Our Teams

Jarred Bean oversees network-wide programming for racial equity practitioners. He previously worked in the National League of Cities’ Race, Equity, and Leadership (REAL) department, where he helped overhaul and expand the organization’s racial equity programming as a lead trainer and Senior Program Specialist. Prior to these roles, he worked as a teacher and in education support roles abroad and in New York City, as a canvasser working to turn out infrequent and often disaffected Democratic voters, and as a writer and grants consultant within the immigration advocacy space. He also helps to secure funding for Carolina Migrant Network – the only immigration legal aid nonprofit providing pro-bono representation to immigrants facing detention or removal in the Carolinas.

Jarred comes to this work deeply rooted in his experience growing up in a working-class community in North Carolina, and he is committed to the solidarity that can be achieved among poor and working-class communities across racial lines.

Outside of work, you’ll likely find him cozying up to a catalogue of horror movies or books. It’s more relaxing than it sounds.

Jeanetta Churchill is primarily responsible for overall project management and execution of GARE’s employee survey work, which helps drive movement of racial equity work in government.

Prior to joining Race Forward, Jeanetta worked at the Maryland Vital Statistics Administration as an Epidemiologist. Her role included producing demographic trends in birth and death data for use by researchers and policy makers to identify vulnerable populations. In a previous position, Jeanetta was a Research Associate Professor at Morgan State University where she taught about the impact that one’s residence has on levels of health, education, and poverty in African American communities across the state of Maryland.

Jeanetta spent much of her career working on public health surveys in the government sector at the state, national, and international levels. She used data and maps to assess the impact of neighborhood-level stressors on communities, especially for children, youth, and families. Jeanetta used program evaluation to assess the performance of social services agencies and make recommendations for improvement.

Jeanetta earned a master's in urban spatial analytics from the University of Pennsylvania, a Masters in Biometry from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, and a bachelor's in biology from Hampton University. She currently lives in Cambridge, MD, the home of Harriet Tubman.

Aria Albritton (she/her) brings a background in educational equity for students from a wide range of life experiences. Through her previous work in refugee resettlement and college access, Aria has remained passionate about community-building and advocating for students’ ability to pursue their life goals with confidence and support.

Aria holds a Bachelor of Arts in Global Social Change and Development and outside of work is a super-novice aerial artist with dreams of joining the circus.

The GARE Operations Data Manager and Trainer supports the GARE Team and Membership through partnering with multiple teams to determine programmatic needs and draw connections. The role collaborates to craft policies, procedures, and infrastructures to meet those needs. This interdisciplinary role stays connected and engaged with facilitated training to empower working alongside the Learning Strategies Director on the self-paced learning project as well as in cultivating teammates in internal learning and development.

Dan brings integrity, strategic thinking, and a learning lens to all things Operations and beyond. His roots are in the Minnesota nonprofit sector, where he volunteered, worked, and served as board member for several nonprofits. Dan maintains a penchant for learning and personal/professional development – and is currently working towards a ‘train the trainer’ certification from the University of Minnesota.

Dan is deeply passionate about learning, music (specifically percussion), and rugby. He is an instructor for the Eastview Marching Band, directs the Eagan Winter Drumline, and travels across the US as a rugby referee. In his free time, he likes to try and convince folks that Taco Bell is worthy of their discretionary fast-food dollars.

Ian D. Law (he/him) leads GARE Operations. He received a BSB at the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management and currently lives in Minneapolis, MN with his partner and their twin children. Before joining the GARE Team, Ian worked with a nonprofit capacity-building organization and has historically served on projects focused on supporting pathways for BIPOC community members onto boards of directors and mental health services delivery.

Janine is a community-builder, strategist, and educator with an unwavering commitment to justice and solidarity. She brings over sixteen years of experience in nonprofit and government settings leading initiatives focused on racial equity, community arts, youth development, place-making, restorative justice, and leadership development. As a grant and program administrator for this City of Nashville, she collaborated with individuals, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and government agencies to envision and build communities through innovative programming, training, relationship-building, and strategic funding.

Janine has an M.Ed in Community Development and Action from Vanderbilt University, a B.A. in Theater from U.C. Irvine, and certificates in College Teaching, Change Management, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace.

Alex has spent her career working in and with state and local justice systems across the country at the intersection of restorative practices, cultural healing, and antiracist policy change with an eye towards addressing the ways in which the legal system perpetuates harm and upcycles racial inequities. Her work ensures all efforts are in close partnership with the people most impacted by mass incarceration, especially currently and formerly incarcerated people, system impacted families, and frontline staff.

Prior to joining Race Forward, Alex worked as Assistant Commissioner at the New York City Department of Corrections at Rikers Island Jail, Co-Founded and Co-Directed the Restoring Promise Initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice, and worked at the Annie E. Casey Foundation within their Juvenile Justice Strategy Group. In addition to her work at Race Forward, Alex is an Adjunct Professor at Vermont Law and Graduate School where she teaches courses related to youth and young adult justice. Alex holds a Bachelors in Holistic Psychology from Lesley University, and a master's in social work from New York University. She enjoys cooking, watching documentaries, bird watching, and reading science fiction books.

Marsha provides strategic thought leadership and spearheads programming and processes that create and sustain social change for racial equity practitioners in the GARE network.

Marsha has more than 20-years of experience in complex systems with the last 15+ years spent in local government, Marsha has led work within cross-sectional leadership circles and multi- collaborative networks including Birth to 22 United for Brighter Futures (B-22), BRIDGES and Advancing the Mission Network (ATM). Known for moving ideas into action through her results-based approach and action leadership, Marsha designed and incubated a number of social impact community based initiatives that remain thriving and active in her community today.

Prior to joining Race Forward, Marsha led community planning, partnership development and new initiative resource exploration and management for Children’s Services Council (CSC) of Palm Beach County. In that role, she provided essential leadership to Children’s Services Council and played a key role in advancing its racial equity systems’ transformation work as the former Lead of the Council’s and Palm Beach County’s Racial Equity Core Teams. Palm Beach County has been a member of the GARE network since 21019 and Marsha had the honor of serving on the GARE National Steering Committee since 2021.

Marsha is a mother, strategist and activist dedicated to racial and social justice and advancing equity centered practices. Over the past decade, this has been the core focus of Marsha’s work as she established strategic initiatives grounded in best practices, while ensuring equity with the creation of new policies that drove systematic reforms and strengthened systems of care. Marsha’s goal is to ensure that all children and their families are able to reach full potential by unlocking their own power and where needed with support rooted in equity and justice.

Marsha’s professional and personal worlds often collide, as she invests considerable time serving her community, organizing and advocating for the enrichment of BIPOC communities by lending her expertise to drive local projects and community conversations forward.

Marsha is a graduate of Montclair State University and currently resides in South Florida with her daughter. Marsha has had a deep commitment to improving the lives of groups that have been marginalized and strives to center disproportionately affected groups in her personal and professional life. She is a staunch racial and social justice advocate and is often hailed as a “work-a-bee for change”.

In her spare time, Marsha enjoys planning her annual family vacation, traveling and experiencing new cultures.

Cecilia Olusola Tribble (she/her – Oh-lu-sho-lah) builds communities of innovation with equity practitioners embedded in government. Tribble brings 20 years of arts and cultural education, curriculum and program design experience. More recently, Tribble has experience building teaching and learning programs and restorative arts funding programs through Metro Arts, Nashville Office of Arts and Culture. Her consulting work focused on systemic transformation through lectures, workshops, coaching for various partners: foundations, executive leaders, government agencies, nonprofits, tech companies, among others.

Olusola holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Memphis – where her concentration was double bass; a Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt University Divinity School – where she received certificates in Black Church Studies and Black Religion and Culture; and a Master of Arts in Performance Studies from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University – where her concentration was the intersection of race and gender performance. Olusola is the proud mom of a free, joyful black boy, with whom she loves to take country drives, drink bubble tea and blast music.

Leslie directs the translation of GARE’s strategic framework into relevant, impactful, accessible, and measurable learning opportunities and pathways for racial equity practitioners in government. Before taking on this role in 2022, Leslie served as GARE's California Regional Manager.

Leslie came from the field of training and workforce development in child welfare, having done a four-year stint with the California State University – Bay Area Academy, and more than a decade at the California Social Work Education Center. Leslie also supervised mental health clinicians for their licensing hours at an outpatient mental health clinic in San Francisco which provided mental health supports with underserved children and youth. Prior to this, Leslie provided direct services for over five years to underserved children and youth experiencing out-of-home care, as well as educational and health challenges, through social worker-attorney teams at Legal Services for Children in San Francisco, CA.

Sarah (she/her) ensures that our network's interactive online spaces build a sense of community and connection, fuel online discussion and generative exchange, and help keep racial equity practitioners informed of innovations across the field. Her work is informed by her background and training as a public librarian.

Prior to joining Race Forward in 2020, Sarah was a Neighborhood Library Supervisor at Madison [WI] Public Library, where she led the community-driven design process for a new library. She was also a library leader in GARE and a founding member of Madison’s Racial Equity & Social Justice Initiative. Sarah holds a BA in Sociology from Macalester College and a Master of Library & Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Cathy Albisa is the co-founder and former Executive Director of Partners for Dignity & Rights (formally NESRI), a social movement organization that supports community groups across the country in their campaigns for structural change. Partners for Dignity & Rights is the home of the Dignity in Schools Campaign and the Worker-Driven Social Responsibility Network. The organization also worked deeply in partnerships with visionary organizers or issues as diverse as universal healthcare and community land trusts. She serves on the Human Rights Commission in New York City, and has published widely on economic and social rights, racial and gender justice, and human rights generally.

Cathy has also been a director at the Center for Economic and Social Rights, an Associate Director at the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School, a co-director of the Human Rights and Gender Justice clinic at CUNY Law School, and a constitutional rights litigator at the ACLU and the Center for Reproductive Rights. She has also served in the leadership of boards of directors such as the Center for Constitutional Rights, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, and the Center for Social Inclusion, among others. Cathy graduated with a JD from Columbia Law School and at BA from the University of Miami.

Raquel has worked and volunteered in the non-profit sector for 8 years. Raquel spent the last 4 years in the non-profit sector as a Program Manager specializing in federal, foundation, and state-based grants and programs. Over the span of 8 years, Raquel has worked amongst several communities including veterans, individuals living with HIV/AIDS, families, LGBTQIA, birthing persons, underemployed, unemployed, youth, unhoused, and survivors of crime.

Raquel has a Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W) degree and a Master of Social Work (M.S.W) degree with a concentration in community partnerships from Georgia State University.

Raquel was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia as a 4th generation Atlanta native. Raquel has served in the US Army Reserves for 10 years. She is currently a Chemical Engineer Non-commission officer in the reserves. Raquel considers herself a lifelong change agent and solution-focused to dismantle inequities and disparities amongst the people. You can find Raquel collecting random purple items outside of work and being a health and wellness enthusiast.

Becca Lobley connects network practitioners to the GARE Network Portal and supports them once they’re there, equipping them with the tools they need to find and share resources, make connections, and build community. She also supports efforts to increase engagement and organize the numerous resources and discussions to which network practitioners contribute.

Prior to joining Race Forward in 2022, Becca was an Equity Program Manager at the Allegheny County [PA] Department of Human Services, a GARE member jurisdiction. In that role, she led racial equity and inclusion initiatives and projects for the Office of Equity Engagement. She has also worked to support leadership development in the nonprofit sector as a Program Manager at Public Allies Pittsburgh, and led recruitment efforts for CORO Pittsburgh programs.

Becca brings to her role her passion for racial justice and equity, as well as her background as a social worker. She received her MSW focused on Community Organization and Social Action from the University of Pittsburgh, and her BA in Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies from the California State University of Long Beach.

Nadia Mohamed (she/her) strengthens GARE’s communication strategies and infrastructure, raises the visibility of the network, and collaborates to craft and advance a compelling narrative of multiracial democracy, and the role and responsibilities of government.

She has been part of numerous political artist-activist collectives, networks, fellowships, and interdisciplinary workshops including Paper Tiger TV, Deep Dish TV, The Laundromat Project, The People’s Forum, The Illuminator, Kopkind, the Center for Story-based Strategy, and more.

She holds an B.A. in Social and Cultural Analysis from New York University, and an M.F.A. from Hunter College. A writer and media maker, her creative work focuses on people, place, power, and perception. Nadia listens, dreams, and creates from a small city that sleeps on the Hudson.

Tiana is thrilled to join Race Forward as the GARE Senior Director Coordinator! With a Bachelor's in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Georgia State University and a strong background in People Operations, she brings experience in complex administration and senior project management. Her passion for learning and commitment to racial justice brings Tiana to GARE/Race Forward.
 
Originally from Atlanta, Tiana balances family life with community engagement, focusing on early childhood development and childcare advocacy. She enjoys cooking and visiting parks, and is your go-to for Atlanta, especially kid-friendly activities. She looks forward to bringing her spirited presence to the team and making a positive impact at Race Forward.

Daisy Pagan oversees GARE’s large events, including regional convenings, the GARE Leadership Summit and the GARE Membership Meetings. She comes to the GARE team with eighteen years of victim advocacy, program, and grants management experience, and five years of public policy experience in research, analysis, and policy development. She has over seven years of training development, conference, and event planning experience.

Most recently she served as the Executive Director of National Associations of VOCA Assistance Administrators (NAVAA) where, in addition to being responsible for the administration, management, and operation of NAVAA’s mission, she planned and implemented webinars, peer-to-peer meetings, annual training conferences and managed virtual meeting and conference platforms.

Fronsy was the former Communications Director for Rights and Democracy, a grassroots movement-building organization working across Vermont and New Hampshire. Her previous experience includes developing communications strategies for a Vermont racial justice collective, building climate advocacy programs in New York City, and serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia. She holds an MA in Sustainable Development from SIT Graduate Institute and a BFA from Pratt Institute and currently serves on the board of Toxic Free NC. Fronsy lives with her son in southern California and can usually be found musing at her writing desk or planning her next big hike.

Lenore is an advocate, a prevention specialist and transformative leader with a desire to challenge and inspire systems to think strategically, engage collaboratively and plan creatively when tackling the work of becoming anti-racist. She is a skilled problem solver with an unwavering dedication to race equity, fairness and racial healing.

With over 20 years of leadership and management experience built on a foundation of hands-on, community-based prevention and intervention work with youth and families, her most recent experience was as Pennsylvania’s Racial and Ethnic Disparities Coordinator. This role was for the Office of Justice Programs at the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Lenore is a 2018 Youth Justice Leadership Institute fellow of the National Juvenile Justice Network. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work and a Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice both from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

For over 10 years she served as a volunteer on her local planning and zoning commission working toward equity in new development. In her free time Lenore enjoys painting, stitching, knitting, drawing and graphic design. She is a daughter, little sis, wife and mother to a teenage daughter and a dog, Logan. Her family enjoying laughing, road trips, camping, board games and meals together.

Crystal leads GARE’s efforts in measuring its programmatic impact.

Prior to joining GARE, she was the Assistant Director of Learning and Impact at Living Cities where she supported the organization to develop their theory of change by blending different frameworks such as anti-racist Results Based Accountability and Person-Role-System.

She received her master’s degree from Columbia University in Sustainability Management and her bachelor’s from Binghamton University in Financial Economics.

In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, hosting food gatherings, and board game nights with friends.

Kim provides technical and administrative support to ensure that practitioners can connect to the network and the resources that they need.

Prior to joining Race Forward, Kim was a Program Officer and Business Systems Analyst for the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County. Kim provided support and technical assistance to community partners in their work of improving early childhood outcomes for children and families. She also supported data systems users with training, technical assistance, and reporting solutions. Kim has a B.S. in Political Science and a Certificate in Peace Studies from Florida Atlantic University.

Kim has a passion for social justice and healing work and helped develop the Council’s first Racial and Ethnic Equity plan and co-led its inaugural Racial Equity Core Team. She also served as a co-facilitator of the Council’s Early Childcare Resident Advisory Committee, formed to engage residents in reimagining funding for quality early childcare services and supports. In both her professional and personal life, Kim has led learning circles designed to help white-bodied individuals understand their own racial identities and to explore how the culture of whiteness lives in and through them.

Kim is a grateful mom and stepmom of three daughters and can often be found playing on the floor with one or more of her three grandchildren.

As GARE Network Community Manager, Anya provides crucial support for building a strong network community, cultivating practitioner engagement and fostering relationship-building, with an emphasis on leveraging the GARE Online Community.

Anya is passionate about technology innovation, accessibility, community co-creation, and of course, racial equity. Being the last of four born to a first-generation Nigerian American and a second generation Mexican American, Anya jokes she’s always been a community organizer at heart.

Prior to joining the team, Anya was the first-appointed Digital Equity Program Manager for the City and County of Denver, working out of the Mayor's Office of Social Equity and Innovation. She is a graduate from The University of Denver, receiving her Master's in Publishing and her Bachelor’s in Strategic Communication and Political Science. Anya also brings a technical skillset to her work, having experience in user experience design and software development/testing.

Michaela Watkins (she/her) provides strategic guidance to GARE programs, focused on leadership development, member engagement, and strategic plan implementation.

Prior to joining GARE, Michaela spent over a decade managing cross-functional teams in the conceptualization and implementation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programming in the education sector. She is well-versed in navigating complex systems to drive successful internal and external impact by focusing on racial equity, change management, data-driven decisions, and aligning organizational processes to just visions. Building strong relationships, facilitating skill set expansion and embedding practices of sustainability are also cornerstones of her work as worthy and relational people are at the heart of deep community impact and thriving service. 

Michaela received her Master’s from National University with a focus on cross-cultural dynamics and equity-based frameworks to enhance continuous learning and programming for systemic change. She received her Bachelor’s from Carnegie Mellon University with a focus on decolonized narratives and storytelling to empower liberatory social bonds across the comparative human development spectrum.

In her spare time, Michaela volunteers within LA County for mutual aid groups, food banks, service centers for the unhoused, and environmental non-profits. She also enjoys hiking up and down the Pacific Coast on road trips, pressing flowers on the weekends, game nights with friends, and learning to play the piano.

Our Team

Aria Albritton photo

Aria Albritton

Membership Coordinator

Jarred Bean photo

Jarred Bean

Network Program Manager

Janine Christiano photo

Janine Christiano

Director of Strategic Partnerships

Jeanetta Churchill photo

Jeanetta Churchill

Director of Survey Research

Anya Dickson-Arguello

Network Community Manager

Dan Frankenfeld photo

Dan Frankenfeld

Operations Data Manager and Trainer

Sarah Lawton photo

Sarah Lawton

Director of Online Community

Crystal Li photo

Crystal Li

Director of Data and Insights

Becca Lobley photo

Becca Lobley

Online Community Coordinator

Kim Maxwell photo

Kim Maxwell

Online Community Specialist

Nadia Mohamed photo

Nadia Mohamed

Director of Network Narrative & Communication

Tiana Norman

Office of the Senior Director Coordinator

Daisy Pagan photo

Daisy Pagan

Events Manager

Fronsy Thurman photo

Fronsy Thurman

Communications Manager

Cecilia Olusola Tribble photo

Cecilia Olusola Tribble

Director of Innovative Practice

Raquel Walker photo

Raquel Walker

Data Coordinator

Lenore D. Wyant headshot

Lenore D. Wyant

Director of Network Engagement

Leslie Zeitler photo

Leslie Zeitler

Director of Learning Strategies

Leadership Team

Marsha Guthrie photo

Marsha Guthrie

Senior Director

Ian D. Law photo

Ian D. Law

Deputy Director of Operations

Michaela Watkins

Deputy Director of Network Strategies

Cathy Albisa photo

Cathy Albisa

Vice President of Institutional and Sectoral Change, Race Forward

GARE Steering Committee

The GARE Steering Committee serves as the GARE governing body for providing input on member and practitioner standards of accountability and Network strategy to ensure the effectiveness of the GARE Network.

James Green

Director

Palm Beach County Community Services Department

Palm Beach County, FL

Jamahl Greer

Financial Analyst III

Salt Lake City, UT

Shireen Malekafzali

Chief Equity Officer

County of San Mateo, CA

Karla Bruce
Member Emerita

Chief Equity Officer

Fairfax County, VA

Aimee Kane

Equity Officer

City of Boulder, CO

Denise Boston

Equity and Restorative Practices Manager

Howard County, MD

Renae Jackson

Chief Equity Officer

City of Decatur, GA

Kimberly Richardson (Chair)

Assistant City Manager

City of Peoria, IL

Alex Gibilisco (Vice Chair)

Manager of Equity and Inclusion

City of Spokane, WA

Susan Lundmark

Project Manager

Salt Lake City, UT

Samia Byrd

Director

Department of Community Planning Housing & Development

Arlington County, VA