Marlene spent forty years protecting her community, including serving as a Deputy Chief at Belmont University and the city of LaVergne. She is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, serving on the Police-Oriented Advocacy Committee, and serving on the Tennessee Public Safety Network. She served as a board member for You Have The Power, and worked as the Title IX coordinator at Tennessee Tech University
Sheri, a graduate of Ohio State University and Gratz College with a degree in non-profit management, is the Director of Membership and Inclusion at The Temple - Congregation Ohabai Shalom.
Having worked with various non-profit organizations across the country, her skills in relationship building and non-profit management will further broaden the leadership skills within the organization and aid us in developing partnerships within communities of faith and with other organizations.
Makayla is a TSU Political Science Cum Laude graduate. She was selected as a Commissions Leadership Institute Fellow, and she's served as the Statewide Organizing Director for Organize TN. Currently she is the Tennessee AARP Advocacy Director.
In 2022 she was the Director and Choreographer for the musical "A Vote of Her Own," garnering a mention in Grammy submissions. She is a freelance actor, Teaching Artist for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, a private instructor at the Arts Center of Cannon County, is a member of the BlueMoves Modern Dance Company and performs with Found Movement Group.
Shawn is the founder of Destiny Theatre Experience and Focused Dreams Films. He also serves a drama teacher at Nashville Children's Theater, and a spoken word instructor at Southern Word, Inc.
Naseem is a freelance artist and publicist as well as the owner of two independent radio stations.
Kathy has served as President, Co-Chair, and Community Liaison for PFLAG Nashville, and is the South Atlantic Regional Director for PFLAG National. She volunteers with Tennessee Equality Project, Open Table Nashville, Planned Parenthood She has been honored with the MTSU LGBT Conference Community Excellence Award, Nashville PRIDE Ally Award and the LGBT Chamber of Commerce Ally Award.
Timothy is a cum laude graduate of Fisk University in Nashville, TN, an activist, advocate, community organizer and educator. He works at the intersection of public policy & social justice on a state, regional and national level with organizations such as Black Voters Matter Fund, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Brothers' Roundtable, Corporate Diversity Initiatives, The Equity Alliance, Learning 2 Win Leadership Community, and the NAACP Nashville Branch.
On temporary sabbatical
Roberta is a queer, feminist, anti-racist professor of Communication Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies at Middle Tennessee State University on subjects such as rhetoric and media, race and intercultural communication. She focuses on connecting theory with lived experience to generate awareness regarding how language, symbols, and ideologies shape cultural and communication structures and practices. Roberta is also an author and highly published researcher.
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