Speakers

Ryan Anderson is an Associate Attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC). She drafts motions and briefs, and conducts legal research, developing case strategies and legal arguments in SELC matters in her home state of Alabama. She lives and works in Birmingham, where she is originally from.

Camille Bennett is the founder and executive director of Project Say Something. She and her husband, Taurus, are also the founders and directors of the holistic day-care center Focus-Scope Centers, in Alabama.

Ock (Thomas Bowers) is a community organizer living in Kansas City Missouri. He is the current chair of the Kansas City Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. Ock is a previously incarcerated leader who uses his lived experiences to advocate for others. He is the Director of Participatory Defense at Reale Justice Network where he works to support community members who have been bailed out of jail. He is a trained mediator and community health worker advocating for survivors of violence in his community. He provides support for youth and adults through their court cases and with navigating the criminal injustice system. Ock is also a legal observer who attends protests and actions throughout Missouri. He is currently working to provide support for the qualified immunity campaign that is launching in Missouri. Ock is the proud father of AWESOME children who he loves spending time with and having bey blade battles.

Nelson Brooke, a Birmingham native, is an Eagle Scout and outdoor enthusiast who has enjoyed fishing and hunting along the banks of the Black Warrior River since he was seven years old. Nelson obtained an anthropology degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Nelson has been Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s staff Riverkeeper since January of 2004. As Riverkeeper, Nelson patrols and photographs the Black Warrior River and its tributaries from the land, water, and air, looks for pollution problems, responds to pollution complaints, researches and analyzes polluters’ permits, collects pollution samples for laboratory analysis, educates the public about the beauty of the river and threats to it, works to empower stakeholders throughout the watershed, works on finding solutions to pollution problems, advocates compliance with environmental laws, and is a spokesman for the Black Warrior River watershed.

Angie Comeaux is a Mvskoke, Aniyvwiya, Chahta, and Creole Indigenous woman; a nurse, community herbalist, environmental activist, mother, and farmer who is living and farming in her ancestral Mvskoke homelands in so-called Alabama.

Angie is a founding member of both Bvlbancha Collective and Okla Hina Ikhish Holo, two Indigenous Southeastern femme and non-binary collectives working in mutual aid, medicine and food sovereignty, and rebuilding ancestral trade routes. She is on the board of directors for the Alabama Sustainable Agricultural Network, a grassroots network of farmers, consumers, and agriculture-related organizations, all committed to promoting sustainable agriculture in Alabama. Angie is also is a seed grower for the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance, a collective of emergent and seasoned growers who cultivate heirloom seeds and grow culturally relevant plants for food, healing, and textiles.

Angie is the founder of Hvrvnrvcukwv Ueki-honecv (Hummingbird Springs) Farm, a fallow 120-year-old peanut farm that she, her partner, and community are transitioning into an Indigenous food forest. The goal at Hvrvnrvcukwv Ueki-honecv Farm is to fully reclaim and resurrect Indigenous agricultural practices that have been sleeping and to welcome those practices back to their homelands. Angie is responsible to multiple deeply interdependent communities committed to collective liberation and is rooted in the principles of Indigenous sovereignty, Black liberation, resilience against climate abuse, and resisting the toxic force of capitalism.

The mission of Hvrvnrvcukwv Ueki-honecv is to show what Indigenous sovereignty truly looks like, to be a living example of what prioritizing community care and the needs of the land can achieve, to show that when we listen to the land and the land's original stewards we can not only heal our communities but thrive. Some of our goals include building an intentional community centering Southeastern Indigenous and BIPOC folks where housing and food are secure, building and implementing a timeshare model to support systems of living outside of capitalism, calling home and protecting endangered and at-risk species, and resurrecting traditional lifeways that have long been sleeping for our people and for the land. It is necessary that we bring the songs, the language, and the lifeways back home. It is vital that we build our future in right relationship with the land and with one another. In that respect, Hvrvnrvcukwv Ueki-honecv is committed to radical ancestral lifeways rooted in collective liberation, working towards a world free of capitalism, colonialism, racism, antiBlackness, gendered and sexuality-based oppression, and all forms of exploitation against any living beings. Our goals stop short of nothing but radical joy, freedom from all oppression, and deep healing of the natural world.

Mrs. Narene Crosby is a retired medical professional from Kansas City, Missouri. She is a mom, grandmother and community advocate fighting for those who have been harmed by police violence. Narene's world was forever changed the day that a Kansas City police officer took the life of her only son Ryan Lee Stokes. For the last 10 years she has been on a mission to hold the police department and the officers accountable for their actions. She has also connected with others who have similar experiences, and become close friends with other families who have lost their loved ones to police violence. Mrs. Crosby has worked alongside grassroots organizations, clergy, non-profits, community leaders and others to keep Ryan's name alive. Her efforts and tremendous push from her legal team saw her case all the way to the United States Supreme Court. She continues to fight and is working with Reale Justice Network in building a statewide coalition to end qualified immunity. Narene enjoys attending and speaking at community events to share Ryan's story and their families fight for justice and accountability.

Haley Czarnek (she/they) is a member of the University of Alabama School of Law Class of 2022, and after graduating, became the first full-time staff member of Law Students for Climate Accountability. Haley currently serves as LSCA's U.S. National Director, and is excited to support students and legal professionals as they build a movement to change legal culture. Outside of LSCA, Haley enjoys gardening, hanging out with their dog, Tig, talking about humor, and spending as much time with southern organizers as possible.

Eva Dillard became Black Warrior Riverkeeper’s Staff Attorney in 2010. She is a graduate of Mary Baldwin College and the University of Virginia School of Law. Her practice has been split between litigation and advising clients in both the public and private sector. She is a former Senior Counsel for Environmental Compliance in the Office of the General Counsel at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D. C.

As Staff Attorney, Eva represents Black Warrior Riverkeeper on legal matters regarding pollution prevention and environmental enforcement; works with our Riverkeeper and Enforcement Coordinator on pollution investigations, file reviews, permit research, document procurement, and public comments; communicates with polluters and their attorneys to encourage environmental compliance and pollution prevention upgrades; and coordinates the work of our legal volunteers and interns.

Eva is also a founding board member of the Environmental Defense Alliance, an Alabama organization formed for the conservation, preservation, protection, maintenance, improvement, and enhancement of human health and the environment on behalf of its members and the public. She was named a “2023 Alabama River Hero” by the Alabama Rivers Alliance.

My name is Daniela D’Arcangelo, I was born and raised in San Bernardino California. I received my Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a minor in Philosophy with the only a general idea of what to do with it. I knew injustice plagued many facets of the U.S. and spanned demographics. I also knew politics was a powerful device to move towards a more equitable state for all. However, there is no more of a powerful means than pursuing that end through people. People should always be at the forefront of our goals. So, I chose to pursue a career in law to translate the legal language to those who can’t afford it or for the myriads of reasons they are barred access. I hope to pursue in career in Immigration or Environmental law, as those are the fields I have had the most personal connection with. I joined the National Lawyers Guild in my first year of law school because of the unrelenting advocacy the organization pursues, and for the most vital issues we face. I hope to contribute fruitfully to the convention and am so grateful for the opportunity.

Soffiyah Elijah is the Executive Director of the Alliance of Families for Justice. Established in 2016 in New York, the mission of the Alliance of Families for Justice (AFJ) is to support families of incarcerated people and people whose lives have been impacted by incarceration, empower them as advocates and mobilize them to marshal their collective power to achieve systemic change.

Prior to founding AFJ, Ms. Elijah was the Executive Director of the Correctional Association of NY where she was the first woman and the first person of color to lead the 170 year old organization. Ms. Elijah has dedicated her life to human rights and social activism, and is a frequent presenter at national and international forums on criminal justice policy, incarceration and human rights issues. Ms. Elijah was appointed by then New York Governor Cuomo to co-lead the “Raise the Age” Commission convened to raise the age of criminal responsibility in the state. She was also appointed by then New York City Mayor DeBlasio to co-lead the subcommittee of the Commission tasked with overhauling the City’s jail system and closing Rikers Island.

Ms. Elijah has represented and/or supported the release efforts of numerous political prisoners including Mumia Abu Jamal, Sundiata Acoli, Marilyn Buck, Jihad Abdul Mumit, Sekou Odinga and The San Francisco 8. In the international arena Ms. Elijah has served as an international election observer in El Salvador and Venezuela. For decades Ms. Elijah served as the legal advisor to the Venceremos Brigade that worked in solidarity with the Cuban Revolution to end the embargo and travel restrictions. Ms. Elijah served on the international people’s tribunal regarding U.S. navy bombings in Vieques Puerto Rico; led the tribunal investigation of the U.S. government’s neglect in the 9th Ward in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in New Orleans; and presented at the International Human Rights Tribunal on the Treatment of U.S. Held Political Prisoners convened in New York City.

An accomplished advocate, attorney, scholar, and educator, Ms. Elijah has practiced criminal and family law for more than 40 years. Prior to leading the Correctional Association, Ms. Elijah served as Deputy Director and Clinical Instructor at the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard Law School. Before moving to Harvard, she was a member of the faculty and Director and Supervising Attorney of the Defender Clinic at the City University of New York School of Law. Ms. Elijah also worked as a Supervising Attorney at the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, a Staff Attorney at the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society, and in private practice. She has mentored and trained thousands of lawyers during her career.

Ms. Elijah is the recipient of numerous awards, honors and recognition from grassroots organizations and legal associations locally, nationally and internationally. Ms. Elijah has been featured in the New York Times Sunday Magazine and her writings have been published in various digital and print outlets. She is a frequent guest host on Pacifica Radio’s NYC affiliate, WBAI Saturday morning show, “On the Count”, and has appeared on countless television and radio programs. Soffiyah Elijah can be reached at soffiyah@afj-ny.org.

Noura Erakat is a human rights attorney and Professor of Africana Studies and the Program of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She is the author of Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine (Stanford University Press, 2019), which received the Palestine Book Award and the Bronze Medal for the Independent Publishers Book Award in Current Events/Foreign Affairs. She is co- founding editor of Jadaliyya and an editorial board member of the Journal of Palestine Studies. Noura is a co-founding board member of the DC Palestinian Film and Arts Festival and a Board Member of Palestine Legal and the Center for Constitutional Rights. In 2024, she served as the Co-Chair of an Independent Task Force on the Application of National Security Memorandum-20 to Israel, which submitted a report to the White House recommending suspending U.S. weapons transfers to Israel. She has served as Legal Counsel for a Congressional Subcommittee in the US House of Representatives, as Legal Advocate for the Badil Resource Center for Palestinian Refugee and Residency Rights, and as national organizer of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. Noura has also produced video documentaries, including "Gaza In Context" and "Black Palestinian Solidarity.” Her writings have appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Nation, Al Jazeera, and Boston Review. She is a frequent commentator on CBS News, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, Fox News, the BBC, and NPR, among others. She has been awarded fellowships at Harvard Divinity School and Brown University’s Center for Middle East Studies. In 2022, she was selected as a Freedom Fellow by the Marguerite Casey Foundation.

Rifqa Falaneh is the Michael Ratner Justice Fellow at Palestine Legal where she challenges the censorship, surveillance, and suppression of advocates for Palestinian liberation. Rifqa graduated from the University of Illinois (UIUC) College of Law in 2023. She is the founder of Bar None at UIUC Law, a civil rights organization dedicated to uplifting the legal struggles of marginalized communities. She also served as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion officer for the Student Bar Association where she surveyed and published a report on the experiences of diverse students at UIUC Law.

In the summer of 2022, Rifqa was an Ella Baker intern at the Center for Constitutional Rights where she worked on Palestine solidarity cases, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and research on aiding and abetting a tort in New York for international crimes. She previously worked in the Emergency Services Division at Ascend Justice, where she assisted domestic violence survivors in obtaining emergency orders of protection. Rifqa has also represented parents and children in juvenile abuse and neglect cases as an Advanced Clinic Student at the UIUC Family Advocacy Clinic.

Most recently, Rifqa interned in Technology and Policy Accountability at Just Futures Law where she did litigation work on police involvement in federal immigration enforcement and the fast-developing field of technology-driven immigration enforcement. Born and raised in Chicago, IL and originally from the Palestinian villages of Saffa and Lifta, Rifqa has been organizing for Palestine on university campuses for 7 years. She previously served as President of SJP DePaul and helped re-establish SJP Chicago in 2019.

Justice Gatson is a social justice doula from Kansas City Missouri. She earned a degree in Mass Communications from Bennett College, an HBCU in North Carolina. She is a community organizer, founder and director of Reale Justice Network.

Justice is a founding member of the MO KAN BIPOC Reproductive Justice Coalition, a group that is working to elevate the voices of Black and Indigenous communities as it relates to policy and legislation that impacts BIPOC birthing people. Justice trains legal observers who help to ensure the rights of protestors by observing and reporting illegal police behavior and practices. She also conducts "Know Your Rights" training, educating young people and their parents about their rights during interactions with law enforcement. She sits on a number of boards and coalitions including serving as an advisor on the Mayors Reparations Commission, Chair of The People Of Color Caucus within the National Lawyers Guild and president of the community advisory board for Kansas City Public Television. Justice worked on the Legal MO campaign to legalize marijuana in Missouri which includes automatic expungement. She is currently leading efforts to end qualified immunity in the state of Missouri via the ballot initiative process. When Justice isn't in the streets, she enjoys spending time with her family.

David Gespass has practiced law in Alabama since 1979 and has been vainly trying to retire for the past three years. He is a past-president of the NLG and a long-time member of the National Police Accountability Project advisory board and the editorial board of the NLG Review. He is also, for reasons known only to those who created it, a member of NLG Scholars.

Penny Hess is the Chairwoman of the African People’s Solidarity Committee (APSC), the organization of white people under the direct leadership of the African People’s Socialist Party, working for reparations to African people. Penny has been a member of APSC since its founding by the Party in 1976. Penny is the author of the book Overturning the Culture of Violence. She is one of the Uhuru 3.

Jaribu Hill is the Founder and Executive Director of the Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights. Hill is an author and an international spokesperson on Civil and Human Rights topics. Through her organization, Attorney Hill has provided legal representation and advocacy for hundreds of workers in the state. Her efforts have led to the adoption of “Zero Tolerance Against Hate” policies being implemented in workplaces across the state. Hill also won an important judgment against the Ku Klux Klan in Pelion, South Carolina and has assisted Mississippi Delta parents in their fight for school equity.

Maryam Jamshidi is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Colorado Law School, where she teaches and writes in the areas of national security law, public international law, the law of foreign relations, and tort law. Maryam publishes widely in scholarly and popular outlets and is also a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute think tank in Washington, D.C.

A native of Alabama, Veronica R. Johnson currently serves as the Deputy Director of Alabama Justice Initiative. During her time with Alabama Justice Initiative, she, along with other partner organizations, formed Communities Not Prisons. Through this coalition, they were able to stop the building of three private prisons in Alabama. Educated in Birmingham City Schools, Veronica holds a BA in Political Science from Alabama A&M University, a Master's in Criminal Justice from the University of Alabama, and a Juris Doctorate from the Birmingham School of Law. Veronica worked as a juvenile probation officer for over 16 years. She also served as an adjunct instructor at Miles College and Alabama A&M. In addition, Veronica is a social justice activist, an alum of Emerge Alabama, and a former candidate for the Alabama House of Representatives. Veronica is the founder of Cupcakes and Convos (a mentoring program for at-risk teen girls) and a frequent motivational speaker. She loves spending time with her children, Austin who is currently enrolled at Alabama A&M as a Computer Science Major, and Autumn who is in they 8th grade, a member of the Beta Club and runs indoor and outdoor track.

Jamal Joseph is a writer, director, producer educator and activist. His film and television writer/director credits include Chapter & Verse (theatrical and BET) which won the Pan African Film Festival’s Audience Choice Award and was a New York Times Critic’s pick, Drive By and Da Zone for STARZ in BLACK, Hard Chorus and Hip Hop in the Promised Land for Comedy Central, and Hughes Dream Harlem for PBS.  Additional screenplay credits include Knights of the South Bronx for A&E and Ali: An American Hero for FOX. Joseph is an executive producer and is featured in the FX Docuseries Dear Mama about the life and legacy of Tupac and Afeni Shakur. Joseph is featured in the PBS documentary Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution and the EPIX docuseries By Whatever Means Necessary. He is the creator of dramatic series Panther Baby which is based on his critically-acclaimed memoir.

Joseph joined the Harlem chapter of the Black Panther Party when he was 15 years old. At age 16, he was arrested and charged with conspiracy and attempted murder as the youngest member of the New York Panther 21. After a year in prison, he was severed from the case as a youthful offender and released on bail. Joseph worked with Jerry Lefcourt and the other members of the Panther 21 who had been released on bail to raise awareness for the 21. Joseph would return to prison, spending nearly a decade incarcerated for charges related to his involvement in the Black Liberation Army. His legal representation and friendship with movement lawyers Jerry Leftcourt, Sanford Katz, Bob Bloom, Soffiyah Elijah, Chokwe Lumumba and Bill Mogulescu sustained him as a prisoner of war and the basis of the courtroom battle strategies that prevented his 9 years in prison from being life sentences.

He began writing and directing plays in prison and founded a groundbreaking multiracial theater ensemble while incarcerated at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. He has since written, directed and produced plays and theatrical events at National Black Theater, New Heritage Theatre, Riverside Theater, St. James Theater, The Apollo, Theater at Madison Square Garden, Miller Theater and Carnegie Hall.

Joseph is the co-founder of Impact Youth Theatre. He is the Executive Artistic Director of New Heritage Theatre, the oldest Black non-profit theater in New York State.

Joseph has been a member of Columbia University's film faculty for 25 years. He is a full professor of professional practice in film and was the first African-American to serve as the head of the screen and television writing program and as Chair of the Graduate Film Division. He is the author of Tupac Legacy, an interactive biography of Tupac Shakur published by Atria Books, Panther Baby published by Algonquin Books and co-author of Look For Me in The Whirlwind published by PM Press.

Joseph’s awards include an NAACP leadership award, Black Filmmakers' Hall of Fame Award, Paul Robeson Award from Actor's Equity Association, AUDELCO Leadership Award and Sundance Directing Fellowship. He is a three-time winner of the National Black Program Consortium Prized Pieces Award, a Cine Golden Eagle, an Encore Purpose Prize, and the Film Independent Spirit Award. He has been nominated for an Oscar, and Emmy and a Grammy.

Mikayla Kinnison is a paralegal with the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office. As a resident of Milwaukee for nearly 15 years, she recognizes that her clients are among those made to suffer the most under racial capitalism. With solidarity as her guiding principle, she works tirelessly to defend and support them as they navigate a criminal legal system marked by injustice and alienation. Before discovering her passion for public defense, Mikayla developed her consciousness while working as a public school educator and a member of a Catholic Worker community, and through community organizing efforts focused on immigrant rights. She has previously presented on the role of non-attorney staff in pushing for procedural justice, and in August of this year, she traveled to Cuba as part of the first annual Law for the People brigade.

Maria LaHood is Deputy Legal Director at the Center for Constitutional Rights, where she has worked since 2003, seeking accountability for international law violations and defending Palestinian rights advocates under attack in the United States.

She works to defend the constitutional rights of Palestinian rights advocates in the United States in cases such as Davis v. Cox, defending Olympia Food Co-op board members for boycotting Israeli goods; Bronner v. Duggan, defending Steven Salaita in cases against him and others for the American Studies Association’s resolution endorsing the call for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions; and Awad v. Fordham, compelling Fordham University to recognize Students for Justice in Palestine as a student club. She works closely with Palestine Legal to support students and others whose speech is being suppressed for their Palestine advocacy around the country. She also works on the Right to Heal initiative with Iraqi civil society and Iraq Veterans seeking accountability for the lasting health effects of the Iraq war. Her past work at the Center for Constitutional Rights includes cases against United States officials, Arar v. Ashcroft, Al-Aulaqi v. Obama, and Al-Aulaqi v. Panetta; against foreign government officials, Matar v. Dichter and Belhas v. Ya’alon; and against corporations, Wiwa v. Royal Dutch/Shell and Corrie v. Caterpillar. Prior to coming to the Center for Constitutional Rights she advocated on behalf of affordable housing and civil rights in the San Francisco Bay Area, and she graduated from the University of Michigan Law School. She was named a 2010 Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year Finalist.

Her writing includes “Poisoning Iraq” on the Huffington Post, “Obama Might Want to Look Forward in 2012, but America's Torture Legacy Will Keep Staring Back” on Truthout, and “The Role of Universal Jurisdiction in the Fight Against Impunity” on Badil, and she has appeared on outlets including Democracy Now!, NPR, and Al Jazeera.

GGMML is an Anishinaabe-Ojibwe Elder, formally known as a world-renowned Wisdom Keeper, Knowledge Holder, Humanitarian, an Empowerment Coach, Activist and Author. She is an International Keynote speaker and seminar leader, from the Parliament of World Religions, World Council of Churches Indigenous Sessions, NYC Climate March, Global Elder’s Gathering on Climate Change and a United Nations Indigenous Observer/COP26-Scotland & COP27-Egypt & COP15-Montreal & COP28-Dubai Knowledge Holder of Elder Observer, just to mention a few.

She is the author of “Wisdom Lessons,” focusing on self-development, self-care and personal empowerment. Her platform passion is “Reweaving the forgotten ancestral history and codes of the Great Mystery, we touch on moments in ‘there-story.” GGM Mary teaches seminars internationally, and has appeared on media around the world. She has a passion for helping people to broaden their perspective on reality, and for helping empower individuals to recognize and step into their wholeness.

She has dedicated her life to helping people take command of their lives in highly effective, powerful, positive ways. A pioneer in the human potential field, she has spent nearly 50 years teaching thousands of people meditation, prayer, affirmation, and intuition. She is mother of 9, grandmother of 12 and a Great-grandmother of 1, not to mention all the children that she has fostered throughout the past 50 years.

GGM Mary is a visionary co-founder of several global groups, Women of Wellbriety, Int’l, this is a 100% volunteer on-line wellness group with yearly gatherings that promotes sobriety and healing. She developed a Circle Leadership style of organizational structure to bring the collaborate process to change the hierarchical structure in today’s society.

She continues to work at the intersections of criminal justice, environmental issues, child welfare systems, develops policy and advocacy strategies to help reduce the chances of family separation and MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women). GGMML was part of the effort to bring forth the first ever in history not only in Minnesota, but the USA, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Bill and was handed the first signed Bill from Gov. Waltz.

GGMML continues to carry her voice of encouragement and awareness of the importance of keeping the Brown and Black community’s injustices in the forefront. Her voice echoes as she brings forth the new age children as they come from many backgrounds and diversity needs a platform for them to all grow in a safe, nurturing way.

She is a writer as well as a storyteller and has published books about spirituality, self-examination, and cross-cultural understanding. She is also a community organizer, world traveler and has often appeared in the media as an activist for climate justice and social justice issues. As an Ojibwe Elder, a non-violent direct action activist, she believes we can change the world for the better again, if we come together as a community.

Sa'Real McRae is a third year student at Georgia State University majoring in English. She is currently the Youth Network Director for the Peer Defense Project. She has a deep passion for literature, the law, and Black liberation. These interests have ultimately culminated to inspire the creation of her nonprofit organization, Restorative Reading, which collects books to donate to juvenile detention centers.

Leona Morgan (Diné, she/her) is a community organizer who has been fighting nuclear colonialism since 2007. She is a co-founder of Haul No!, an initiative to stop Energy Fuels' uranium mine near the Grand Canyon. Leona is a graduate student at the University of New Mexico and based in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA.

Deanna Mouton is a San Francisco native that was raised in the Mission. They are a law graduate from San Francisco Law School where they were the recipient of the Blum Academic Scholarship, a scholarship granted to the top three students of the entire law class. Currently, Deanna is a member of the Santa Rita Jail Hotline program, and concluded a legal externship with fellow NLG member Brian McComas. They are also the NLG Far West Regional Representative and member of the NLG National Executive Committee.

Betty Osceola is a proud member of the Panther Clan of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida. Passionate about environmental conservation and clean water advocacy, Betty has dedicated her life to protecting the natural wonders of the Everglades. Drawing from her Miccosukee heritage, she teaches others about the importance of respecting and preserving our environment for future generations in her work as an environmental educator, and clean water advocate.

Manisha Priyadarshini is a descendant of Taino peoples and Murmu clan within Santali tribe. Her journey has had her experience the roles of steward, climate policy, education and technology consultant across AI and cybersecurity for public sector at Microsoft, Intel, and others. She serves as the executive director of ProgramEarth which is a 501c3 nonprofit that focuses on the environmental stewardship for climate risk mitigation by bridging the technology and civic engagement strategy to amplify land and water rights back to Indigenous communities

Victor Puertas is a member of the Yagua Nation, one of the Indigenous nations of the Amazon basin region in so-called Peru. He has lived more than half of his life in this country as an undocumented immigrant. For these reasons he identifies himself primarily and strongly as an Indigenous person, but also as an immigrant. Victor is also a formerly incarcerated person, a frontliner and land defender. Over the years he has been part of different campaigns, encampments, different Indigenous land based struggles, struggles for migrant justice, BLM, etc.

Over the years he has been on the front lines rising up for Indigenous autonomy, self determination and to protect the water and the land at places like Tar Sands Blockade, Utah Tar Sands Resistance, Standing Rock, Line 3, and many more across Turtle Island.

Through all these years, one of the most crucial and special parts for him has been finding ways to be dedicated to Indigenous Mutual Aid and Solidarity across the region in which he lives, the 4 Corners in the SW. Through the years Indigenous relatives, comrades and himself have been devoted to supporting many Indigenous communities across the SW region with on-site direct support. This ranges from distributing food and water, chopping and hauling wood for elders & families, herding and taking care of sheep and cattle for Indigenous Elders, and participating in the different campaigns, actions and encampments in defense of their communities, land, water and ways of life.

Renée Quintero Sánchez is a founding partner of Hayes, Ortega & Sánchez, a labor law firm in Southern California. Born and raised in Los Angeles to a working-class Chicano family, Ms. Sánchez, from the very beginning of her career, sought to champion the cause of economic and racial justice, initially as an activist, community organizer and labor organizer, then as a first-generation attorney.

Ms. Sánchez dedicates her traditional labor law practice to the exclusive representation of labor unions and is general counsel to many Southern California Teamsters locals. Ms. Sánchez has extensive experience representing clients in labor arbitrations and regularly appears before the National Labor Relations Board. She currently serves as a chapter editor of the Developing Labor Law treatise. Ms. Sánchez is a proud alumnus of California ChangeLawyers.

Ms. Sánchez is one of the founding members of The United People of Color Caucus (TUPOCC) of the National Lawyers Guild, and served as one of TUPOCC’s founding Co-Chairs. She thereafter went on to continue her work on the NEC as the Far West Regional Vice President and as Executive Vice President. Renee served on the National Executive Committee (NEC) from 2004 through 2012, and for close to twenty years has also volunteered as an NLG Legal Observer. In 2008, the NLG’s San Francisco Bay Area Chapter honored Renee as its Unsung Hero. Renee is also a longtime member of the Natoonal Lawyers Guild’s Labor & Employment Steering Committee.

After a 15-year career in private practice in Vermont, where he represented the Abenaki Indian Nation in fishing rights litigation, Gabor Rona was a staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights in NY, where he worked on civil lawsuits against human rights violators from Serbia and Haiti. He then served for six years as a Legal Adviser in the Legal Division of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland, where he worked on the establishment of the International Criminal Court and the ad hoc tribunals for former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone, as well as on application of international law to US post-9/11 counterterrorism policies, including secret CIA detention and torture, and Guantanamo. He then served for ten years as the International Legal Director of Human Rights First, where his work focused on relations with US civil and military authorities to advocate for compliance with International Human Rights Law and the Law of Armed Conflict. Gabor has also served on a number of UN posts, including in the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and as Chair of the UN Working Group on Mercenaries. He has conducted field research and investigation on law of armed conflict issues in many countries, including Afghanistan, Rwanda, Guantanamo, Bosnia, Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Israel and Palestine. He is now a Professor of Practice at Cardozo Law School where he teaches international human rights law, international criminal law, and international humanitarian law (the law of armed conflict). He is also a Lecturer at Columbia Law School and a member of the Executive Committee of the International Law Association – American Branch.

Tamara Hilmi Sakijha is a Palestinian lawyer who grew up in Jordan and currently works as an attorney for the Navajo Nation government in the Litigation Unit of the Navajo Nation Department of Justice.

Following her graduation from NYU Law School in 2020, she worked with DLA Piper as a litigator in New York City where she handled complex government investigations, related civil and criminal litigation, and international arbitrations. Tamara Sakijha is a principled pro bono advocate and while at DLA she handled criminal appeals in New York state courts, voting rights challenges, and asylum petitions, including getting a Garifuna family's asylum petition granted by the immigration court.

At Navajo DOJ, Tamara works on a range of litigation matters including protection of tribal sovereignty, environmental protection and cleanup, sacred sites, labor and employment, and tribal law. In addition to her litigation experience, Tamara has drafted executive orders of the Navajo Nation President, natural resource protection legislation for the Navajo Nation Council, and employee rights reform, including collective bargaining agreements with United Mine Workers.

NaKeshia Taylor, Social Justice and community activist, Niece of Narene Crosby and cousin of Ryan Stokes. NaKeshia Taylor is an RN who is currently working towards advancing her career and is in school to receive her BSN. Keshia works at University Health medical center in Kansas City, Missouri where she is a charge nurse on her unit. Ms. Taylor is a daughter, sister, and mother of 3 beautiful children , 2 boys and 1 girl. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, and health and fitness. Keshia became involved in being a community activist by default due to her cousin Ryan Stokes being shot and killed by the KCPD 11 years ago. Ms. Taylor has been by her Aunt’s side in their family’s fight for justice for Ryan and to hold the police officers accountable for the murder of Ryan.

Ryan and Keshia grew up close and more as siblings than cousins, this incident has drastically affected Keshia’s emotional state which has impacted her sense of security within Kansas City and she will continue to fight to bring justice for Ryan Stokes until justice has been served .

Liz West (they/them) is a third-year law student at the University of Massachusetts School of Law. They have an undergraduate degree in anthropology and sociology and a degree in criminal justice from Roger Williams University. Their thesis explored the history of queer anthropology and how it was shaped by the AIDS epidemic. They spent time working for Athlete Ally, a nonprofit defending the rights of queer athletes, which spurred them to enter law school. They currently act as the secretary for the UMass chapter of NLG and as the president of OutLaw, the queer law student group on campus. After graduating law school they hope to continue their work of queer advocacy and giving a voice to underrepresented communities.

Rebecca Wood is a 2L Public Interest Law Fellow at the University of Massachusetts School of Law and president of the UMass Law NLG chapter. Rebecca graduated with a BSW from James Madison University. Her plans for graduate school were put on hold indefinitely when her daughter, Charlie, was delivered ten hours into her twenty sixth week of gestation. Rebecca’s first time on Capitol Hill and her active policy engagement began in January of 2017 when she joined the fight to save the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. It was during this time that she was introduced to the NLG through her participation in various actions. Since then, Wood has worked with many organizations and offices on Capitol Hill and Beacon Hill. Most notable, she told her and Charlie’s story at the introduction of Senator Sanders’ Medicare For All Act of 2017 and testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee hearing on Pathways to Universal Coverage in June 2019. Wood and her daughter moved to Massachusetts in 2019. Experiences with public education and food insecurity motivated her to work in those areas as well, including the successful push for universal school meals in Massachusetts. Rebecca was recognized for her effective advocacy and service in 2017 by The ARC of Virginia as a Catalyst For Change and was the 2019 R. Ann Meyers Distinguished Social Work Alumni Award recipient. Additionally, Rebecca was a 2024 Rappaport Fellow in Law and Public Policy.

Danya Zituni is the Communications Manager at Palestine Legal, where she oversees the organization's communications strategy in defense of the civil and constitutional rights of people speaking out for Palestinian freedom. Danya has dedicated her career to developing dynamic communications, programming, and organizing strategies to advance the rights of marginalized communities.