Communications Institute
The Opportunity Agenda’s Communications Institute is an annual event that brings together diverse social justice leaders from around the nation for intensive communications skill-building and support. The Institute, which takes place in New York City, is a four-day residency that prepares the movement’s up-and-coming voices to cut through the noise with effective messages that will persuade and mobilize key audiences.
Ahmad Abuznaid
Legal & Policy Director, Dream DefendersAhmad is the Legal & Policy Director for the Dream Defenders, a Florida based non-profit founded in the wake of the Trayvon Martin tragedy that is working to end systemic injustice and build collective power. After finishing high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Ahmad attended the Florida State University, where...
Get To know AhmadQueen Adesuyi
Policy Coordinator, Drug Policy Alliance’s Office of National AffairsQueen Adesuyi is a policy coordinator at the Drug Policy Alliance’s (DPA) Office of National Affairs in Washington, D.C., where she works to advance DPA’s federal and local District of Columbia legislative agenda. Her areas of focus include marijuana legalization with a racial justice focus, collateral consequences, housing, and overdose prevention. Queen, who...
Get To know QueenPhillip Agnew
Executive Director, Dream DefendersPhillip is a native of Chicago, IL and a 2008 graduate of Florida A&M University. He is the Director of the Dream Defenders, an organization committed to bringing social change by training and organizing youth and students in creating a sustainable network of youth and student leaders to take action and...
Get To know PhillipMizue Aizeki
Deputy Director, Immigrant Defense ProjectMizue Aizeki is Deputy Director at the Immigrant Defense Project where she focuses on ending injustices related to the entanglement of the criminal and immigration systems, including criminalization, imprisonment, and exile due to criminal convictions. Mizue has organized around racial justice, workers’ rights, and the policing and deportation of immigrants...
Get To know MizueGraciela Aponte
Senior Legislative Analyst, National Council of La RazaGraciela Aponte provides legislative analysis and advocacy on affordable homeownership, foreclosure prevention, and credit scoring for the National Council of La Raza, the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. Aponte’s expertise is in housing policy, housing counseling, barriers to Latino homeownership, predatory lending, credit...
Get To know GracielaDaryl Atkinson
Southern Coalition for Social JusticeDaryl is a staff attorney at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice focusing on drug policy and criminal justice reform issues. He also serves on the board of directors for the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and is a commissioner for the North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services....
Get To know DarylMiriam Aukerman
Staff Attorney, ACLU of MichiganMiriam Aukerman is a senior staff attorney with the ACLU of Michigan. She also manages the ACLU’s West Michigan Regional Office. Miriam litigates high-impact cases on a broad range of civil liberties issues, with a particular focus on immigrant rights, poverty, and criminal justice. Miriam also promotes constitutional rights through...
Get To know MiriamAlgernon Austin
Director of the Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy Program, Economic Policy InstituteAlgernon Austin directs the Economic Policy Institute’s program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy (PREE). PREE works to advance policies that enable people of color to participate fully in the American economy and to benefit equally from gains in prosperity. As Director of PREE, Austin oversees reports and policy analyses...
Get To know AlgernonNikitra Bailey
Executive Vice President, Center for Responsible LendingNikitra Bailey directs the Center for Responsible Lending’s outreach and educational efforts to national and locally based organizations and provides technical assistance to policymakers on state and federal anti-predatory lending initiatives. Bailey originally joined the CRL as a policy associate after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law....
Get To know NikitraRobert Biko Baker
Artist/OrganizerFrom Milwaukee to Los Angeles and back again, Biko works at the intersection of culture and civic engagement. A former hip-hop journalist turned grassroots organizer, Biko has earned a reputation as an electoral campaigner, communicator, and cultural tastemaker. He earned a Ph.D. from UCLA in 2013.
Get To know Robert Biko