Chelsea Brown is the Founder and Principal Strategist at The Black Mill, a Black woman-owned firm that supports grassroots organizations and minority-led nonprofits, businesses, and individuals in need of strategic nonprofit management. “This is the brainchild of being a little frustrated with philanthropy and the ways that minority-led organizations and grassroots organizations were or were…
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As we celebrate the fourth anniversary of the Black Women Spark Change series, we reflect on an incredible journey that is shining a spotlight on the transformative work of dozens of Black women leaders from across the country. These remarkable women are making waves in multiple sectors, from education and health care to environmental justice…
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Sierra Morris is the Manager of Programming at Live It Learn It, a DC-based nonprofit dedicated to creating experiential learning opportunities for students. “We work with Title I schools, which means that about 90% of the students are having free or reduced lunch,” Sierra says. “We take them to different historical sites, museums, and nature…
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Jerilyn Johnson is the Chief of Staff of Greenpeace USA, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of global environmental problems and creating transformational change. Promoting social good was a core value for Jerilyn from a young age. Growing up in rural Texas, Jerilyn spent a lot of time playing outside. “I was raised in nature,”…
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Dr. Monique Darrisaw-Akil is the Superintendent of Schools at the Uniondale Union Free School District in Long Island, NY. Dr. Akil was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and realized early on that she wanted to dedicate her life to fighting for equity in education. “My life, in some ways, was shaped by de facto…
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Yterenickia (YT) Bell is the Senior Advisor of Voting for The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, an organization that works to expand voting rights to vulnerable populations. She also teaches social work and social welfare courses at Georgia State University. YT was also just re-elected to her second term as a Clarkston City…
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From an early age, Ashley Munson felt called to represent those who don’t have a voice. Mentors, friends, and even strangers have repeatedly told her she was created for this work. She currently works as Senior Manager of Advocacy with the Greater Chicago Food Depository, an organization that helps provide food to more than 700…
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Saran and Nile Fossett are the mother-daughter team behind AZIZA PE&CE (AP), a nonprofit program that uses art, fitness, music and fashion to support girls of color and LGBTQ+ youth on their journeys of self-actualization. Saran is the founder and executive director of AP while Nile serves as the director of operations. Love is at…
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Reverend Kazimir Brown serves as the National Director of Religious Affairs for Repairers of the Breach. This nonpartisan nonprofit was founded in 2015 by Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II (Bishop Barber) to organize and support activists as they pursue moral analysis and moral public policy agendas. “I actually first heard about Bishop Barber when…
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Ruby Powell-Dennis is the founder and executive director of the Elect Black Women PAC and it’s nonprofit sister organization, The Black Woman Institute. Both organizations engage Black women seeking political leadership. These organizations connect candidates with a network of other Black women leaders across the country in addition to providing outreach and training. “As we…
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