Guest Facilitators and Speakers

 

The day Kenneth Ross Jr was shot and killed, Fauzia Almarou stepped into her role to change and protect families from officers involved in multiple police shootings. To change and protect families by informing and advocating to legislators about officers involved in multiple shootings and by working with families impacted by these types of police officers. Since the killing of her son, Fauzia has worked tirelessly to not only promote awareness of the problems of police officers involved in multiple shootings but has insisted on legislation to identify these officers and prevent them from moving from one policing agency to another throughout the State of California. Fauzia has formed relationships with other families, organizations, and politicians across the country who are working for change. Because of her tireless work, she was successful in getting the Kenneth Ross Jr bill, SB 2 Decertification Act, passed in 2022. Her message is to never give up on the fight for “Change” 

 

Cinthya Barron - Broussard is a student at Mills College. Her art in all its many forms, Familia, Grassroots organizations, and servicing at-risk low-income youth of color, psychology, and sexual assault awareness changes she hopes to make: To give at risk youth of color affected by trauma in all forms a space to be free, cultivate their own lives, and work through their trauma and that of their own family. Whether she does that through her poetry, or her drive to provide the care needed especially in the Black community and other minority groups alike. 

 

Edgar-Arturo Camacho is a queer Xicanx non-binary artist living on occupied Ohlone land, Vallejo, California and one of two inaugural ACLU NorCal Artists in Residence, from 2021-2022. In their proposal, Edgar-Arturo described their current body of work as one “which centers on communities of color [and] aims to disrupt the narrative that this country and political system have enacted on people of color. It is the counter-narrative to the anti-immigrant, anti-women, anti-BIPOC, anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment that marginalized communities face daily. In an effort to combat the way that we as POC are portrayed in the media, by law enforcement, and in popular culture, I paint portraits of people from these communities, in power poses that honor their existence and that celebrates, uplifts, and empowers them.” Edgar-Arturo has a background in community organizing in Napa, co-founded the El Comalito Collective for arts education accessible at little to no cost for the community in Vallejo, and combines visual arts (primarily in painting and digital tools) with written poetry to connect with people and help people connect with themselves and community. 

 

Adamu Chan is a filmmaker, writer, and community organizer from the Bay Area who was incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison during one of the largest COVID-19 outbreaks in the country. He produced numerous short films while incarcerated, using his vantage point and experience as an incarcerated person as a lens to focus the viewer’s gaze on issues related to social justice. In 2021, he was a recipient of the "Docs in Action Film Fund" (through Working Films), and was tapped to produce and direct his film, What These Walls Won't Hold. Adamu is currently working on the doc-series 'Bridge Builders', partnering with ITVS. He is also a 2022 Stanford University Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity Mellon Arts Fellow. Adamu draws inspiration and energy from the voices of those directly impacted, and seeks to empower them to reshape the narratives that have been created about them through film. 

 

Hello, my name is Sequette Clark affectionately known as Mama Clark. I’m the mother of Stephon Clark. Stephon was killed by Sacramento Police in his grandma’s backyard while only holding a cell phone. Since his death, our family has mobilized to get Justice for Stephon and other impacted families. The I Am SAC Foundation has been operating Stephon’s House which is a 24-hour resource center, library, and Justice museum. We’re commemorating Stephon’s Life and Legacy with the Stephon Clark Law (California AB392) which holds police accountable for using excessive force; the Stephon A. Clark College Prep Middle School; the Stephon A. Clark Day of Reflection (March 18) and the programs we created:  E. R. A. of the Vote (educating, registering and assisting voters in underserved communities); S. O. S. (Siblings Overcoming Sadness); Healing with Mama Clark.   

 

Librado Clemena, Jr., is an ex-gang member, who was released this year after serving 30 years on a life sentence for CA 3-Strikes. Born in Long Beach Librado joined a gang at the age of 14, which led to a 32-years to life sentence. Over the past 18 years, he’s been on a Journey as the founding father’s Criminals & Gang members Anonymous (CGA) and has facilitated and thousands of hours on numerous self-help and therapeutic groups such as, Alternative to Violence Project (AVP), Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), Lifers Support Group (LSG), Narcotic Anonymous (NA), Denial Management,  The Gavel Club a subsidiary of Toastmaster International, and was Club President of the club in three prisons, to include numerous workshops sponsored by CGA. He has also developed prison workshops that have helped hundreds of incarcerated men. He also served as an Executive Body of Men’s Advisory Council (MAC) at Various prisons advocating for prisoners' rights.   

 

Robert Collins is the father of Angelo Quinto, who was killed by Antioch Police while experiencing a mental health crisis in December 2020, after his sister called 911 for help. Working with his family, other impacted families friends, and the community, has been calling for a variety of reforms, many of which have been or are in the process of being instituted. Among the reforms he has worked on include body and dash cameras for Antioch’s police force, helping make California only the second state to pass a law banning holds that lead to positional asphyxia including the knee to neck hold (AB490), debunking excited delirium as a cause of death, and instituting culturally competent, non-police mental health response teams in Antioch, CA 

 

Andru Defeye 

SACRAMENTO POET LAUREATE  

Whether sharing stages with legendary beat poets or your favorite Hip Hop emcees, Andru Defeye’s unorthodox writing and performance style has made him a fixture behind microphones around the country.  2020 saw the release of his critically acclaimed Frequency album followed shortly after by his crowning as the youngest Poet Laureate in California capitol history. In 2021, Defeye was listed by Sacramento Magazine as one of the city’s 100 business leaders and nominated to receive an honorary doctorate from CSUS. In 2022 he joined the ranks of some of the most celebrated poets in the country as an Academy of American Poets fellow and brought Sacramento Poetry Day (October 26th) to life creating a locally sourced curriculum, collection, and contest and bringing it to over 250,000 youth in the Sacramento area.  

From Sacramento to Staten Island and SXSW, Andru Defeye served as the Director of Communications for Sol Collective from 2009-2020. In 2014 Defeye founded Zero Forbidden Goals, a support system for creatives dedicated to innovating arts equity, experiences, and education. ZFG’s guerrilla art activations including National Guerrilla Poetry Month, Chainlink Poetry, The Intersection, and The First Church of Poetry have been covered and recreated around the globe. 

 

Dr. Jesse De La Cruz was raised in the barrios of California. A journey of gangs, crime, and heroin addiction lead him to serve a total of 27 years in prison. Since his release from prison in 1996, Dr. De La Cruz has graduated with a BA in Sociology, a Masters in Social Work, and a Doctorate in Education. His dissertation “Mexican American/Chicano Gang Members Voice on Social Control in the Context of School and Community: A Critical Ethnographic Case Study in Stockton, California” is a much-needed study of a real and grave problem both locally and nationally. His insights as a one-time gang member and a scholar on gang phenomenon make him a sought-after expert witness on Mexican gangs. Dr. De La Cruz published his memoir “Detoured: My Journey from Darkness to Light” in 2011. He has lectured students, teachers, and community leaders about his experiences with drugs, crime, and the extensive judicial and prison systems. 

 

Crisantema Gallardo (she/hers/ella) is the proud daughter of immigrants from Oaxaca and Guanajuato. Crissy was born in South Central Los Angeles and raised in California’s heartland, Yokuts Central Valley. She loves and considers Merced her home. Crissy is a first-generation college graduate with a B.A in Peace & Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley. Living in the Bay Area, she engaged in youth organizing that developed her passion for racial and social justice. Seeing her parents struggle as farm workers, motivated her to return to the Central Valley and continue to organize with QTBIPOC youth, undocumented immigrants, and formerly incarcerated community members. Crissy has over 10 years of experience in grassroots organizing, cultural strategy, and campaign development. Outside of movement building, Crissy enjoys learning about birth charts, tending to her garden, and cooking new recipes to share with friends. 

 

The day Taun Hall’s son Miles was shot and killed, she stepped into her life’s work: Creating change to protect families from a system that failed her son. Since June 2, 2019, Taun has worked tirelessly with her husband Scott, and daughter Alexis, to not only promote awareness of the problems embedded in the care for those living with mental illness but to identify where the levers of change are. Since Miles's death, The Miles Hall Foundation was created. The mission is to support and protect families by educating communities about mental illness and by protecting those suffering from mental illness from excessive use of force by law enforcement. Her work is supported by the FRIENDS OF SCOTT, ALEXIS, AND TAUN HALL, and JUSTICE FOR MILES HALL, which have volunteers and supporters from all over the country. Advocate and Co-Sponsor for The Miles Hall Lifeline and Suicide Prevention Act - AB 988 which was signed into California legislation on September 2022. This legislation provides an alternative number to 911 that involves trained mental health professionals, and a mobile crisis response team that doesn’t involve the police. Advocates of The Miles Hall Crisis Hub which will provide 24/7 mental health services in Contra Costa County staffed with licensed behavioral health clinicians and peers with lived experience who will triage calls, de-escalate situations, and dispatch mobile crisis teams. Taun formed alliances with other families, organizations, and politicians across the country who are working for change. She is a featured speaker and panelist on media and public and private events. Her message: Black lives matter, Black minds matter, her son Miles matters, and change is possible and inevitable. 

 

Cephus “Uncle Bobby X” Johnson, is a social justice activist at the forefront of ending police brutality in America. After his nephew, Oscar Grant was murdered by a Bart police officer in 2009, Cephus founded four social justice organizations, the Oscar Grant Foundation, Love Not Blood Campaign, National Families United 4 Justice Network, and the California Families United 4 Justice Network. Since then, Cephus has received many prestigious awards for his activism, including The Fannie Lou Hamer Award, The Henry Moskowitz Award, The Kwame Ture Black Star of Labor Award, The Black Organizing Project Award, The Martin Luther King Jr Gene Young Award, and many others. He was a consultant for the movie Fruitvale Station and has served as a leading expert on the creation of the Fatherhood Movement of children murdered by police or racism. Known as the “People’s Uncle,” Uncle Bobby is a much-beloved presence and invaluable resource for families suffering from police violence or at the hands of the criminal justice system around the globe. “He considers ending police violence and supporting families who have suffered at the hands of police his life’s work, and deeply believes that when we work together, we can create lasting sustainable change.” 

 

Minouche Kandel is a Senior Staff Attorney in the LGBTQ, Gender & Reproductive Justice Project at the ACLU of Southern California.  Minouche’s current areas of focus are sex work decriminalization, the family regulation system, and pregnancy/lactation accommodations in the workplace. Minouche was previously the Women’s Policy Director at the San Francisco Department on the Status of Women (DOSW), where she helped to coordinate San Francisco’s response to domestic violence and human trafficking.  Prior to working at DOSW, Minouche worked in the area of domestic violence for over twenty years, most of that time as a staff attorney at Bay Area Legal Aid, where she represented survivors of intimate partner violence in family law cases.  Minouche is a recipient of the 2008 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (Public Interest Law category) and the Daily Journal’s 2009 Top 100 Lawyers in California. Minouche got her B.A. from Yale University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. 

 

Christina Livingston (she/ella) is the Executive Director of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE). She began her organizing career in 2004 when she was hired as a field organizer for Los Angeles ACORN. In 2010 Christina helped form ACCE where she worked for 2 years as Statewide Deputy Director before becoming Executive Director in 2012.  

In her organizing career Christina has worked on campaigns that addressed equitable infrastructure investment, progressive revenue solutions, housing equity, access to high quality and well-funded public services, corporate accountability, good government, representative voter engagement, and criminal justice. She centers her work at the intersection of racial and economic impacts and is passionate about increasing the voices of people of color, poor folks, and women. 

Christina currently serves as the Chair of Board for the Action Center on Race and the Economy as well as the Center of Popular Democracy Action Board of Directors. 

Christina graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2004 with a B.A. in Sociology. In 2008 she received her M.A. in Sociology from California State University, Los Angeles. 

 

Adiyah Obolu  

SACRAMENTO AREA YOUTH SPEAKS SLAM TEAM POET 

Adiyah is a current senior at Inderkum High School, and she is passionate about racial justice and how equity can be actualized in education. She is a part of many organizations that bring this alive, such as being the Chief of Staff on the College to Career Ready team, the President of Black Student Union, and Student Body President. Adiyah is an avid poet and uses this art form to inspire and heal. As a social justice warrior, she actively yearns to reimagine society through the lens of radical love. 

 

Henry Ortiz is a grass-roots organizer with All of Us or None and CEO and Founder of Community Healer, fighting oppressive systems through policies on social justice in California. During his 18 years of incarceration, Henry Co- Founded a nonprofit organization and wrote and facilitated various evidence-based curriculums based on trauma and emotional intelligence with incarcerated men and youth offenders. Today he works with some of the most oppressed and broken communities as a grassroots community organizer fighting to abolish systems of white supremacy through policy and legal advocacy and providing re-entry and Resentencing support to people in prison. 

 

Martha Pineda is the Lead Community Organizer for California Latinas for Reproductive Justice. She has been mobilizing working class, immigrant latinas in east and southeast Los Angeles for over 5 years now. The last 3 years have been dedicated to doing grassroots organizing in Bell Gardens while highlighting the intersections between housing and reproductive justice. In her downtime she likes to listen to music, propagate plants, and play chess. 

 

Roman C. Rain Tree, University of California, Davis (Native American Studies, Bachelor of Arts). "Seeds of Sovereignty" Chief Impact Officer, "Rename S-Valley, Fresno County" Chairperson, Organizational Co-Sponsor of California AB 2022 signed into law September 23, 2022 (Commencing on January 1, 2025, this bill will require the term "squaw" to be removed from all geographic features and place names in the state), "Acknowledge ALL California Tribes" Co-Chair and Youth Advisor, and an Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) community organizer.  Successfully championed the geographic renaming of his ancestral homeland from the former pejorative of "Sq**w-Valley" to "Yokuts Valley", in honor of the Valleys first inhabitants. As an IAF community organizer he promotes sustainable community relational power through congregations and other institutions working together across the area to address neighborhood issues, housing, jobs and more.  If you are concerned about these things and want to work with us to address, please email me directly: iaf.raintree@gmail.com.  Thank you & God Bless. 

 

Santa Clara Valley Chapter leaders, Susan Hayase and Tom Izu, have been involved in social justice issues in the San Jose area for most of their adult lives, including 38 years as a married couple. They have been especially active in the cultural and political life of the San Jose / Santa Clara County Japanese American Community, including the grassroots movement to win redress/reparations for the forced removal and imprisonment of Japanese Americans by the federal government during WWII, and more recently as founders of San Jose Nikkei Resisters, a multi-generational grassroots community organization which has been involved in issues such as building support for reparations for slavery, anti-Asian violence, police accountability, and efforts to defend Japantown from gentrification 

They also created the "Hidden Histories of San Jose Japantown," an augmented reality community art project. This walking tour-based piece brings to life the hidden story of how overlapping histories of exclusion and segregation of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino immigrant communities created the Japantown business district neighborhood. 

Susan worked as a software engineer in Silicon Valley for many years and Tom in nonprofits and education. They are both retired and have two adult children. 

 

Tauheedah Shakur is the Director of organizing with youth justice coalition. Being raised in south central Los Angeles, Tauheedah has experienced the disproportionate impacts of foster care on communities of color from personal experiences, and the effects of mass incarceration. Tauheedah has been organizing for 14 years around various things from mass incarceration to culturally, relevant education in school systems, trying to get rid of probation in Los Angeles, and disrupting the foster care to prison pipeline. She is also the author of “Hide and seek “a poetry book that takes you through the complexities of being a black woman in a world that is constantly perpetuating violence on women and black folks. She got her bachelor's degree from Cal state LA in Pan African studies. She believes that everyone has something unique to offer and bring to the movement. There is room for all of us. 

 

Ena Suseth Valladares is the Director of Programs at California Latinas for Reproductive Justice. She has been an RJ advocate for 15 years, primarily working on reducing health inequities and shifting narratives through community-informed research and policy.  Ena is a gemini, an avid hiker, a hugger of trees, a mama, a Chapina by birth and Angelena by heart <3. 

 

Miusotic Zaragoza is a Chicana born and raised in Stockton, CA. She is currently a Community Health Outreach Worker at a Middle School in San Francisco. Miusotic is also a full-time student in graduate school, working on her Master of Arts in Education with a concentration in Social Justice & Equity at San Francisco State. She received her Undergraduate Degree in Sociology from UC Santa Barbara. In 2021, following the racial justice uprisings and movement to defund the police, Miusotic co-founded the San Joaquin County Chapter of the ACLU of Northern California. In her spare time, she enjoys going on coastal hikes and relaxing at the beach. She also has a passion for cooking and likes to travel to new places when the weather permits. 

 

 

ACLU of Northern California Staff

 

Abdi Soltani (he/him) 

Abdi Soltani has served as the executive director of the ACLU of Northern California since 2009. During his tenure, he has pursued long-term priorities to deepen the ACLU’s presence in the California Central Valley and elevate the ACLU’s voice on state policy at the California state capitol. 

Abdi has worked directly on a number of ACLU campaigns. Through 2015, he co-chaired the Blue Ribbon Commission on Marijuana Policy with then Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom, where he helped draft the blueprint for safe and equitable legalization of marijuana in California. He has also worked on campaigns for racial justice, criminal justice reform, voting rights, and immigrants’ rights. 

Beginning in the mid 1990’s, the central arc of Abdi’s career as a civil rights advocate has been the transformation of California from a state that led attacks on civil rights to a state that is at the forefront of advancing equality. 

In college, Abdi co-founded Youth United for Community Action to engage youth of color on environmental justice issues in California. He then served for almost a decade as an organizer for, and then executive director of, Californians for Justice, fighting the regressive ballot measures of that era and leading youth organizing on education equity. In 2003, he served as the treasurer and co-chair of the campaign that defeated Proposition 54, which would have banned state and local governments from collecting data on race and ethnicity. Abdi then served as the executive director of the Campaign for College Opportunity focused on California higher education. 

As an Iranian-American, Abdi is a champion of the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution, educating the public about its origins in the movement to abolish slavery and its impacts for equality and freedom for all of us. His hobbies include reading about American history and enjoying the pastries, pizza slices, and hiking trails of Northern California. 

 

Marshal Arnwine, Jr. 

ADVOCATE, CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM 

Marshal Arnwine, Jr. is an Advocate for the Criminal Justice Program at the ACLU of Northern California. In this capacity, he helps lead and organize efforts to reform police policies for 48 Northern California counties. These efforts include implementing AB 392 (police use of force), AB 953 (racial and identity profiling), and SB 1421 (access to police officers’ records relating to police conduct). 

Prior to joining the ACLU, Marshal was a law clerk for the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. In that position Marshal worked in the felony trial unit on homicide cases, with allegations of special circumstances. He transcribed witness statements, analyzed interviews with investigators, communicated trial strategies with clients, and created video collages of pertinent evidence for trial preparation. 

While in law school, Marshal worked for the ACLU of Northern California as a criminal justice legal intern. In this role he was a researcher for the “Hey, Meet your District Attorney” campaign report. This report statistically analyzed how elected district attorneys in California misused their influence instead of being stewards of change. Additionally, the report showed how district attorneys took discrepant positions compared to the majority of their constituents on four ballot measures passed since 2012. 

Marshal has also worked as a law clerk at the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office where he assisted felony attorneys with felony arraignment interviews. Additionally, Marshal was a law clerk for the Santa Clara Public Defender’s Office, where he argued bail motions, plea negotiations, and motions to suppress evidence. 

Marshal is a graduate of the University of San Francisco School of Law, where he received his juris doctorate. He graduated from the University of California-Santa Cruz where he received his bachelor’s in sociology and minor in legal studies. He also played four years on the U.C. Santa Cruz basketball team. 

Marshal’s law review article, “Trauma and Learning: Creating Educational Access for Inner City Communities,” was published in Spring 2019 in the University of San Francisco Law Review. 

In law school, Marshal served as a research assistant for the Immigration Law Policy Clinic. He was also honored with the CALI award in Legal Ethics for receiving the highest grade in class, and the 2018 Dorraine Zief Law Library award for service to the law school library. 

In his spare time, Marshal teaches Sunday school and performs community outreach at Shekinah Christian Fellowship in San Francisco. He also enjoys playing basketball, volleyball, reading, writing, and spending time with his wife. 

 

Ari Vazquez (they/them) 

Ari Vazquez is a gender, sexuality, and reproductive justice fellow at the ACLU of Northern California. They focus on building connections to and understanding of impacted communities to enhance the advocacy work being done by the GSRJ team. 

Prior to joining the ACLU, Ari graduated from Portland State University’s Social Work Masters’ program, where they focused their studies on community organizing, leadership development, and abolitionist practice. While in school, Ari also served as the graduate assistant to the Student Community Engagement Center, creating and facilitating programming based on ethical community engagement frameworks, including co-leading the Student Leaders for Service internship program, leading the planning of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness week, and developing an online community engagement toolbox for Portland State students. 

In addition to their graduate work, Ari worked as an instructor, then a community engagement specialist, with Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula, where they developed a teen internship program intended to connect communities while uplifting young leaders. When first arriving in California, Ari served as intern with the abolitionist organization, JusticeNow, providing resources and support to people currently incarcerated, with a particular focus on supporting trans and gender non-conforming folks. When attending undergrad at Missouri State University, Ari worked as an organizer for Springfield’s No Repeal campaign, an effort to protect LGBTQUIA+ people from discrimination in employment and housing. 

The dedication Ari brings to this role comes from personal experience as a queer person, as a person impacted by the prison system, and as a person who has witnessed reproductive injustice in many forms. These experiences, in addition to their transition from a small rural community to the Bay Area, makes them feel like they’re able to relate to many different people in their work. 

Since moving from Missouri, Ari has fallen in love with the Bay Area. In their free time they love to explore and learn about its incredible history and current communities. They also enjoy tabletop gaming, checking out live music, and any excuse to meet new people. 

 

Cyera Boone (she/her) 

Cyera Boone is a data associate at the ACLU of Northern California. In this capacity, she manages databases, analytics, and digital outreach tools for the purpose of deepening community engagement that upholds the organization's values and theory of change.  

A former personal and professional development advisor to military members and their families, Cyera has a strong commitment to resource advocacy. In her previous role, she facilitated collaboration between public and private sectors to build processes that bridge gaps for marginalized communities. As a steward of a congressionally mandated program, Cyera witnessed systemic pitfalls that cause devastating and long-lasting impacts nationwide, which has fueled her ambition to develop, track, and maintain systems that effectively ensure people everywhere have access to information and tools.  

Her dedication to public service jump started when she staffed an elected official and committee at the California State Legislature. During this time, she completed her bachelor’s degree, volunteered with the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, and served on the board of Sacramento Black Young Democrats.  

Cyera is most proud of her ability to adapt to unfamiliar circumstances. For the last ten years, she has experienced many changes, and most have been prompted by her partner’s service in the United States Marine Corps. Through it all, Cyera remains grateful for the communities she has connected with and the lessons they have provided.  

In her spare time, Cyera enjoys thrifting for treasures and spending time outdoors. 

 

Emily Cagape (she/her) 

Emily Cagape is the administrative assistant in the Organizing Department of the ACLU of Northern California. In this capacity, she directly supports the Organizing Director, Organizing Program Manager, Grassroots Advocacy Manager, and the Regional Organizing & Program Manager.  

Prior to joining the ACLU, Emily worked as the Digital Coordinator and Campaign Coordinator at Evolve California, a non-profit community organization based in San Francisco. During her time at Evolve, she worked primarily on the Schools and Communities First / Prop. 15 campaign, a ballot measure aiming to increase state-wide funding for public education and local community services by closing corporate tax loopholes. On top of maintaining Evolve's administrative systems, Emily managed all their social media platforms, led volunteer community events, and directed the college internship program. At Evolve, Emily also volunteered to canvass and phonebank for several San Francisco Board of Supervisor campaigns. 

As a first-generation college student, Emily graduated with honors from the University of San Francisco where she studied Sociology and minored in Legal Studies and Public Service & Community Engagement. For her senior capstone, Emily joined Generation Citizen as a Democracy Coach educator where she taught lessons on civic organizing to an 8th grade class with a focus on increasing access to consent education in San Francisco middle schools. In college, Emily also interned with the union UNITE HERE Local 2 where she researched and participated in boycott strategies to increase safety and workers' rights at Marriott hotels. Outside of her studies, Emily ran the student organization Pan Asian American Student Alliance as club president. 

In her free time, Emily volunteers with AAPIs for Civic Empowerment to stay involved with issues and campaigns affecting the AAPI community. Emily enjoys planning elaborate picnics, reading poetry, and collecting more and more houseplants to add to her ever-growing indoor jungle. 

 

Tessa D’Arcangelew Ampersand (she/her) 

Tessa D’Arcangelew Ampersand is the Organizing Program Manager at the ACLU of Northern California. In this capacity, she manages a team that provides people across northern California the opportunity to learn about our work, develop new skills, and get involved in fighting for civil liberties through trainings, leadership development programs, as well as arts-and education-focused events.  

Since 2012, Tessa has spearheaded a variety of power-building and leadership development initiatives at ACLU NorCal. Her proudest moments at the ACLU include planning the annual statewide Conference & Lobby Day, creating several new volunteer chapters, producing multiple block parties featuring local artists, musicians, and service providers, and galvanizing volunteers in Santa Clara County to pass a first-of-its-kind surveillance ordinance that brought democratic oversight and meaningful community input to the acquisition and use of surveillance technology. 

In prior roles with the ACLU, Tessa managed the volunteer chapter program, supporting volunteers as they did local advocacy, provided community education, and participated in state and federal organizing campaigns. Tessa spent six years as the Organizer for the Tech & Civil Liberties team, helping to pass legislation like the California Electronic Communication Privacy Act (Leno, 2015), which requires law enforcement to get a warrant when accessing digital information. She managed several cohorts of the ACLU NorCal Field Fellowship, a leadership development program for new organizers, including a cohort that supported the creation of local rapid response networks for communities facing increased threat of immigration raids following the 2016 election. 

Prior to joining the ACLU of Northern California, Tessa worked as a field assistant for the Yes on Prop 34 Campaign, a statewide movement to replace the death penalty with life in prison without the possibility of parole. She also managed a political canvassing office for a range of international aid organizations. In 2008, she worked on President Obama’s election campaign in Charlottesville, Virginia and on the campaign of congressional candidate Tom Perriello. 

Tessa is a graduate of Occidental College. She graduated cum laude with a B.S. in Diplomacy and World Affairs and worked as a programming assistant at the Intercultural Community Center. Her thesis on extraordinary rendition received the Honor of Distinction award and first put her in touch with the ACLU as the sole resource of primary source documents. 

Tessa and her husband recently started Find Out Farms, an urban community education farm in Sacramento. In her spare time, Tessa is an avid crafter creating wild-foraged dried flower sculptures, bags, and house goods out of found leather or wood furniture discarded on city streets, along with fused glass vessels from broken glassware. She is the President of the Board of Directors for NAMI San Francisco, a peer-led services organization for people and families experiencing mental health conditions. 

 

Katie Dixon 

Katie (KD) is an organizer with the ACLU of Northern California. 

In 2014, Katie reclaimed her freedom through the Delancey Street Foundation and reconnected with the Young Women’s Freedom Center, where young women are transformed into leaders. This is where Katie got her start in the non-profit sector, as a volunteer/alumna. 

In 2017, while experiencing homelessness herself, Katie was offered a Peer Counselor position with Hospitality House, where her commitment to service was forever sealed. Katie began focusing on Organizing & Policy in 2019 by securing a  Ronald “Elder” Freeman Policy Fellowship with Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC). The fellowship was designed for formerly incarcerated people to develop skills necessary to pursue careers in public policy/community organizing. Katie followed that up with a 2021 Women’s Policy Institute (WPI) fellowship, where she worked with the Criminal Justice Reform team. 

Katie is a member of All Of Us Or None (AOUON), a grassroots civil and human rights project that focuses on elevating FIP into leadership roles. 

KD is a new motorcycle rider. She loves dogs, reading, and trying new coffees. She lives in the Bay Area, and is also a mentor, a motivational speaker, and is passionate about criminal justice reform issues. 

 

Tanisha Humphrey (she/her) 

Tanisha Humphrey is the grassroots advocacy manager at the ACLU of Northern California, where she manages state and federal legislative advocacy campaigns. 

Tanisha collaborates with ACLU legal, policy, and legislative staff to integrate organizing into campaign work. She also supports volunteers and activists as they develop their legislative advocacy and organizing skills through in-district legislative advocacy programs and the annual Lobby Day. Tanisha is focused on fostering an inclusive and equitable environment for volunteers and activists and within the organizing team.     

Prior to joining the ACLU, Tanisha oversaw multimillion-dollar projects to help organizations be more mission-driven and achieve greater social impact at a strategic consulting firm. Tanisha has also worked on grassroots organizing and communications campaigns to advocate for affordable reproductive health care and for policies to permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule and the Hyde Amendment. 

Tanisha is most proud of her work in the Obama administration at the U.S. Department of Labor, where she served as the Deputy White House liaison and Advisor to the Secretary of Labor. In this capacity, Tanisha was responsible for efforts to improve employee engagement, inclusion, and innovation. She designed, implemented, and promoted programs that led the department to go from the second-worst large agency to work for to one of the top 10, including a virtual platform to share ideas, work from home, increase training opportunities, and a training program for 1,900 managers. 

Born and raised in Chicago, Tanisha received her bachelor’s of science in Sociology from Georgetown University. She was a New Leaders Fellow with the Center for Progressive Leadership, has been recognized as a leader by the Women and Politics Institute of the American University School of Public Affairs, and attended the White House Presidential Personnel Office’s Management Leadership Workshop.   

In her spare time, Tanisha loves playing board games and spending time with her cat, Rafiki. 

 

Tammy Kreznar (she/her) 

Tammy Kreznar is a senior organizer at the ACLU of Northern California. In this role, Tammy engages volunteers and activists in building political power and organizational capacity by managing the ACLU of Northern California’s volunteer chapter program. 

Prior to joining the ACLU, Tammy was a program manager at Everytown for Gun Safety, where she worked with a nationwide network of gun violence survivors. Tammy’s efforts focused on supporting survivors as they participated in grassroots political advocacy.  

Tammy received her bachelor’s from Sarah Lawrence College, where she concentrated on public administration, ethnic studies, and politics. During her undergraduate education, she had the opportunity to do extensive field work in Singaraja, Indonesia, which culminated in an independent research project about the interweaving cultural and religious history of Singaraja’s Chinese-Indonesian community. 

In her spare time, Tammy enjoys hiking with her dogs in the East Bay regional parks and experimenting with new dessert recipes. 

 

Carlos Montes-Ponce 

Carlos Montes-Ponce is an organizing and program associate/regional organizer at the ACLU of Northern California, where he focuses on organizing, mobilization, and civic community engagement work in the Sacramento area. 

Prior to joining the ACLU as an organizer, Carlos developed community leaders through community organizing on immigration, homelessness, and transparency and accountability in policing. He worked with Faith in Action National Network on initiatives and campaigns to move policy at regional, state, and national levels such as ending the Sacramento Sheriff’s ICE contract, increased access to health care for undocumented immigrants through the Healthy Partners program, the local “Migra Watch” 24-hour rapid response hotline to provide support to those who are targeted by ICE and to provide resource referrals. As a member of the Sacramento Immigration Coalition, through community partnerships he helped developed a network of trained legal observers, a network of sanctuary churches, and provided trainings on Know Your Rights, accompaniment, and information to immigrants. He continues to highlight and document the abuses of immigration detention through the Campaign for Immigrant Detention Reform (CIDR) on alternatives to detention of immigrants at Yuba County jail and Yolo County juvenile detention facility. 

Carlos received his bachelor’s in government international relations from California State University, Sacramento. While there, he supported the Office of Governmental Affairs by performing original policy research, lobbying at the state capitol on behalf of students, and recruiting volunteers for events and special initiatives as assistant director of Office of Governmental Affairs, Associated Students, Inc. As an undergraduate, Carlos mentored several fellow political science undergraduates through the Odyssey Mentoring Program a peer-to-peer mentoring program available to all political science students to integrate students into campus life and to facilitate students during their time at the University. 

When he is not working, he tends to his cacti collection, both big and small, gathered from all over California, cares for his South American biotope aquariums, and loves to dance. Carlos is a board member to the Latino Center of Art and Cultures, which seeks to advance, celebrate, and preserve the art and culture of Chicano, Latino, and Native populations for present and future generations. The center is a multi-disciplinary cultural center and public space serving the Sacramento community by offering Latinx programming, art education workshops, and a community gathering place. 

 

Ashley Morris (she/her) 

Ashley Morris is the Organizing Director at the ACLU of Northern California. 

Ashley sets the vision and strategy of the organizing program, which includes volunteer and leadership development and community and activist engagement. This work includes developing and implementing strategies to engage grassroots and grasstops activists in legislative campaigns and local policy advocacy, and supporting volunteers and community leaders to advance shared goals.  

In her past work with the ACLU of Northern California, Ashley focused on passing and implementing California’s best in the nation comprehensive sexual health education law, repealing the death penalty, promoting the rights of LGBTQ people, and supporting the organization’s network of volunteer chapters. She also served as the Political Director for the No on Proposition 66 campaign in 2012, the Northern California Regional Coordinator for the Proposition 34/SAFE California Campaign, and the Regional Director for the No on Propositions 4 and 8 college campus campaign in 2008. 

In her spare time, Ashley performs with Gamelan Sari Raras, one of the leading Javanese music ensembles outside Indonesia, and likes to get outside and connect with nature. Ashley holds a BA in Political Science from UC Berkeley. 

 

Luis Ojeda (he/him) 

Luis Ojeda is a Regional Organizing and Program Manager at the ACLU of Northern California, where he organizes to build community power throughout the Central Valley. Luis focuses on connecting with volunteers to support the ACLU’s organizing and policy work. He is also passionate about developing leaders and ensuring that those who are most impacted are at the forefront. 

In his role at the ACLU, Luis works closely with organizational partners to advance civil rights and civil liberties in the Central Valley. He is also dedicated to building political power in the region through civic engagement that emphasizes political involvement in elections and beyond to ensure that elected officials are accountable to the people. 

Prior to joining the ACLU, Luis was a lead organizer at Californians for Justice where he worked to pilot an initiative to strengthen relationships between youth of color and adults at Fresno Unified School District. 

Luis has also worked as the statewide coordinator for the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance and helped start Fresno Immigrant Youth in Action, an immigrant youth-led community organization in Fresno. As a queer immigrant himself, Luis has focused on fighting for the full liberation of all people. Although originally from Colima, Mexico, Luis has made Fresno his adopted home and is committed to reshaping the Central Valley for the better.   

Luis received his bachelor’s degree in political science at Fresno State University, where he first became politically active to fight tuition increases and advocate for the rights of undocumented students. 

In his spare time, Luis enjoys watching way too many movies and being a big brother and uncle. 

 

Raquel Ortega 

Raquel Ortega is a Senior Organizer at the ACLU of Northern California, where they focus on providing Know Your Rights trainings, materials, resources, and coalition support in Solano County, Contra Costa County, and the Mid-Peninsula Region of the Bay. 

Raquel first began working at the ACLU-NC in January 2016. Through their work with the ICE Out of California Coalition, Raquel provided support in passage of the TRUTH Act, CA Values Act and know-your-rights information in jails. 

Prior to joining the ACLU, Raquel worked as a field coordinator at URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity, a national non-profit based in Washington, D.C. During their time at URGE, they worked with hundreds of young people across the country to fight for reproductive freedom on campuses and in their communities. In 2013, after two-thirds of abortion clinics in Texas closed due to the passage HB 2, Raquel co-founded the West Fund, which provides funding for patients seeking abortion care. They currently sit on the West Fund’s board acting as Development Director. 

Raquel is a graduate of Smith College where they received a degree in government with a minor in public policy. While at Smith, Raquel ran a successful campaign to have the college publicly support the DREAM Act — a bill aimed at providing a path to citizenship for young, undocumented students -- which was re-introduced in both chambers of Congress at the time. Although the bill did not pass in Congress, it encouraged Smith to evaluate its stance on immigration issues and ways to better support undocumented students. For their efforts, they received the Unity Award, which goes to the student who has made the most outstanding contribution toward promoting diversity and multiculturalism in the Smith community. 

In their free time, Raquel loves to salsa dance, watch sci-fi themed shows, and spend time with their roommates at Castrima Collective—the QTBIPOC coop they co-founded in 2022 centered around non-punitive systems. 

 

Graciela Uriarte (she/her) 

Graciela Uriarte is the Youth Organizer at the ACLU of Northern California. In this role, she develops strategies for young adult leadership development through skills-building programs, events, and organizing opportunities. 

Graciela is a proud daughter of immigrant farmworkers in the Central Valley with Guatemalan and Mexican roots. She was born and raised in the rural agricultural community of Mendota, where she founded a chapter of Junior State of America, a student club for high school youth interested in government and politics. She was called to organizing while in college – working with student leaders to help strategize campaigns, plan rallies, and coordinate meetings with the administration to demand that the University of California remain affordable and accessible to students across California. 

Prior to joining ACLU NorCal, Graciela guided the organizing efforts at the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties. Graciela’s organizing experience ranges from Immigrants’ Rights to Justice Reform and Housing, having helped carry out the civic engagement programs for the 2018 San Diego County DA and Yes on Prop 10 campaigns. Graciela routinely mobilized volunteers for canvases and phone and text banks, all while holding the rapid response work that emerged during the Trump Administration. In the summer of 2018, she spent time in Phoenix, AZ supporting various organizations reunifying families. 

These experiences prepared her for the volatile and unpredictable nature of organizing through the global pandemic, where she had to maintain existing relationships, sprout new ones, and find solutions that transcended never-before-seen barriers . 

Graciela earned her B.A. in Political Science from the University of California San Diego. She is also a graduate of Movement School Campaign Fellows Program and RISE San Diego Urban Leadership program. 

Having been in San Diego for almost 11 years, she is looking forward to making new memories in NorCal by finding places to hike, exploring new places to eat, and being more present for her nieces, nephew, and godchildren. 

 

Josefa Vega 

CENTRAL VALLEY REGIONAL ORGANIZER 

Josefa Vega is an organizing and program associate at the ACLU of Northern California, where she builds leadership among our chapter members and works with partners to support community efforts. 

Prior to joining the ACLU, Josefa was the Regional Coordinator with Mi Familia Vota Fresno, where she organized youth throughout Fresno, Tulare and Madera counties, fought alongside the ACLU for the re-enfranchisement of 50,000 Californians via proposition 17, and registered 2,000 voters in the region. 

Josefa has also provided civic participation support with Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network as civic engagement associate where she registered young voters and created a “Civic Engagement for All” curriculum to empower undocumented and permanent resident community members with the ability to engage and agitate in their communities. 

Josefa is a graduate of California State University Fresno, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in art with a concentration in printmaking. During this period, she created an intaglio and lithograph suite that explored machismo, catholic guilt, and gender violence. 

In her spare time, Josefa enjoys building class consciousness, cycling, and skateboarding.