ANNOUNCING THE 2024 TRANSFORMATIVE LEADER COHORT!
Designed and facilitated by Leigh Solomon Pugliano, the Transformative Leader Program (TLP) is an 8-month leadership development program for social impact, social justice, and nonprofit leaders. It is designed to recognize leaders for their work and support them in building strategies that navigate existing barriers and lead to sustainable change. This program offers change-driven leaders the opportunity to learn and build skills to navigate systems change, improve operations and efficiency, and build relationships with like-minded peers. This year’s cohort is an exceptional group of leaders making an impact across sectors.
Congratulations to:
Ahmed Tacumba Turner
Brandon Bond
D’Anna Smith
Hailee Bryant-Roye
Jenna Baron
Jessica Estelle Huggins
Medina Jackson
Ninel Nekay
Rachel June Hopkins
Sean Beauford
MEET THE COHORT
AHMED TACUMBA TURNER
Pittsburgh, PA
TACUMBA is a native of Pittsburgh and a self-taught curator, creative
space maker, D.J., and founder of The Future Is Black, an arts and culture
series established in 2019. He seeks to steward a community and
ecosystem around forward-thinking, progressive BPIOC artists.
BRANDON BOND
Van Buren Twp, MI
Brandon Bond is the LSA Mental Health & Well-Being Student Advocate at
the University of Michigan (U-M) who is focused on driving systemic
changes by integrating DEI and public mental health strategies into
policies, programs, and structures. He holds a BA, MPH, and MSW from
U-M. Brandon’s expertise spans from guiding organizations through
developing DEI strategic plans, advising and implementing marketing
strategies for a national QTPOC+ centered mental health campaign,
providing individual and group multicultural wellness coaching,
orchestrating integrative wellness interventions, strengthening nonprofit
governance, and promoting justice-oriented initiatives as a Human Rights
Commissioner for the City of Ann Arbor.
D’ANNA SMITH
Metairie, LA
Born and raised in Chicago, IL, I first came to New Orleans to attend Xavier
University of Louisiana. Over the past decade, I’ve navigated various
industries, honing my business skills as an HR Business Partner. Here in
New Orleans, I’ve spent the last four years championing social justice with
three community-based organizations. Now, fueled by my passions for
affecting change, literacy, and community empowerment, I’m committed to
launching a nonprofit initiative, bringing free books to underserved
communities.
HAILEE BRYANT-ROYE
Pittsburgh, PA
Hailee B. Roye, a Pittsburgh native and first-generation college student,
has embarked on a career journey marked by growth and dedication. Her
passion lies in enhancing the early learning experiences of young children
through advocacy and policy strategies. With a Bachelor’s in Early
Childhood from Tennessee State University and a Master’s in Public Policy
from Vanderbilt University, she currently serves as Practice and Policy
Manager at Trying Together.
JENNA BARON
Pittsburgh, PA
Jenna Baron is the Executive Director of ARYSE. She holds a bachelor’s
degree from the University of Pittsburgh ’13 in Anthropology, is a Fulbright
Scholar, Humanity in Action John Lewis Fellow, New Leaders Council
Pittsburgh Alumna, a board member of the World Affairs Council of
Pittsburgh, and in 2019, was recognized as one of Pittsburgh’s 40 Under
40. Jenna is passionate about building relationships and working with people
dedicated to taking meaningful action to create equity and systemic
change. She is originally from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, sings with the
Renaissance City Choir, and is the proud mom of her son, Loch.
JESSICA ESTELLE HUGGINS
Boston, MA
Jessica Estelle Huggins is a Boston native and an acclaimed Filmmaker.
Various films that she has produced have been accepted into dozens of
film festivals around the country and have received awards. Titles include
The Mural Master, Memoirs of A Black Girl, Chi~Voices: A Poetic Film
Series, Perfect Day and more. Huggins has served as a production,
distribution and impact strategist for many documentary organizations
including Brave New Films, ITVS, Documentary Educational Resources,
The Redford Center and Picture Motion. In 2019, Huggins was granted the
inaugural New England Film Star Award. Huggins currently works as the
in-house producer at Another Age Productions, Emmy award-winning
production company focusing on original content. Recently, Huggins
started her appointment as board member and Director of Membership for
The Secret Society of Black Creatives (SSBC). Huggins continues to
develop multifaceted characters while honing in on stories about Black
Americans in her personal film work.
MEDINA JACKSON
Pittsburgh, PA
Medina Jackson, MSW is the Director of Engagement for The University of
Pittsburgh’s P.R.I.D.E. Program (Positive Racial Identity Development in
Early Education), and co-facilitator of the Black Transformative Arts
Network. She is also a poet and spoken word artist, writer, mother, and
creative producer. Medina is the 2024 recipient of the University of
Pittsburgh’s K. Leroy Irvis Social Justice Award for African Americans and
the Arts, 2021 University of Pittsburgh Chancellor’s Award for Staff in the
area of Community Engagement, and 2017 recipient of the Pittsburgh 40
Under 40 Awards. She is originally from Berkeley, CA.
NINEL NEKAY
Douglasville, GA
Ninel Nekay (preferably known as Nzzy) is a Jamaican-American
Southerner and interdisciplinary cultural worker whose art demonstrates
the stifled desires and salvation of Black non-men in the American South.
As a poet, filmmaker, organizer, and student of apocalypticism through a
bicultural lens, she entices fellow worldbuilders to reimagine their agency
by flirting with the past to form crushes on the future that make pursuing
tomorrow worthwhile. With drawl and sincerity, Nzzy antagonizes ableism,
Black femicide, imperialism, and the regional disparities that
disproportionately affect Black non-men who exist below the Mason-Dixon.
RACHEL JUNE HOPKINS
Pittsburgh, PA
Rachel Hopkins serves as the Director of Equity and Belonging at the
Pittsburgh Glass Center and Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, PA. During
the past four years, Rachel has designed, implemented, and evaluated
equity-focused educational interventions in higher education, K-12, and
nonprofit contexts. Committed to antiracism and transformative pedagogy,
Rachel has presented at the Pittsburgh Racial Justice Summit and Center
for Urban Education Summer Educator Forum, and in University of
Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University classes. Rachel has a
bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology with a social work minor
and is currently completing the Education Policy PhD program at Pitt.
SEAN BEAUFORD
Pittsburgh, PA
Sean Beauford is an arts producer, writer, and educator based in
Pittsburgh, PA. He currently works alongside Duolingo as a Community
Engagement Specialist, and is an Adjunct Professor of Art at Carnegie
Mellon’s School of Art. His work is dedicated to producing publicly accessible opportunities for
learning and creative engagement. Sean seeks to collaborate as often as
possible, as believes the sum of our resources has the potential to be
more impactful than our individual efforts.
SAVE THE DATE!
AMPLIFY: Celebrating Transformative Leaders
November 1-2
6PM