial limitations.

Niesreen Mende, We Are Revolutionary

Niesreen is a mother, entrepreneur and Statewide Organizer for the nonprofit We Are Revolutionary in Albany, NY. While doing the work to make a difference for the next generation, nothing brings her more joy than being a mother. She’s a whirlwind of personality with a passion for making a difference. She takes her health and wellness serious (kind of, she loooves cookies) so you will catch her talking about sea moss.

Roxana Siaca, Workers Justice Center of New York

Roxana joined WJCNY’s team in 2023, first as a part-time Outreach Advocate and later full-time as Campaign Organizer. Roxana has been empowered by her lived experience to challenge the status quo and advocate for systemic change in the Rochester community and beyond. She brings an understanding of policy issues together with a commitment to community building, dismantling systems of oppression, and redistributing power.

Shalonda Curtis-Hackett, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem

Shalonda Curtis-Hackett is a community outreach coordinator for Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and an inaugural graduate of the JMACforFamilies H.E.A.L. Program. She is a founding birthkeeper of T.R.A.P. House Doulas, a published op-ed writer, and an advocate against family policing. She supports families impacted by the family policing system and participates in various coalitions including Narrowing the Front Door and Repeal CAPTA Coalition. Additionally, she is a land steward at Hattie Carthan Community Foodways and a founding farmer collaborator with Catalyst Collaborative Farm.

Tahirih Anthony, Common Justice

Tahirih Anthony serves as a senior policy manager at Common Justice, where she leads the Fair Access to Victim Compensation Campaign (FAVC). She has legislative experience from her time in the New York State Senate and Assembly and holds two master’s degrees in criminal justice and social work. As a first-generation Black-Guyanese American from Staten Island, Tahirih is dedicated to decarceration and addressing issues that affect the Black community, striving to advance equitable justice policies through her work.

Trisha Kim, Minkwon Center for Community Action

Trisha Kim (she/her) is a Community Engagement Associate at the MinKwon Center for Community Action in Flushing, Queens. Working mainly in civic engagement, she organizes and coordinates campaigns and events for advocacy, education, and civic participation. Originally from Guam, Trisha is a Boston University graduate with a B.A. in International Relations. She believes in inclusive social justice and the preservation of culture through a happy and healthy community.

Yanery Cruz, New York Transgender Advocacy Group

Yanery, an Afro-Latina transgender woman from NYC, is a dedicated advocate who actively engages in organizing rallies, speaking in the media, and participating in community outreach to support BIPOC TGNCNB communities. She oversees Youth Advocacy Fellowships, mentoring TGNCNB youth and amplifying their voices in legislative advocacy. Her focus includes advocating for affirmative action and pushing for amendments to legislation within New York State that benefit marginalized communities. Yanery’s work aims to drive meaningful change and advance social justice on a local and state level.