As the Senior Associate for Partnerships at PJI, I support efforts that extend the voice and influence of PJI across system stakeholders, community groups, and the public. I come with extensive experience in partnership engagement and strategy, working within the nonprofit and educational sectors for over ten years.
Before joining PJI, I co-founded The Hustlers Guild, a nonprofit that uses hip-hop to expand access and opportunity to Black and Latinx youth from low-income households in partnership with violence prevention organizations, detention centers, celebrities, pro-athletes, and Fortune 500 companies. I still serve as a board member, and am proud that their signature campaign, Don’t Shoot Guns Shoot Cameras, garnered tremendous youth involvement and support in the Washington DC area.
I previously worked as an advisor to Secretary Julian Castro at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a Portfolio Lead within the White House Presidential Correspondence Office, and as a high school and middle school history teacher in Philadelphia.
I graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in African-American Studies and Political Science from Yale University, a Master of Philosophy in African Studies from the University of Cambridge, and a Master of Science in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. I am currently a final-year doctoral student at Vanderbilt University.
What inspires you in your work?
Some of my family and friends have been incarcerated. I’m committed to advocating for them with humility and unrelenting passion