Hi John,

This month marks the completion of my first year as the Executive Director of re:power. Over the last 12-months I have come head-to-head with the realities of what it means to rebrand and rebirth a long-standing organization like Wellstone Action. One of the starkest realities that hit me as the new leader was that not everyone here at re:power was in the same place I was—a place of excitement and energy. In fact, so many of my staff were burnt out and tired after nearly two years of operating in uncertainty.

The result? We saw a lot of transitions. This compounded with a reality of financial strain for the organization which led us to lay off of a small portion of our staff at the end of last year. As we started this year, this organization was the smallest it has ever been.

But, as they say, from the ashes a phoenix rises. Over the last eight months, my executive team and I have been working tirelessly on reimagining the structure of our organization to fulfill its promise as a racial justice organization that builds capacity and trains leaders in communities of color. We strived to break free of the structures that had been left in place and create what we needed to thrive in this new world as a new organization.

OUR NEW EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM

And today, I’m excited to announce our new executive leadership team as well as two new staff hires. Our Executive team will include new-hire Uyen Doan (she/her) as our new Managing Director, Program & Partnerships, Kavita Khandekar Chopra (she/her) as our Managing Director, Organizational Strategy and myself. As an all-women-of-color leadership team, we are living our mission—to train & amplify the work of women of color leaders across this country. Our new leadership structure will allow re:power to remain agile and responsive in our ever-changing environment while still keeping our eye on the ball—racial & gender justice championed by Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) leaders.

As our new Managing Director, Programs and Partnerships, Uyen will be responsible for setting the strategy and guiding the execution of our impact programs at re:power. She will supervise re:power’s Program Team and work closely with our adjunct trainers to carefully curate our training spaces, center BIPOC voices and issues in our curriculum, and create lasting partnerships with organizations working toward long-term change. Uyen comes to re:power from the ACLU, where she held the position of National Training Director for Grassroots Organizing. We are thrilled she is here! 

Kavita’s role as Managing Director, Organizational Strategy will be to manage the organization’s public engagement strategies and internal processes in support of our programmatic work. Kavita was promoted into this role as part of our restructure after serving as re:power’s Vice President, Development for the last year. She has been an invaluable asset as re:power assessed how we operate and her promotion serves to recognize and formalize her internal and external leadership.

Beyond the growth of our executive team, re:power also welcomed Jamarr Brown (he/him) as the Director of Electoral Programs, and Venita Griffin (she/her), as the Director of Communications and Digital Strategy.

Our goal is to support organizers and leaders on the ground, while reframing what power looks like and who holds it. With the unprecedented convergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and mass uprisings across the country, our work is as important as ever. Expanding our team to include these talented and proven movement members positions us to tackle the many challenges that lie ahead.

Onward,

Karundi Williams
 

GET TO KNOW OUR NEWEST TEAM MEMBERS

Uyen Doan was born in Saigon, Vietnam and immigrated to the U.S. with her family at the age of one. She has devoted much of her life to organizing her communities to fight for social justice, from forming a high school group to combat bullying and discrimination, to forming a union in her workplace to demand better working conditions. For two years, Uyen worked at the Center for Popular Democracy, supporting local affiliates in building capacity to advance pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial and economic justice agendas. Prior to that, she was the National Manager of Training and Organizing with Primary Care Progress, where she organized nationwide chapters of health care trainees.

Jamarr Brown is an accomplished political strategist, healthcare advocate, organizer and leadership trainer with over a decade of professional experience. He recently completed a stint as National Training Director for Tom Steyer’s 2020 presidential campaign, where he led a national leadership development program for staff, volunteers, community leaders and issue advocates.

For five years, Jamarr served as the Organizing & Training Director for Planned Parenthood Texas Votes (PPTV). In that role, Jamarr managed the statewide leadership development, public affairs, grassroots organizing and issue and electoral campaign work in conjunction with Planned Parenthood affiliates in Texas. Under his leadership, the number of Planned Parenthood supporters across Texas grew by 600,000 and the organizing team trained over 3,000 activists to advocate for the full spectrum of reproductive rights and services. Jamarr resides in Austin, Texas.

Venita Griffin possesses 15+ years of experience leading successful advocacy, digital, and multicultural engagement campaigns. She most recently led engagement and fundraising strategies for a national campaign that targeted poor and low-income families. While working at various Chicago-based communications firms, she led the digital strategy for Legalize Illinois, provided strategic counsel and digital strategy oversight for a national campaign focused on raising awareness around metastatic breast cancer, and was part of the team that worked to secure a raise for direct support professionals in a year when similar services were being cut from the Illinois budget.

Venita is a Winter 2020 Fellow of The Movement School, and a 2019 Fellow of the Chicago Foundation for Women Willie’s Warriors Leadership Initiative, which helps black women leaders from a variety of sectors develop community organizing skills, with a focus on systems change, economic empowerment, communications and strategic alliances. A New Orleans native, Venita now lives in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.