Rose DeStefano is an independent consultant and community organizer focused on racial equity, economic mobility, and transformative healing for 20+ years. For the last decade, Rose has led efforts to address long-standing structural racism and historic disinvestment in the Bronx, driving collective impact efforts, developing strategy and policy, and mobilizing community towards joy, self-determination, and possibility. Rose currently provides strategic consulting support for the Bronx Community Foundation. In her previous role, she was the Senior Director of Collective Impact at Children's Aid, building infrastructure for cross-sector systems change in the South Bronx. Additionally, she was the first co-chair of Children’s Aid’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Council and was involved in various inclusion efforts within the organization. Prior to her time at Children's Aid, Rose worked as the Director of Business Initiatives and Job Quality at the NYC Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development where she oversaw the Best for NYC campaign. Best for NYC is a partnership between B Lab, the non-profit certifying B Corporations, and the NYC Economic Development Corporation to advance the social business movement with government agencies, community-based organizations, nonprofits, for-profit businesses, and investors. Rose is a fellow of the Sterling Network, a network of systems leaders who are working together to enhance economic mobility across NYC. She received her GreenMBA from Dominican University in California in 2015. A social worker at heart, Rose worked for 10 years supporting nonprofits focused on supporting children and families in India, Bolivia and California. She also teaches Kundalini and Hatha yoga.

Noel is an immigrant from the Global South making home in the Deep South. Noel’s work is in the areas of policy, practice, governance, resource generation and critical production of knowledge and culture. Noel is the co-steward of the Deep South Solidarity Fund, a 5 year giving experiment that focuses on funding bipoc individuals, institutions and infrastructure in Louisiana, Mississippi Georgia & Alabama.

Southeast Asian feminist, organizer. Former executive director of Mekong NYC and currently executive director of the Southeast Asian Freedom Network. Proud momma of 3 feminists 23, 19, 14.

Kavita Pawria-Sanchez is a mother, the CEO of CannaBronx and a human rights attorney. With over 30 years of experience as a lifelong activist, community organizer, and former Assistant Commissioner with NYC's Mayor's Office, she co-led the design and implementation of over $75M in social equity programs serving immigrant New Yorkers. She is also the co-founder of KPS Strategies, a hands-on social justice consulting firm that envisions and implements community-centered policies and programs. Kavita studied race/class/gender and public policy at Cornell University and human rights law at CUNY Law School.

Nancy has 15 years of experience as an organizer, community-builder, and facilitator within Vietnamese, Southeast Asian, and immigrant and refugee communities. She continues to commit to healing and organizing as pathways to build power towards a vision of a world free from all forms of violence.

Dean Carmen Huertas-Noble is a seasoned academic leader, CED practitioner and legal scholar with a distinguished career in the field of clinical legal education. Her extensive experience spans several key roles at CUNY School of Law, where she has demonstrated exceptional leadership and expertise in clinical programs, community economic development (CED) and social justice lawyering. She is an Anti-Racist, Anti-Capitalist who is justice centered with an unwavering commitment to humanity.

Siddhartha Sanchez has dedicated over two decades to serving the South Bronx, grounding his work in communities. With a background spanning the public, private and non-profit arenas, Siddhartha moves seamlessly among stakeholders to create lasting change for a community he is deeply committed to. Most recently, Siddhartha has advised on community engagement for a major capital project in Puerto Rico, led an environmental justice campaign for Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, and supported New Yorkers at risk of gentrification through unbridled development in getting a seat at the table. Prior, Siddhartha was a philanthropic advisor to the Simon Bolivar Foundation for over nine years. There, he developed a grantmaking model based on participatory budgeting principles, ultimately overseeing over $8M in grants to South Bronx non-profits. Siddhartha’s background spans diverse issues and places – from staffing Congressman Jose Serrano on environmental and immigration issues, helping lead President Obama’s first campaign, engaging in diplomatic efforts with former Venezuelan President Chavez, to serving on the board of an organization that advocates for Black-owned cooperatives across the diaspora.

Samantha (Sam) believes in the power of collective spaces to dismantle oppressive structures. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Welfare at the CUNY Graduate Center, where she is exploring social worker resistance to neoliberal managerialism in social services agencies and critical social work theories and practices. She is also the Supervising Social Worker at Safe Passage Project, a legal services organization that represents immigrant youth facing deportation. Sam and the social work team work together to develop trusting relationships with young people and their families, connect them to resources and services in their communities, and advocate with and for them when faced with barriers to access. A Chicago native, Sam received her MA in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago. She landed in NYC in 2013 after spending two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic, where she worked with adolescent girls and families and attempted to dance bachata. Prior to joining Safe Passage, Sam was a social worker and high school soccer coach with South Bronx United. Sam’s passion for immigrant rights grew out of the relationships she developed with youth on the soccer pitch. Ten years later, you can find Sam on the weekends playing with some of these same young women in leagues throughout the Bronx. Ven a jugar!

Sadyia is an HR and operations management professional and currently serves as the Director of People and Operations at Safe Passage Project. Sadyia's public service career began at the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development, supporting organizations and facilitating internships for high school students. Her passion for mentoring youth continued at Greenpoint YMCA. Sadyia also served as the Director of Operations at the Council on American-Islamic Relations-NY, advocating for Muslims' rights. Additionally, she immersed herself in climate justice work, collaborating with interfaith climate activists globally. She further honed her HR and operations experience at Global Action Project as an Operations Manager. Sadyia has participated in numerous fellowships focusing on advocacy, justice, and community empowerment. She is Bengali and Muslim, and enjoys photography, traveling, and creating funny reels of her cat.

Michelle was born and raised in Northern Manhattan. She was raised by a single mother in a Dominican household. From her mother, she learned early on the importance of being an independent woman and creating spaces of chosen family for mutual support. In college, she decided to develop deep roots in social services and supporting nonprofit work. That dedication came from the need she observed in the immigrant community while working at various NYC nonprofits. These experiences eventually led Michelle to pursue an MSW. During her studies, she learned the importance of framing social services and public policy as tools to serve individuals and communities as a whole, not just as bandaids to the problem. She has worked with the New York Caring Majority, where she worked to advocate for legislative policy changes that would drastically improve the lives of home care workers and their elder and/or disabled clients. At the Coalition for Immigrant Freedom, Michelle managed government grants and led community mental health initiatives to significantly increased access to care for underserved immigrant populations, including undocumented victims of domestic violence. It was during this work that she found an interest in managing large government contracts to aid the rapid growth of a small grassroots organizations. As a native New Yorker, Michelle is passionate about supporting transformative policies and programs that uplift the most vulnerable members of our community. She continues to channel her passion and expertise into pushing for much needed stable funding to vital services that that address the needs of our immigrant community.

Daniel is a life-long New Yorker who grew up in Manhattan and had spent the last 18 years living and working in the Bronx. As a volunteer with Transportation Alternatives, he advocated for safer streets for people walking and biking, planned routes for Tour de Bronx, and advocated for design changes that serve the communities of the Bronx. Through this work here learned about community boards, NYC government, and the history and current issues facing Bronx communities. Daniel serves as the Secretary of the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, a delegate to the Bronx Wide Plan, and Treasurer of the Bronx Council for Environmental Quality. He continues to uplift the impacts of structural racism and discuss solutions that address the root causes. He attended Bronx Science and City College.

Pheng Thao, MLS, MA currently serves as the Capacity Building Director for the Southeast Asian Freedom Network (SEAFN). In that capacity, he supports and develop SEAFN’s member organizations infrastructure; leadership capacity; organizational leadership; host or provide trainings; etc. Prior to this role, Pheng has been actively building and developing new concepts of healthy masculine expressions and male practices for 20 years as a violence prevention expert. He believes that creating healthy and healing connections and interconnections with men and masculine folks are necessary to transform their relationships with women, girls, LGBTQ/gender non-conforming folks and not limit their full potential. Pheng has provided over 700 keynotes, trainings and technical assistances to many diverse groups and organizations at the local, national, and international level. Many of his speaking engagements are about violence prevention in the family and community; how public safety needs to include interpersonal safety; the intersections of gender-based violence (domestic violence; sexual violence; sexual exploitation; etc.) manhood and masculinity; practicing healthy masculinity/manhood and culturally appropriate healing practices. Pheng is also the founder/Executive Director of ManForward, a national Southeast Asian men and masculine grass-roots group that uses community organizing to activate men, boys, and masculine folks to practice new forms and concepts of masculinity and manhood. ManForward is a member organization of SEAFN. In all these roles Pheng holds a deep belief that healing is an essential part of his work and interactions whether it is in supporting leaders; organizations and/or connecting communities. So, he practices and moves with the intention of a healing and wellness framework.

Missy Risser is a movement lawyer, Associate Professor of Law, and Co-Director of CUNY’s Community and Economic Development Clinic (CEDC), which provides legal and policy support to community-led organizations that redress structural inequities BIPOC and other marginalized communities face under racial capitalism. At the CEDC, Missy teaches and supervises students in the CEDC’s Economic Democracy Practice Area, which provides transactional legal assistance to groups organizing to build community power and democratize the economy, such as cooperatives, community land trusts, nonprofits, and unincorporated associations. Her work explores the intersection of CED and racial and criminal justice work, through abolition democracy.