Mariela currently serves as KIPP NYC’s Manager of Advocacy. She also currently serves as a committee member for Youth and Education on her local community board and on Teach For America’s NYC Collective Board. Prior to joining KIPP, Mariela joined Teach for America and taught in South Carolina while pursuing her master’s degree in Education from Francis Marion University. Mariela is a first-generation college graduate from Hamilton College.

Tatiana has spent nearly a decade working on political campaigns with Redhorse Strategies in New York City. She has worked in all campaign roles from manager to organizer. In addition to campaign work, she was a Community Organizer for the IDNYC Program, an initiative with the Mayor’s office and the Department of Homeless Services. Ms. Rivera also spent time working with HRA HEAP, and at Girls Incorporated, where she facilitated diversity work and managed a database of prominent Latinas.

Jermaine ran for City Council to represent Queens, NY in 2020 on a comprehensive platform that includes community engagement for the future leaders of the city after years of working in the city's foster care sector. Though unsuccessful, he is planning future runs to increase equitable access to education, health, and wealth in New York’s communities of color. 

Desi is passionate about community health and education. She teaches health advocacy and community outreach principles, helping students understand advocacy through local, state, and federal entities. Her goal is to help the next generation of leaders see inequities in health industries and remove barriers to health access.

Constance is the Director of Programs and Partnerships at The Knowledge House, where she empowers and sustains a talent pipeline of technologists, entrepreneurs, and digital leaders, who will uplift their communities.

Patrick is an educator, businessman, organizer and advocate. Through his work as founder of SharpMen, he supports underserved men who need suits and professional attire for job interviews and other opportunities, but can’t afford department-store prices.

Sheleah, a graduate from our Memphis program, brings a lifetime of commitment to underserved youth and families to her role as a Shelby County Schools board member in Memphis, TN.

Leaders of Color-Memphis graduate Marquita Bradshaw became the first Black woman to win the Democratic Senate Primary in Tennessee and the first Black woman to win a Senate Democratic Primary in the American South in 2020.

William Snowden took his experiences as a trial lawyer and turned them into an effort to make sweeping changes to our incarceration system. As a Director at the Vera Institute of Justice and founder of The Juror Project, William works to bring justice to all.

MBA. Hospital Administrator. Advocate. Meet Teresa Hernandez, a Leaders of Color alum from our 2020 New York City cohort. Teresa is passionate about education, healthcare, health equity, and community-building, and we are proud to count her among our illustrious alumni.

Tuere Burns brings energy, experience, and knowledge to serve as a powerful voice for justice, equity and equality for people of Afrikan descent. She is the Executive Director of Bar None, an organization that supports previously incarcerated people in Louisiana.