THE BOARD
MICHAEL "BEATZILLA" WHITMORE
Treasurer
Singer, Song Writer, Show MC/Host, Self taught chef, Husband & Father, social activist.
IG: beatzillapdx
SANOBA HAYES
Secretary
I am a wife a sister and a daughter of formerly incarcerated men. I have experienced the effects first hand of having a loved one in the system and making the transition out of the system. My desire is to assist and support formerly incarcerated individuals and their families.
BEN JAMES HALL
Former Board Member
Ben is from Portland and served 22 years in prison. He's an activist a writer and he believes strongly in world building as a means to tear down oppressive systems. He came out of prison awake. He is a prison abolitionist and believes building strong relationships where it is the intangibles that grow strong cracking the foundations of the prison.
In loving memory of our friend Ben Hall
GRACE HENNESSEY MCMICKENS
Board Member
Grace was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York before moving to Portland, Oregon to attend Lewis & Clark College where she majored in Sociology & Anthropology and minored in Gender Studies. She graduated in 2019 after completing a thesis entitled “Good Mothers & Others: Policing Marginalized Motherhoods in the Carceral State”. Since 2016 Grace has worked closely with the grassroots organization Brown Girl Rise. As a volunteer, board member, and now program coordinator for BGR, she has developed a fierce commitment to youth and family advocacy especially for youth living in the intersections of multiple marginalized identities.
ACTIVE VOLUNTEERS
Based on Deepa Iyer's MAPPING OUR ROLES IN A SOCIAL CHANGE ECOSYSTEM, each volunteer chose 2-3 roles to describe their part in Liberation Literacy.
Terrence Hayes
Community Builder Adviser
Pronouns: he/him/his
Sandy Hart
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Roles: Weaver, Builder, & Guider
Queaz Otti
Pronouns: he/him/his
Roles: Builder & Visionary
Natasha Sanchez Perez
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Roles: Weaver, Builder, & Caregiver
Annie Reynolds
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Roles: Weaver, Builder, & Caregiver
Simone Wood
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Roles: Builder, Weaver, & Caregiver
Henea Sadie De Savy
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Roles: Caregiver & Visionary
Abhi Rajshekar
Pronouns: he/him/his
Roles: Weaver, Builder, & Storyteller
Maddox Zhang
Pronouns: Any pronouns
Roles: Builder & Weaver
Nick Hensel
Pronouns: they/them/theirs
Roles: Builder, Weaver, and Caregiver
Julie Oatfield
Pronouns: they/them/theirs
Roles: Experimenter & Weaver
Aurianna Oricchio
Pronouns: Any pronouns
Role: Disruptor
Diane Keefauver
Pronouns: Comrade
Roles: Disruptor and Caregiver
Musonda Reuben Mwango
Pronouns: he/him/his
Roles: Visionary, Storyteller, & Guider