Renee Hatcher is a human rights and community development lawyer. Prior to joining UIC John Marshall Law School, Hatcher taught in the Community Development Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law and served a post-doctoral appointment at the University of Texas-Austin's Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis. Previously, Professor Hatcher served as a staff attorney and project director for the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights (CLC), where she directed a community development law project providing legal services to entrepreneurs, community-based organizations, and individuals interested in expunging their criminal history to create better opportunities for local marginalized communities. During her time at CLC, Hatcher also served as lead counsel on community benefit agreement campaigns and matters of regional equity, and represented individuals in matters of employment discrimination and prisoners' rights in the U.S. Northern District Court of Illinois.

Hatcher currently serves as a board member for the New Economy Coalition, co-chair of the AALS Clinicians of Color Subcommittee, and a member of the Law for Black Lives Clinic Cohort Development Team. She received her law degree from New York University School of Law and her B.A. in Political Science from Indiana University-Bloomington. Her work and research focus on solidarity economy theory/practice and the law.

Matthew Slaats has a 20 year history working at the intersection of participatory democracy, creativity, community development, and alternative economics to support grassroots, community lead decision-making, resilience, and liberation. At present, he is a Ph.D candidate in the University of Virginia School of Architecture working with public housing residents to tell the history of grassroots Black led social transformation in Charlottesville. He teaches courses that explore how social movements impact the future of urban and rural spaces. Matthew also is a co-founding member of the Virginia Solidarity Economy Network, serves on the US Solidarity Economy Network Board, and a North American Representative for RIPESS. He is presently consulting with the City of Richmond on the creation of the Richmond People's Budget that will give residents a say in how $3million is spent in the annual budget.

Heather Raspberry is the Executive Director of HAND, a cross-sector collective of changemakers whose strategic collaboration brings equitable communities to fruition in the Capital Region of Baltimore, Washington and Richmond. Through education, engagement and regional advocacy, HAND strengthens the capacity of its members who share a commitment to creating communities anchored by affordable housing. A values-driven and entrepreneurial leader, Heather believes that through thoughtful engagement and strategic collaboration, institutions and mission-driven stakeholders can disrupt systems of inequity to address the root causes that amplify housing disparities and restrict access to opportunity for communities of color. 

Raymond A. Jetson is the Raymond A. Jetson, Chief Executive Catalyst & Co-Lead of MetroMorphosis. Combining his 30 plus year history of public service with her 15 years of nonprofit leadership, Raymond A. Jetson and Sherreta R. Harrison form the dynamic, intergenerational Co-Leadership team at MetroMorphosis, a Baton Rouge-based social enterprise focused on transforming communities. Together, they have repurposed barbershops into community health hubs, increased spending with women and minority owned businesses and cultivated the next generation of leadership.

Sherreta R. Harrison is the Sustainability Catalyst & Co-Lead of MetroMorphosis. Combining his 30 plus year history of public service with her 15 years of nonprofit leadership, Raymond A. Jetson and Sherreta R. Harrison form the dynamic, intergenerational Co-Leadership team at MetroMorphosis, a Baton Rouge-based social enterprise focused on transforming communities. Together, they have repurposed barbershops into community health hubs, increased spending with women and minority owned businesses and cultivated the next generation of leadership.

Third-generation community builder, social entrepreneur and current President and CEO of Africatown Community Land Trust in Seattle, WA. Wyking design programs and initiatives that catalyze, mobilize and activate communities for sustainable social impact. He has been a co-catalyst for numerous ventures including the Africatown Seattle community development initiative, Liberty Bank Building, Umoja PEACE Center, Hack The CD, Black Dot, Umoja Fest and Africatown Center for Education Innovation. You find more about his work online at www.africatownlandtrust.org and through his social medias @africatownlandtrust.

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Rev. Jess Cook, Coordinating Pastor at Every Table in Richmond, VA, fosters spaces for honest reconciliation by embracing vulnerability and trust. With a background in theology and art, Jess holds an MDiv from Union Presbyterian Seminary, an MFA in Photography from the University of North Texas, and a BFA in Studio Art from Baylor. Hailing from East Texas, they made history as the first openly trans/non-binary Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Charles is a dedicated advocate for social justice and wellness. A certified yoga instructor, neighborhood organizer, and healer from Churchill, they graduated from Armstrong High School in 2014. Their spiritual journey in Humboldt County, California, enriched their practice. In 2020, they played a pivotal role in racial justice uprisings, leading meditation and earning a yoga scholarship. Founder of Radical Yogi LLC, Charles melds yoga, mindfulness, and social change. As Every Table co-founder, they promote radical hospitality and collective liberation. Charles fosters an inclusive space that links body, mind, and societal issues. They believe yoga and mindfulness foster awareness, compassion, resilience, and equitable communities.

Dr. Chaz comes to us from his newest home in Philadelphia where he will take on research and teaching as a 2021 postdoctoral fellow at the Univ of Penn. Annenberg School of Communication’s Media at Risk program. Prior to this move he is known for his community engagement and public arts practice in Richmond Virginia as a Blackademic, professor, podcaster, and filmmaker. It was here he completed his doctorate in Media, Art, and Text and wrote and directed the Everyday Black Matter film project—which launched from his emerging media hustle Black Matter Productions, LLC.

LaTasha Sherell James is a lifelong Richmond resident who grew up in a shotgun house in a segregated section on Richmond, Virginia’s Northside. After graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University with degrees in literature and print journalism, she wrote feature stories for the Black-owned and now defunct Richmond Voice Newspaper as well as taught writing and literature in Richmond Public Schools. She currently resides in Battery Park. If you come around her way, you can find her kicking it with a neighborhood elder. When she’s not around her way, she’s booking a unique Airbnb stay, in an unassuming town off a beaten path.

Christopher Rashad Green is a community activist, a motivational speaker, and the founder of Free*Dome Unlimited.  He is a formerly incarcerated individual who now, as a political organizer and health-equity advocate, is on a journey to empower men, women, and children in overcoming the challenges and injustices of the criminal justice system. Mr. Green works as an organizer for New Virginia Majority where he leads the Court Watch of Central Virginia and serves as a member of the Richmond Food Justice Alliance.

Free Egunfemi Bangura is an independent historical strategist and social entrepreneur from Richmond, VA. In 2013, she founded Untold RVA and Untold Tours to inspire non-traditional audiences with bold typography, audio enhanced street art, and urban exploration. Bangura has been credited as the originator of the international Commemorative Justice movement. She is a member of Richmond Memorial Health Foundation’s Health Equity Artists cohort, a bureau chief at the United States Department of Arts and Culture, a founding member of the BLK RVA action team, a faculty advisor at Initiatives of Change USA, and the elected chair of Richmond Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s History and Culture Commission.

William “Bill” Martin, director of the Valentine, leads over 50 museum staff members in telling the story of Richmond lifestyle and culture.  For more than 20 years, Martin has diversified the Valentine’s programming, expanded Richmond walking tours and group tours, and worked collaboratively in the community to promote city tourism initiatives. Martin holds a B.A. in Urban Studies and an M.A. in Public Administration from Virginia Tech. Following years of experience directing museums in Georgia, Florida, and Virginia, he joined the then-Valentine Museum in 1993 as Director of Marketing and Public Relations.

Stephen Wade currently works for the Virginia Department of Social Services on making substance use disorder (SUD) prevention, treatment, and recovery more equitable and accessible, with a particular focus on child welfare systems, housing, and the criminal legal system. Stephen is passionate about providing housing for all that is safe, healthy and affordable by using a health equity lens that empowers and centers communities that have traditionally had the least access to resources and power. Stephen is also the Vice President of the board of directors of Partnership for Smarter Growth.

Laura Wright is a housing attorney with the Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC). Using a community lawyering model, Laura works with advocates and organizers to build networks within high eviction neighborhoods to assess the greatest housing needs, provide know your rights trainings, and refer clients to partner organizations for emergency legal assistance. In consultation with effected communities, Laura advocates for state and local policies that improve housing stability, expand access to civil legal services, and produce and preserve affordable housing.

Sheri Shannon is the owner and director of Shannon Strategies, a communications firm that specializes in campaigns for the greater good. She also hosts Women and Politics on WRIR, a radio program that spotlights women engaging in politics and their communities. Sheri is the co-founder of Hull Street Action and Southside ReLeaf, and was also featured as an “Eco Hero” by Glamour magazine. She is committed to the fight for environmental and economic justice so everyone has a clean, healthy and safe space to live, work, learn and pray. Sheri is based in the Richmond, Va. area. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Sheri Shannon is the owner and director of Shannon Strategies, a communications firm that specializes in campaigns for the greater good. She also hosts Women and Politics on WRIR, a radio program that spotlights women engaging in politics and their communities. Sheri is the co-founder of Hull Street Action and Southside ReLeaf, and was also featured as an “Eco Hero” by Glamour magazine. She is committed to the fight for environmental and economic justice so everyone has a clean, healthy and safe space to live, work, learn and pray. Sheri is based in the Richmond, Va. area. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Greta J. Harris joined the Better Housing Coalition in August 2013 as President and CEO. Prior to leading BHC, she was vice president for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national nonprofit community and economic development organization where she lead local offices in southern and mid-western regions. Ms. Harris was elected to the board of Markel Corporation in 2021, and appointed to the Virginia Tech University Board of Visitors in 2016. She also serves on the boards of ChamberRVA, the Partnership for Housing Affordability, the Housing Partnership Network and the Richmond Jazz Society. She co-chairs the Commonwealth of Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting commission.

Laura Lafayette is the Chief Executive Officer of the Richmond Association of REALTORS® and the Central Virginia Regional Multiple Listing Service—two organizations that serve the almost 7,000 REALTORS® in Central Virginia.  Laura also serves as the Executive Director for the Partnership for Housing Affordability. Within the broader community, Laura serves as a gubernatorial appointee to the Virginia Housing Commission; is the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Housing Forward Virginia; is the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of the Maggie L. Walker Community Land Trust; and serves on the Boards of ACTS and the Peter Paul Development Center as well as LISC’s Local Advisory Committee and the Vestry of Christ Church Episcopal.

Patrice Shelton is the founder and Executive Director of Hillside Court Partnership, Certified Community Health Worker Senior for Virginia Department of Health/Richmond City Health District. She moved to Hillside Court 2010 where she does her community work today.  She has launched more than 14 groups and teams in Hillside. She is seated on the Board of Commissioner for RRHA, Maggie L. Walker Poverty Board, RVA Thrives, Central VA Legal Aid Society Secretary, Client Council (CVLASCC) and a member of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. She was also a fellow for RMHF 3/2018 to 2/2019.

Sherrell Thompson is a 42 year old mother of three who has spent the last 9 years working in Gilpin Court. She has a Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice Administration and is now employed by RRHA. She is also a Certified Community Health Worker. She is a graduate of Leadership Metro Richmond Class of 2020 and on the board of Northside Strong, CHW(Community Health Worker) Association, Richmond Public Schools Head Start Policy Council, and a member of Circles RVA. She loves to travel, have fun, and help others.

As an entrepreneur and co-founder of the Richmond Night Market, Melody supports small business owners and independent artists in areas to include public relations, marketing and business development.  Melody currently serves the small business community of Richmond, Virginia with a focus on minority and women owned businesses as the Director of Marketing & Communications at the Metropolitan Business League, the Co-founder of The Jackson Ward Collective, a hub for Black business owners and selected partners to share resources, experiences and expertise to build and grow strong, sustainable Black owned businesses in Richmond, VA and as a consultant for the Black Business Opportunity & Investment Study and Virginia Community Capital’s Open For Business Loan Fund.

Adrienne is a group facilitator, mediator, and community engagement expert. With deep experience in building movements in the non-profit, education, political and entrepreneurship sectors, she has centered her efforts around creative approaches and equitable engagement. Her academic training and background in macro level social work, keeps a connection to the wider context as she engages on resolving the toughest human challenges. Having served as a Chief of Staff in Congress and led community-based programs for groups ranging from 500 to 50,000 people, Adrienne’s ability to listen, connect and empathize across traditional barriers make her a remarkable facilitator and conflict resolution expert.