
Our Fellows
The Opportunity Agenda’s Communications Institute Fellows are media-ready experts on some of the country’s most urgent challenges, coming largely from communities most affected by those challenges. For journalists seeking voices with a grassroots perspective that links economic opportunity, criminal justice, immigrant opportunity, and racial justice issues to the lived experiences of Americans, Communications Fellows are ideal spokespeople.
Dante Barry
Executive Director, Million Hoodies Movement for JusticeDante Barry is a grassroots organizer, digital campaigner, and the Executive Director of Million Hoodies Movement for Justice. Previously, Dante ran campaigns, organizing, and leadership development programs for national progressive organizations including the Center for Media Justice, the Roosevelt Institute, School Based Health Alliance, and the Political Development Group, LLC....
Get To know DanteLawrence Benito
Chief Executive Officer, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee RightsRecently, Lawrence Benito transitioned from Deputy Director to Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director of ICIRR. In his new role he will be responsible for running all facets of the organization. Lawrence has a proven executive track record and over 20 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations. As the Deputy Director...
Get To know LawrenceRonald Bey-Simpson
Alumni Associate, JustLeadershipUSARonald D. Simpson-Bey is the Alumni Associate for JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA) and a 2015 Leading with Conviction Fellow with JLUSA. He serves on the steering team of the Michigan Collaborative to End Mass Incarceration (MI-CEMI), a former Program Associate with American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and Research Assistant at the University...
Get To know RonaldJanaé Bonsu
National Public Policy Chair, Black Youth Project 100Janaé Bonsu is a Black queer feminist activist-scholar and organizer with over five years of policy research and advocacy experience. She currently serves as the National Public Policy Chair of Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), an activist member-led organization of Black 18- to 35-year-olds dedicated to creating justice and freedom...
Get To know JanaéSheri Bradford
Sheri Bradford is a graduate of Emerson College and has been working in the film and television industry for the past 13 years. She started her career working at William Morris Endeavor as an assistant in the MP Literature department, and has since worked on films (Enders Game / Summit...
Get To know SheriIsaac Bryan
Director of Research and Municipal Projects, Rowe Policy+MediaIsaac Bryan is an expert on the criminal justice system and public policy implementation. Bryan is also a lead researcher for the Million Dollar Hoods Project at UCLA. His recent report " The Price for Freedom" received national attention for its first-ever in-depth look at the quantifiable impact of the...
Get To know IsaacRosa Calderon
Community Leader, North Alabama Committee for Immigrant Justice/Alabama Coalition for Immigrant JusticeRosa Calderon came to the United States at the early age of six. Rosa was able to adjust her status due to the fact that her father had received his green card under the immigration reform of 1986. Her family started the process in 1994 and it took over 8...
Get To know RosaKaren Cassandra Tumlin
Managing Attorney, National Immigration Law Center (NILC)Ms. Tumlin focuses on promoting the rights of low-income immigrants through litigation and administrative advocacy. Currently she is litigating cases challenging state anti-immigrant ordinances and federal immigration detention policies. Her practice also includes litigation on due process, detention, and employment issues. Before joining NILC as a Skadden Fellow in 2005,...
Get To know KarenRaquel Castañeda-López
Former Detroit City Council MemberRaquel Castañeda-López, a lifelong Detroiter, made history in November 2013 by becoming the first Latina elected to the Detroit City Council. A social worker by trade, Castañeda-López has over ten years of experience in the non-profit sector and is committed to working for social justice. She developed a strong resident...
Get To know RaquelEben Cathey
Communications Coordinator, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights CoalitionEben Cathey joined TIRRC as the Communications Coordinator three months ago. He was born in Smyrna, TN and graduated in 2006 from Rhodes College in Memphis. Eben was awarded a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship to study in South Africa for a year, where he earned a master’s degree in Political and...
Get To know Eben