He/him

Joshua previously served as the State Coordinator for Civic Engagement and GOTV for the NC NAACP in 2012 and was Lead Organizer/ Deputy State Coordinator with Obama for America during the 2008 campaign. As a musician, Joshua has worked with Grammy award winning poets, vocalists and producers such as J. Ivy, Tarrey Torrae, and Buckwild. Joshua and his twin brother worked on the score for the second season of Aaron McGruder’s the Boondocks, alongside 9th Wonder. A trained Jazz Trombonist who also plays salsa, Joshua has performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, The International Association of Jazz Educators conference in Toronto, Long Beach, and New York, and the International Jazz Festival in Detroit. Joshua is also one half of the musical production/hip hop duo Beatnam Vets. They have opened for artists such as Erykah Badu an d Lupe Fiasco and have two full length albums on iTunes. He was among the 6 student protesters arrested in NC House Speaker Thom Tillis’ office opposing the voter suppression bill. Joshua has a Master’s degree in History with a concentration in Jazz studies on Jazz and American Diplomacy during the Cold War Era from NCCU and has his second Master’s degree at Cal State East Bay in music. Josh currently resides in Raleigh where he continues to be an active organizer and play music.

She/her/hers

Bridgette is the Chief of Staff at SVA. She grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and moved to Raleigh in 1999 to work with NC Peace Action. That work connected her with many social justice organizations and communities across the state. Those relationships and starting a family here helped Bridgette put down roots in North Carolina. She launched “Heirs to a Fighting Tradition,” a grassroots oral history project that recorded the life histories of North Carolina-based activists and organizers. The Heirs Project collection resides at UNC’s Southern Oral History Project. She also served as co-director of the racial justice program and later director of community advocacy at the YWCA of the Greater Triangle. In the early days of SVA’s evolution, she helped establish the Education Justice Alliance and the Youth Organizing Institute. Bridgette worked at the NC Center for Nonprofits and played a role in furthering efforts to strengthen nonprofits’ capacity for race equity work. Bridgette is deeply grateful to all of our movement ancestors who paved the way, and she is committed to staying at it for the long haul.

He/Him

Manzoor Cheema (he/him/his) has been an active member of social justice movements since 2001. In 2004, he launched a grassroots social justice TV show, Independent Voices, which ran for five years and broadcast from 70 public access TV stations. He co-found Muslims for Social Justice, an organization dedicated to pursuing Muslim liberation theology in 2013. In 2015, he launched the Movement to End Racism and Islamophobia (MERI), a network of organizations to fight racism and Islamophobia with an intersectional lens that views all anti-oppression struggles as interlinking and reinforcing each other. Manzoor lives in Raleigh, NC, and travels throughout the U.S. South to support the grassroots movement for social justice. He is the recipient of the 2014 International Human Rights Award, awarded by the Human Rights Coalition of North Carolina, and the 2016 Self-Determination Award by Black Workers for Justice. Manzoor’s work on social justice has been covered in the local, national, and international media.

She/Her

They/them/theirs

Beau Cromartie was born in Greensboro, NC and raised in Detroit, MI. Beau has 6 years of experience in digital strategy, community organizing, and non-profit work. They wholeheartedly believe in organizing communities of resistance to eliminate inequality and demand change.

Previously, Beau was the Co-Director of the Youth Organizing Institute, a program dedicated to building youth leadership and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline. Beau also worked at Elsewhere Museum as the Managing Editor of I Don’t Do Boxes, a zine for queer youth.

Currently, Beau serves on the boards of Durham Beyond Policing and Mayfirst Technology Project. In their free time, Beau volunteers as a Certified Circus Teacher, trained by École nationale de cirque in Montreal, CA. Beau’s favorite things are blueberries, bodywork, and the beach.

She/her/hers

They/them/theirs

They/She

Elena began organizing at NC State University, where she was active in anti-war and labor solidarity campaigns. She was elected state Chair of the NC Green Party from 2003-2007, which at the age of 23, made her the youngest state Party chair in the country.

In May 2010, she founded the Youth Organizing Institute, a leadership development and base-building project created in response to threats by a newly elected school board majority. Seeing a need for more entry points to organizing for young people, Elena helped to found Ignite NC in fall 2013 and served as the operations director for its NC Vote Defenders program for three years. She became the Executive Director of the newly established Southern Vision Alliance in August 2014. Elena currently serves as the Board Treasurer of Blueprint NC. She loves working with young people and helping them realize and actualize their potential as revolutionary game-changers.

She/her/hers

She/her

Jess Jude (she/her) is an Associate Director at SVA, previously co-directing the People’s Solidarity Hub program during its build-out and launch phase starting in 2020. Before that, as an avid movement supporter and organizer, Jess worked with various social justice organizations both on the ground and professionally, filling every role you can think of from programming, to teaching workshops, to designing databases, office spaces, direct actions and more.

Jess came to Durham by way of Richmond, VA, where they grew up and therein immersed into organizing among the turmoil and fertile ground for movement that is the former capital of the confederacy. Jess credits their early years of organizing and learning within Southerners on New Ground, Girls Rock RVA and the Richmond Reproductive Freedom Project for teaching them the ropes and cementing their commitment to the work of building up and resourcing people’s movements and ending capitalism.

Nowadays, Jess thoroughly enjoys diving into her passion for systems and people while leading SVA’s general operations. She strives to always grow and improve by learning from all movements for liberation, from the black radical tradition, from her queer elders and teachers, from nature and from the wisdom of children, as she recently became a mom.

He/him

Prior to joining SVA, Aaron worked as Partner for HR, Culture & Project Management at Global Zero — a nonprofit dedicated to the elimination of nuclear weapons. He oversaw daily operational and administrative duties including finance, HR and benefits administration, and compliance with federal and state regulatory agencies, as well as legal and tax obligations. He worked behind the scenes to identify big-picture HR and organizational needs to keep Global Zero running effortlessly and efficiently. Prior to joining Global Zero, he served for 4 years as a deputy clerk at the District of Columbia Superior Court. He obtained his master’s degree in Administration of Justice & Security from the University of Phoenix while working as a full time line cook; and a Bachelor’s degree in psychology at Cornell College in IA. In his spare time, he attempts crosswords, finds running therapeutic, helps his spouse in their garden while their dog, Ender, oversees operations. On the weekend he can be found on his back porch enjoying a tobacco pipe and is a lifelong WVU Mountaineer sports fan — for better or worse.

What drew Aaron to SVA was the opportunity to contribute to an organization supporting frontline communities by helping tackle the administrative and compliance musts for advocacy organiziations (the stuff he enjoys doing!), which can be an obstacle to people wanting to organize to address needs within their communities.

he/him/his

Wesley Morris is a dedicated coach, facilitator, community organizer, minister and internationally recognized thought leader who uses his dynamic speaking talents to inspire all who have the opportunity to hear his voice. His work for more than a decade with the Beloved Community Center of Greensboro, home of the nation’s first “Community Truth and Reconciliation Process” uniquely positions him to guide those interested in intergenerational learning, historical archiving and community organizing.

They/Them/She/Her

Nada Merghani is a movement journalist, digital communications expert, unapologetic Scorpio, and a Type 1 Diabetic tired of waiting on a cure living in Durham, North Carolina. As a Nubian person born in Sudan, they are deeply committed to the values of Pan-Africanism and think all people of African descent deserve the right to find connection and solidarity amongst each other as we all fight for our collective liberation. They are also a proud HBCU student currently navigating their last semester at N.C. Central University 🦅.

The phrase “it’s not that deep” is one Nada deeply resonates with and uses often.

Nada believes in a world where journalism is accessible and used to help explain the murky and complex parts of the world in a way that’s simple enough for all to understand. Storytelling is their passion, and they believe in journalism as one of the most important and effective forms of storytelling we have at our disposal. They have been published in a variety of local and statewide outlets, interned at WUNC and PBS NC, and are currently employed as the Digital Infrastructure Coordinator for SVA.

When they are not working or studying Nada can be found cooking for their friends, swimming, rewatching old Real Housewives of Atlanta clips with their cat, loudly (and badly) singing along to Beyonce songs, or reading lengthy critiques of obscure animes they will never watch.

She/Her

they/them

Nijeeah is a Black queer non-binary social worker born and raised in Charleston, SC. Their Gullah Geechee roots in the South Carolina Lowcountry fuel their commitment to Southern grassroots organizing. Nijeeah joins the SVA team after most recently serving as the Executive Director of We Are Family (2019-2021), a LGBTQI+ youth serving nonprofit organization based in Charleston.

Nijeeah completed their Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) in 2015 and Master of Social Work (MSW) in 2017 at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. As an undergraduate student, Nijeeah interned at Time Out Youth, a LGBTQ youth center in Charlotte, NC. They then interned at the Freedom Center for Social Justice for their graduate field experience, also located in Charlotte, NC. Post graduate school, Nijeeah returned to Charleston to work with youth as a behavioral interventionist at Justice Works Behavioral Care and to continue their work as a co-founder and workshop facilitator with the Transformative Teaching Collective, a cooperative that provides social justice education to schools, community groups, nonprofits and government organizations. In 2018, Nijeeah received the Community Pride award from Charleston Pride and was named South Carolina’s “Champion of Pride” by the Advocate. When asked what it means to be a champion, Nijeeah stated that being a champion “isn’t just about winning — when we know the race is rigged. Rather, it’s the spirit that compels us to keep fighting for the liberation of all people.”

he/him/his

Jeff See was born and raised in sunny St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida. He moved to Raleigh, NC in early 2019 to further his education and escape the blistering Florida heat. This is Jeff’s first experience in the non-profit sector. He felt drawn to SVA because it’s mission and values inspire him and align with his own.

Jeff has a background in warehouse management, worked to put himself through school, and recently graduated from St. Petersburg College with honors. He hopes that his work as Operations Associate will contribute to the causes of social justice and liberation.

When Jeff isn’t working he enjoys wandering around the wilderness of NC, reading trashy horror fiction, and fawning over his household’s two cats.

She/her

Jae is the People’s Solidarity Hub Coordinator. When asked, she tells people she is from outside of Charlotte, NC. She is energized by the connections that come from shared experiences, shared spaces, shared visions, and organized action. These passions have led her to work in participatory research, story based facilitation, and electoral mobilization and logistical support. When she isn’t coordinating and communicating for the People’s Solidarity Hub, she can be found watching Tik Toks, studying musician sets, journaling frenetically, or reading dusty astrology books.

Any/all

Kameron Southerland is an artist, filmmaker, Sagittarius rising, and emerging digital organizer from Jacksonville, Florida. Kameron has been proud to call North Carolina home for the last ten years.

Their organizing experience is vast and varied, including training with Bull City Tenants United, canvassing for Durham for All, and providing meals with Raleigh Food Not Bombs. She has spent years working as a domestic worker, which fuels her passion about supporting young people and children. He believes in youth agency and engagement as fundamental to building new worlds from the ashes of empire.

Kameron has a Bachelor of Arts in Media Production and American Studies with a focus in Folklore, and a Master of Fine Arts in TV & Screenwriting, and she is a self-taught data analyst and coder. Their work as an artist informs their interest in digital organizing, cybersecurity, and web/app development and they are dedicated to building creative ways to connect people with one another and bring about change in our communities amidst a changing global political landscape.

She/her

Priya finds purpose through meaningful connections and collective world-building. She grew up in North Carolina, and is inspired by the legacy of movement work that has continued to expand across the U.S. South. Priya is committed to creating a world in which ease is abundant. From attending law school and focusing on immigrant justice advocacy, to engaging in local affordable housing and anti-gentrification work, Priya has worked to bring this vision of the world to light. She is excited to continue working for change through her role at SVA. While not working, Priya loves to spend quality time with her people, go on long walks next to bodies of water, and lay on the couch with her dog, Chili.