2019 Communications Institute
On June 17-21, 2019, The Opportunity Agenda held its 10th annual Communications Institute, through which we trained social justice opinion leaders on a variety of communications skills and strategies.
The invitation-only Institute took place in New York City. The cohort of 16 Fellows received comprehensive training on a variety of communications skills, including framing and narrative development, media strategy, and on-camera interviews.
The substance of the Institute was five days of intensive, in-person training and skill-building, including on:
- Narrative and Messaging to Persuade and Activate Audiences
- Media Strategy
- Spokesperson Skills
- Broadcast Media Appearances
This year’s Institute focused on The Power of Voice in a time when social justice leaders are being actively silenced. The Opportunity Agenda is proud to launch these voices into the discourse to reframe the debate for social justice in the United States.
The 2019 Communications Institute was made possible, in part, by the generous contributions of The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The JPB Foundation, The Libra Foundation, the Marguerite Casey Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation, Open Society Foundations, The Tow Foundation, Unbound Philanthropy, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Meet the 2019 Fellows
Aseante Renee
Director of Communications, Common JusticeAseante Renee is a strategy and communications executive with over 12 years of experience working at the intersections of healing, wellness, and criminal justice. Currently, she is the Director of Communications at Common Justice, a nonprofit that develops and advances solutions to violence that transform the lives of those harmed...
Get To know AseanteTroy Rienstra
Outreach Director, Safe and Just MichiganTroy Rienstra joined Safe and Just Michigan in 2017 and works to advance the organization’s outreach program by elevating the voices of people directly harmed by the effects of crime and punishment. He is responsible for outreach activities to crime survivors, formerly incarcerated individuals and their family members, and the...
Get To know TroyAlexis Sims
Communication Director, Mothering JusticeAlexis Sims works as communication director for Mothering Justice. She graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor’s in Sociology. Her background includes work as a creative strategist for businesses in food, technology, beauty, entertainment, and the built-environment industries. Alexis loves to create relationships and narratives for viewers, supporters, and...
Get To know AlexisNour Soubani
Lead Community Organizer, Campaign to Take on HateNour Soubani is the lead community organizer for the Campaign to Take on Hate in Dearborn and Detroit, MI. Through the Campaign, she works on issues of surveillance, anti-Arab and anti-Muslim racism and discrimination, and on building power within these communities to resist systemic racism of all forms. She graduated...
Get To know NourDavid Trujillo
Advocacy Director, ACLU of San Diego & Imperial CountiesDavid Trujillo serves as Advocacy Director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties. ACLU-SDIC is a prominent force for the protection and expansion of fundamental rights in California’s second-most populous county and southern borderlands. David guides the affiliate’s public policy and civic engagement agenda. David was born in...
Get To know DavidJheanelle Wilkins
Director of State and Local Government Affairs, The Leadership ConferenceJheanelle Wilkins is an advocate for underserved communities and dedicated to creating greater opportunity for all people to live their best lives. She has pursued this passion through advocacy for a decade at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the nation’s premier civil rights coalition, where she is...
Get To know Jheanelle