Turning Crisis Into Opportunity

Makani Themba is Chief Strategist at Higher Ground Change Strategies based in Detroit, Michigan. Previously, Makani served as the founder and executive director of The Praxis Project, a nonprofit organization helping communities use media and policy advocacy to advance health justice. Makani has published numerous articles, books, and case studies on race, class, media, policy advocacy and public health.

Jacobo Rivero Rodríguez:Trabajo en el Ayuntamiento de Madrid en el Área de Cultura y Deportes. Periodista, he trabajado para varios medios de comunicación españoles e internacionales. Autor de dos libros sobre Podemos: Conversación con Pablo Iglesias( 2014) y Podemos. Objetivo: Asaltar los cielos (2015). Además he escrito tres libros sobre ética y deporte y trabajado como documentalista y asesor de contenidos para cine y tv. Vinculado al activismo social en la ciudad de Madrid.

Kali Akuno is a co-founder and co-director of Cooperation Jackson. He served as the Director of Special Projects and External Funding in the Mayoral Administration of the late Chokwe Lumumba of Jackson, MS. Kali is also an educator, writer, and an organizer with the Malcolm X Grassroots movement.

Erica Smiley is the organizing director for Jobs With Justice. She sits on the board of the Highlander Research and Education Center. In the past, she has organized with community groups such as Progressive Maryland, the Tenants and Workers Support Committee (now Tenants and Workers United) in Virginia, and SEIU Local 500. She was national field director of Choice USA, a pro-choice organization focusing primarily on youth access to reproductive health care. And she previously held the positions of campaign director and senior field organizer for the Southern Region at Jobs With Justice. She is originally from Greensboro, N.C.