DENISE PERRY – PRESIDENT
In over 25 years of labor and community organizing, Denise Perry has been dedicated to developing strong grassroots leaders, democratic organizations, and progressive social movements. Among other positions, she organized health care workers into labor unions in the east and southeast; she directed field training for the Organizing Institute creating curriculum, managing organizing sites and working with participating unions. Internationally she worked with a team to develop the Women’s Global Equity Project, which took her throughout Africa and the Caribbean to train and work with women labor activists. In 2001, Denise co-founded Power U Center for Social Change, a 501(c)(3) organization rooted in Miami’s historically Black community of Overtown. Power U has equipped residents to challenge the displacement of low-income families by gentrification, blocking the proposed use of public land for luxury condominiums in the neighborhood. Other Power U projects are training youth to have a voice in school policies and engaging women in childbirth classes that also introduce them to social justice organizing increasing women leaders. Bringing the work to the national level, she has served on several boards and Denise played a key role in the development of the Right to the City Alliance, a national alliance of racial, economic, and environmental justice organizations, and its work to connect with environmental justice issues. Denise currently serves on the boards of Power U, Franklinton Center Inc. and The Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity (a Project of the Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) organization). She is a graduate of the University of Maryland.
Danielle Mahones – Vice President
Maurice Weeks – TreasureR
Jennifer Toles – Secretary
Jennifer Toles is an Organizer and the Training Director for the Ohio Organizing Collaborative which does social, racial, and economic justice work across the state of Ohio. She is a director and board member for the Way of Mind and Body (the Womb) – a Cultural Community Center located in Akron, Ohio, which focuses on holistic health and wellness, arts & lounge, and community outreach. She is also a trainer for BOLD and Generative Somatics. Jennifer received her BS from Ohio University and her MBA from Case Western Reserve Weatherhead School of Management.