Fellows

Yvette McDonnell is an educator with over 17 years experience working in various areas of Student Affairs, in Higher Education.   Continue reading

Most recently Yvette has served as Dean of Community at Sterling College. Over the years, Yvette has developed a unique way to approach the conversation regarding equity, access, privilege and inclusion that allows for self-reflection, community building and trust to be established even before speaking about race, class, religion and/or  gender. “I have taught comprehensive cultural sensitivity/inclusive awareness classes and workshops that approaches the conversation of diversity, multiculturalism and inclusivity in a safe manner. This allows participants to dive deep, look within and be more productive as change agents, not only in their respective working system settings but as human beings in general”.

Most recently, Yvette worked with the Institute of Justice and New Hampshire State Representatives to get hair braiding deregulated in New Hampshire. The bill was passed into law during the summer of 2017. “Working on this social action endeavor has given the opportunity for many women of the African Diaspora (who tend to dominate this profession), to earn an a living for themselves and their families, without having to spend countless hours and sometimes up to $20,000 a year to obtain unnecessary cosmetology licensing”.

“My life’s work is to plant seeds and bring attention to hard to discuss topics, as it relates to marginalized people in our society. In the same breath, I want to help others see the connections we have with each other and our symbiotic relationship to the environment. I may not be able to sit in the shade of the tree that I planted, but I sit in the shade, under the tree that was planted for me and that is why my sense of responsibility is so strong to do the work that I do”.

Currently, Yvette is working on a decolonized curriculum for homeschoolers that focuses on the narrative of Black Americans in the United States.

Oakland, California

Viviana Graciela Rennella has more than twenty-five years of experience leading social justice organizations.

She has focused on development, globalization, and transnational migration with Global Exchange, World Bridges, and Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action. Viviana migrated with her family from Argentina as political refugees. In launching several of these organizations, she honed expertise in organizational development and leadership training, which she has focused on as a consultant and coach with Wave Walker Consulting. Most recently, Viviana directs Windcall Institute, strengthening the resilience and long-term sustainability of organizers nationwide. Currently based in Oakland, CA, Viviana is passionate about ways for people and organizations to transform the spaces where they live and work into healthy and balanced environments that result in greater resiliency and movements that are truly transformative.

Corrales, New Mexico

Tannia Esparza is a Queer Xicana raised in Santa Barbara, CA, who is proud to come from an immigrant family of brave women and grateful to have found home in the high desert of New Mexico. Continue reading

Tannia has been growing alongside justice movements for over 15 years working at the intersections of reproductive, gender and racial justice, and LGBTQ liberation. Most recently, Tannia completed a six year tenure as Executive Director at Young Women Untied, a New Mexico based reproductive justice organization led by women and people of color. Her writing can be found in TheTurnLeft.org Latina Magazine, NBC News, New Mexico’s Greenfire Times, and the Malpais Review. She enjoys the lessons found in simple everyday life rituals, and is currently trying her best to align all the parts of herself to her sacred purpose.

Seattle, Washington

Sudha Nandagopal is a connector, organizer, facilitator, strategist, and community powerbuilder working at the intersection of environmental, racial, and social justice issues.

Sudha focuses on democratizing systems of power and shifting power outward to those who are most-affected by issues of inequity and injustice. Sudha co-created and led the City of Seattle’s Equity & Environment Initiative where she developed processes for collaborative governance to center the experiences of those most affected by environmental challenges. She facilitated a robust community-centered process with communities of color, immigrants, and refugees to create the first-in-the-nation Equity & Environment Agenda.

Sudha’s career in strategic communications, government, climate change work and electoral politics has built her expertise in applying racial equity frameworks to decision-making, especially as it relates to long term systems change, leadership, democracy-building, culture-shift, and changing the narrative. Sudha is a founding board member of OneAmerica Votes, a political organization that builds power for immigrant and refugee communities, elects people of color to office, and strengthens democracy and she has helped elect several progressive women of color to office. Grist.org recognized Sudha as one of “50 visionaries who will lead us to a more sustainable future.” Sudha recently began a new role as CEO of Social Venture Partners International, a global philanthropic network.

Detroit, Michigan

Siwatu-Salama Ra is a mother and organizer who was born and raised in Detroit.

She grew up in the environmental justice movement, and is currently the co-director of East Michigan Environmental Action Council. In addition to her work locally and across the country, Siwatu represented Detroit and the United States at global social justice and climate justice events in France, Turkey, and Senegal. She also led youth organizing and media justice work including the Young Educators Alliance and Detroit Future Youth. On March 1st, 2018 Siwatu was incarcerated for defending herself, her mother, and daughter. At the time she was six and a half months pregnant was forced to give birth to her beautiful son during her imprisonment. After nearly nine months at Women’s Huron Valley Correctional Facility, Siwatu was released in order to appeal her unjust conviction and reunited with her family. She continues to fight for her freedom as well as well as organize for environmental justice and a world without prisons. FreeSiwatu.org