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.
Itzel Guillen
Immigration Integration Coordinator, Alliance San DiegoItzel was born in Mexico City and came to the United States at a young age. She is one of the beneficiaries of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) which allows her to work and be protected from deportation in the United States. Itzel began volunteering at a young age...
Get To know ItzelShena Gutierrez
Co-Founding Member, Border Patrol Victims NetworkShena Gutierrez has dedicated her life to advocating for social change and laying the foundation to shift America’s conversation about law enforcement, in particular holding Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the largest law-enforcement agency in the nation, accountable. On March 30, 2011, Shena’s husband, José Gutierrez, was brutally beaten by...
Get To know ShenaJorge Alberto Gutierrez Cortez
Former Project Coordinator, Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project, a project of the United We Dream NetworkJorge Gutierrez is an UndocuQueer activist and organizer born in Nayarit, Mexico, and raised in Southern California. He graduated California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. He began his journey as an undocumented immigrant youth activists with the Orange County Dream Team five years ago and soon...
Get To know Jorge AlbertoSameera Hafiz
Policy Director, Rights Working GroupSameera Hafiz, the Policy Director at the Rights Working Group (RWG), leads and coordinates coalition advocacy efforts and develops strategies to advance RWG's policy agenda. Prior to joining Rights Working Group, Sameera was a Senior Staff Attorney with Legal Momentum’s Immigrant Women Program, where she engaged in national policy advocacy...
Get To know SameeraJamila Hammami
Executive Director, Queer Detainee Empowerment ProjectJamila is a queer first-generation Tunisian- Arab woman of color community organizer and social worker from the South now based in New York. She is a Founder and Executive Director of the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project. She is a graduate of the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College...
Get To know JamilaSarah Harris
Press Secretary and Deputy Director of Communications, Stand Up AmericaSarah Harris is the Deputy Communications Director and Press Secretary at Stand Up America, helping to highlight Stand Up America’s campaigns for the press and the public. Through her work, she emphasizes the importance and urgency of making sure everyone has access to a democracy that functions for everyone in...
Get To know SarahMyaisha Hayes
Campaign Strategies Director, MediaJusticeMyaisha is the Campaign Strategies Director at MediaJustice. She previously spent two years as the organization’s National Organizer on Criminal Justice & Technology, where she oversaw the launch of the #NoDigitalPrisons and #ProtectBlackDissent campaigns. Myaisha has an organizing background that includes issue areas such as labor, electoral, and mass incarceration.
Get To know MyaishaVenkayla Haynes
Digital Communications Manager, Black Voters MatterVenkayla Haynes is responsible for developing, implementing and managing all online communications for Black Voters Matter.
Get To know VenkaylaJasmine Heiss
Initiative Director, Vera Institute of JusticeJasmine Heiss leads the Vera Institute of Justice’s national work to reduce jail incarceration and eliminate money bail, with a particular focus on smaller cities and rural counties. She previously served as the deputy director of The Coalition for Public Safety, the nation's largest bipartisan effort to reform the U.S....
Get To know JasmineNorris Henderson
Executive Director, VOTENorris Henderson, current E.D. of VOTE, a nonprofit organization designed to educate, organize and mobilize formerly incarcerated persons in Louisiana. He is currently the recipient of the 2015 Martinet Society Earl Amedee Award for advancing the cause of justice. The 2014 Data News Weekly “Trailblazer of the Year” Award...
Get To know Norris