For over two decades I have worked at the intersection of organizing, policy, and government, helping communities move from being shut out of decision-making to shaping it. Not just participating in systems, but knowing how to operate inside them in ways that translate into real decision-making power.

I have designed and led strategies that have secured major legislative and funding wins at scale and built the conditions for communities to influence how decisions are made. That requires a clear understanding of how policy is formed, negotiated, stalled, and ultimately moved, and what it takes to align organizing, strategy, and institutions to make that happen.

Grounded in Community, Built Across Systems

My combat tour in Iraq taught me discipline and tactical warfare — how to read terrain, move through hostile systems, and keep people focused when everything is chaotic. Advocacy work is the same — the terrain just looks different.

When I returned home, I went straight to work — on electoral campaigns at the city, state, and federal levels, serving in roles ranging from field coordinator to political director, deepening my understanding of how electoral strategy connects to governance and policy

I then worked in Atlanta as a tenant organizer, supporting communities navigating housing and local government systems. From there, I moved into state-level advocacy, lobbying at the Georgia State House, and went on to advise former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed before later working on Capitol Hill for Congressman John Lewis.

I later served as Executive Director of the New York City Council’s Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus, where I led coordination across 26 elected officials to align budget and legislative priorities.

That range of experience matters. Local, state, federal, legislative, executive, inside and outside. Most people see one part of the system. I have worked across all of it.

Winning Campaigns at Scale

Policy change doesn’t happen because people show up. It happens when communities are positioned to influence decisions and move policy.

I served on the grassroots leadership team of the #LetNYVote coalition, which secured early voting access for 13.1 million New Yorkers.

In New York, I led the #JustPay campaign, securing nearly $1.5 billion in state funding to increase wages for human services workers. Through that work, I built the organizing infrastructure for the sector, established an organizing academy to train nonprofit workers in advocacy and organizing, and centered the lived experiences of Black and brown women in shaping the campaign’s strategy and direction.

In Washington, DC, I built and led the Youth Justice Project, assembling a coalition in response to harmful youth justice policies and leading a campaign to protect the rights of young people while advancing policy for community-based alternatives to incarceration.

As National Director of The Democracy Project, I set and led a nationwide strategy engaging legislators across all 50 states, while building and managing a national team to expand democracy reform beyond voting access into broader questions of participation, influence, and governance.

Many programs struggle because they’re built in isolation from how political systems actually function. My work focuses on closing that gap so strategy, organizing, and policy are aligned in a way that translates into policy change.

Building Infrastructure for Collective Power

Beyond individual campaigns and programs, my work extends to building the infrastructure that sustains advocacy and policy change.

I have shaped statewide and national efforts to strengthen coordination, leadership, and long-term strategy across the field. As a co-founding member of New York’s BIPOC Democracy Table, I helped build a statewide effort to center racial equity in democracy reform and strengthen collective political power across communities of color.

I have driven efforts advancing gender equity through my work with the PowHER Coalition, including efforts related to salary transparency policy as part of a broader push for workplace equity.

My work also includes building and supporting political leadership pipelines. I am a founding member of Emerge New York and a founding member of the Founders Circle of Higher Heights for America, supporting and investing in the long-term development of Black women’s political leadership. I also serve as a national trainer with Vote Run Lead, preparing women to run for office and win.

My work in this space is focused on building things that last. Not just winning campaigns, but ensuring communities have the capacity to hold influence over time.

Research, Writing, and Public Commentary

I am a political commentator, writer, and speaker on elections, governance, and political strategy, with a focus on how race, gender, and power shape political outcomes. My commentary has appeared across major national outlets, and I am a contributor to the Brown Girls Guide to Politics podcast.

That public work is grounded in serious research. I am pursuing a PhD in Political Science at the CUNY Graduate Center, where my research explores political participation, coalition building, and how social movements translate organizing into legislative power — questions I have spent two decades trying to answer in practice.