For almost 20 years, I have built the systems that shape how people work, across the nonprofit, civic, and political sectors. My work is grounded in the belief that organizations thrive when their people feel safe, seen, and supported.
Director of People Operations and Culture
Leads people strategy and culture for the ACLU of Michigan, the state affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, which defends civil rights and civil liberties through litigation, policy advocacy, and public education. As an executive partner to the Chief Operating Officer, owns the full employee lifecycle for a staff of nearly 40, including talent acquisition, onboarding, employee relations, performance management, total rewards, policy, and employment compliance. Builds human-centered systems that help a high-stakes civil rights organization attract, develop, and retain exceptional people.
Director of Affiliate HR
Led human resources strategy across the Arkansas Community Foundation's affiliate system, a statewide network of nearly 30 local affiliate offices serving all 75 Arkansas counties, each with its own staff and local advisory board. Aligned people practices across a decentralized, multi-site workforce, partnering with affiliate leaders and boards on talent acquisition, onboarding, employee relations, performance management, policy, and compliance. The foundation leads donor services, fund development, community leadership, and local grantmaking statewide, has distributed more than $600M in grants since 1976, and is poised to surpass $1B in assets.
People and Culture Manager
Led people and culture at Mothering Justice, a Detroit-based, women-of-color-led advocacy organization working across multiple states to advance economic, racial, and gender justice by centering the voices of mothers and caregivers of color. Designed trauma-informed HR infrastructure for about 40 staff and more than 200 Mamavists, its network of mother activists across 12 states, spanning talent acquisition, onboarding, FLSA-aligned compensation and career pathways, restorative approaches to performance management and employee relations, and support for staff through life's transitions. Grounded the employee experience in belonging, psychological safety, and accountability.
Managing Director
Led a team and multimillion-dollar assets across a multi-entity program at Think Rubix, a social innovation and political strategy firm with offices in Birmingham, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Little Rock. Owned hiring, onboarding, team development, budget, and operations, aligning staff and partners across entities around shared goals. Co-authored the firm's white paper on the Margins Framework, a method for more inclusive engagement of historically marginalized communities.
Program Director
Led restorative justice and equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (EDIB) programs reaching 10,000 people across the country at Just Communities of Arkansas, an affiliate of the National Federation for Just Communities, formerly the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Designed and facilitated trainings in inclusive leadership, cross-cultural dialogue, and conflict resolution, while managing program staff, facilitators, and budget. Rooted in Little Rock since 1964, the organization is known for OurTown, its transformational leadership program for teens, dialogue programs for civic leaders, and its annual Brotherhood Dinner honoring Arkansas humanitarians.
Trainer
Helped launch Arkansas's first Apple Store, which opened at the Promenade at Chenal in west Little Rock in August 2011 and made Arkansas the 44th state with an Apple retail store. Led training for the opening team, onboarding new hires into Apple's customer experience standards and building the product knowledge, service culture, and confidence a high-profile launch demands.
Director of Statewide Outreach
Built statewide stakeholder relationships for the Arkansas Community Foundation, Arkansas's statewide community foundation, connecting communities in all 75 counties to its network of local affiliates and to a philanthropic legacy of more than $600M in grants since 1976. Partnered with local leaders, boards, and volunteers to grow engagement and strengthen the affiliate network.
Deputy Development Director
Supported fundraising and donor development for One Fair Wage, the national organization leading the fight to end the subminimum wage, a cause at the heart of fair pay and worker dignity. Federal law still allows employers to pay tipped workers as little as $2.13 an hour, and One Fair Wage works to guarantee every worker a full minimum wage, with tips on top. Cultivated donor relationships and aligned stakeholders behind fair compensation for tipped workers nationwide.
Foundation President
Leads the GABA Foundation, the policy and research arm of the Global African Business Association, advancing economic opportunity for African and Caribbean communities in Michigan and across the diaspora. Leads a board and volunteer team overseeing research, data analysis, and policy development on the economic conditions facing these communities, translating findings into recommendations, convenings, and strategy for lawmakers, funders, and community partners.
Legal Assistant
Supports client intake and case preparation at Blumenau Law, an immigration practice with offices in Detroit and Grand Rapids, building working knowledge of work authorization and immigration compliance. The firm's work spans immigration court defense, asylum, family petitions and waivers, U visas, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, DACA, green cards, and citizenship.
Immigration Legal Volunteer
Volunteered with the Nigerian Center, a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit that helps immigrant families make the United States home through legal services, small business lending, policy advocacy, and language programs. Its immigration clinic provides zero- to low-cost legal screenings, consultations, and full representation to clients nationwide. Supported families seeking naturalization, asylum, green cards, work authorization, and family petitions, bringing a trauma-informed, human-centered approach to every client interaction.
Managed confidential case files for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, the statewide legal resource center for Michigan's immigrant communities, supporting its work in immigration legal services, detainee support, farmworker rights, and citizenship. Protected sensitive client records with the same discretion and data privacy that HR confidentiality demands, so attorneys could move cases forward.
Immigration Organizer
Organized with Arkansas United, the statewide immigrant rights nonprofit founded in 2010 and headquartered in Springdale, which today runs immigrant resource centers in communities across Arkansas. Recruited, trained, and mobilized volunteer leaders during the national fight to protect Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), focused on Black migrants and immigrants across the state. Trained over eight years in the methodology behind community organizing and grassroots movements, the same relational skills that drive engagement and change management.
Led advocacy and communications for Africans of Arkansas, a community organization advancing the rights, visibility, and civic power of African immigrants and Black migrants across the state. Shaped its narrative strategy at the intersection of social justice and immigration advocacy, using storytelling to center the lived experiences of Black immigrant families, challenge harmful narratives, and build public support for immigrant rights. Amplified community voices across digital, media, and community platforms, strengthening civic engagement and a sense of belonging for the African diaspora in Arkansas.
Campaign Manager
Built and led the statewide campaign operation for actor, author, and Harvard Law graduate Hill Harper's run for Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat in one of the country's key battleground states. Recruited, onboarded, and managed staff, and aligned a national network of donors, organized labor, and community stakeholders that drew support from Hollywood to the shop floor. The campaign earned endorsements from comedian Dave Chappelle, former U.S. Representative Brenda Lawrence, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, Wayne County Health Department Director Abdul El-Sayed, Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton, Church of God in Christ Presiding Bishop John Drew Sheard Sr., and businessman Nasser Beydoun, as well as the Michigan Democratic Party Black Caucus, Emgage Michigan, the Church of God in Christ Michigan/Canadian Council of Bishops PAC, IATSE Local 26, and the American Postal Workers Union Detroit District Area Local 295.
Built and led the campaign team for physicist, minister, and MIT-trained nuclear engineer Chris Jones, who won the 2022 Democratic primary for governor of Arkansas outright, taking 70% of the vote in a five-candidate field. Recruited and managed staff, oversaw budget and operations, and aligned a broad coalition of stakeholders. The campaign earned endorsements from former Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker, former Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Richard Mays, and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in the primary, along with national groups including 314 Action Fund, the national PAC that backs scientists running for office, Collective PAC, Democracy for America, and CWA District 6. The campaign raised more than $1.4M.
Stood up and led a campaign team on a compressed timeline for Jana Sanchez in a 23-candidate, all-party special election for Congress, called after the death of Rep. Ron Wright. In this format, every candidate from every party runs on a single ballot, and if no one wins a majority, the top two finishers advance to a runoff. Partnered with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and national partners including EMILY's List and BOLD PAC, the campaign arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Sanchez was the top Democratic finisher, coming within 354 votes of a spot in the runoff.
Built and led a staff of more than 10 through the onset of COVID-19, moving veteran state senator Joyce Elliott's campaign for Arkansas's 2nd Congressional District to remote operations while keeping the team engaged and productive. Partnered with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which named the race to its competitive Red to Blue program, and managed relationships with federal PACs and national partners. The campaign earned the endorsements of former President Barack Obama, then-nominee Joe Biden, and the Congressional Black Caucus, along with EMILY's List, Equality PAC, the Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood Action Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America, the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, the Sierra Club, the National Women's Political Caucus, the National Association of Social Workers, and Peace Action. It raised $3.5M, more than seven times her previous congressional bid.
Built and managed the team behind the Democratic campaign for Michigan's 29th House District, recruiting and training staff and volunteers to take on a Republican-held seat in southeast Michigan during a presidential election year. The campaign earned backing from Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who campaigned alongside the candidate, along with endorsements from the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and the national candidate network Run for Something.
Led the team behind Ryan Davis's special election campaign for Arkansas House District 34 in Little Rock, the seat left open after the death of civil rights attorney Rep. John W. Walker. Managed staff and volunteers through a four-candidate primary and a runoff so close it came down to a single vote after a recount.
Built and led the winning campaign team that elected Cara Connors to the 12th Division Circuit Court bench in Pulaski County, where she now serves as circuit judge.
Led Vicki Hatter to victory in the Zone 6 runoff with 57% of the vote, managing the staff and volunteers who won her a seat on the Little Rock School Board.
Led the campaign to renew the Little Rock School District's 46.4-mill school tax, aligning educators, parents, and community stakeholders behind a measure voters approved with 60.5% of the vote, securing ongoing funding for the district's schools and the people who work in them.
Senior Advisor
Advised campaign leadership on strategy, team structure, and operations for Blake Tierney's run for At-Large Position 10 on the Little Rock Board of Directors, a citywide challenge to the board's longest-serving member, in office since 1992. Endorsed by the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, the national organization that elects LGBTQ+ leaders to public office, the campaign outspent its opponent heading into Election Day.
Advised campaign leadership on strategy, team structure, and operations for licensed clinical social worker Caitlin Draper, the Democratic nominee for Arkansas's 3rd Congressional District in Northwest Arkansas, in her challenge to a longtime incumbent. The campaign earned endorsements from Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, LPAC, the National Association of Social Workers, Vote Common Good, the Committee to Protect Health Care, and the Arkansas Education Association.
Advised Afro-Latina nonprofit leader Dianne Morales, former CEO of Phipps Neighborhoods in the South Bronx, on strategy and campaign operations in the 2021 New York City mayoral race, the largest municipal election in the country and the city's first major race decided by ranked-choice voting, where voters rank candidates in order of preference and votes transfer round by round until one candidate wins a majority. Her campaign sought to make her the city's first woman and first Afro-Latina mayor, with support from Higher Heights for America PAC, the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City, UAW Region 9A, the Professional Staff Congress, State Senators Jabari Brisport and Gustavo Rivera, Assemblymembers Jessica González-Rojas and Marcela Mitaynes, and Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer.
Partnered with Think Rubix's engagement team to design civic engagement strategy and team structure for a statewide advocacy organization focused on voter education, accountable government, and investment in public schools and healthcare.
Finance Director
Built and led the fundraising operation for Hill Harper's statewide U.S. Senate campaign in Michigan, recruiting and managing finance staff for a campaign that raised more than $3M. Designed and managed fundraising events for high-level principals and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), cultivating relationships with major donors across the country.
Communications Director
Built and led the communications team for a congressional campaign in Arkansas's 2nd District that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) later named to its Red to Blue program, and that went on to raise $3.5M.
Led press, messaging, and internal and voter communications for Ryan Davis's special election campaign for Arkansas House District 34 in Little Rock.
Digital Director
Led digital strategy and volunteer engagement for the Arizona chapter of CandleWishes Foundation, a volunteer-powered nonprofit that throws birthday celebrations for children in need, serving about 700 children each year.
Ran digital outreach and online voter engagement for Denise Ennett, who went on to win Arkansas House District 36 and help bring a record number of women into the Arkansas legislature.
Led the digital launch of More Than: How to Be Bold and Balanced in Life and Business, by Gina Radke, co-founder and CEO of aerospace company Galley Support Innovations and a former trade adviser to Congress.
Chair
Chaired Create Little Rock, the Little Rock Regional Chamber's young professionals initiative dedicated to attracting, developing, and retaining young talent in Arkansas's capital city, after serving as a member since 2012. Led a volunteer leadership team across its programs, including networking events, Serve the Rock volunteer days, and Get on Board, which matches young professionals with nonprofit boards.
Volunteer Coordinator
Recruited, onboarded, and coordinated the volunteer team for TEDxMarkhamSt, Little Rock's independently organized TED event, which brings community speakers and ideas that challenge perspectives across disciplines to a citywide audience.
Secretary
Served on the leadership team of the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network Little Rock, which develops emerging nonprofit leaders through professional development, networking, and leadership opportunities. Managed governance records and member communications, and later returned to speak to the network on compassion fatigue, burnout, and self-care.
Served as secretary of Rotaract, Rotary International's service and leadership program for young adults, keeping governance, records, and member communications running for a club focused on community service and professional development.
Committee Member
Served on the Junior Committee of the Little Rock Club, a private business club in downtown Little Rock, connecting emerging leaders with the city's business community through programming and events.
Served on the committee for Power of the Purse, the Women's Foundation of Arkansas's signature luncheon, which honors women leaders and raises funds to advance economic security and leadership for women and girls across the state.
Camp Counselor
Mentored young people as a counselor at Camp Rock, a summer youth program of the Arkansas Minority Health Commission, the state agency working to close health disparities for minority Arkansans.