Mina is an organizer, trainer, facilitator, and coalition builder. She has been engaged in student, community and labor organizing for the past 10+ years, working on various campaigns including union recognition, efforts for just trade policies, housing justice, and more. Currently, Mina is the Network Engagement Organizer at Jobs With Justice. In addition to organizing and strategizing on campaigns, Mina is passionate about training, supporting leadership development, designing curricula and facilitating spaces to learn from each other.

Tierra has eight years of experience as a community organizer, advocate and trainer. She began her advocacy as a law student working on access to justice issues in North Carolina. Upon becoming an attorney her passion for justice led her to become a faith-based community organizer with Equality North Carolina where she organized affirming clergy to foster and sustain LGBTQ affirming faith spaces. She moved back to her home state of Virginia to serve as the Director of the Virginia Progressive Leadership Project (VAPLP), a leadership development pipeline project of the Virginia Civic Engagement Table (VCET). As Director she continues to expand and design a values-driven leadership development program that recruits, trains and uplifts diverse leaders across the Commonwealth. In addition to directing the leadership development she also serves as the Deputy Executive Director of the Virginia Civic Engagement Table (VCET). VCET is committed to building progressive power in Virginia that prioritizes economic, social, environmental, gender, and especially racial justice. Tierra has conducted numerous trainings and workshops for activists, attorneys and nonprofit organizations. She currently lives in Richmond VA.

Dr. Shanequa Smith’s life illustrates how knowledge, opportunity, and faith can supersede the effects of systematic oppressions and generational traumas. Growing up in Harlem, New York City, at the height of the crack epidemic, Shanequa has lived and witnessed how limited exposure to opportunities can often create a cycle of frustration and continued poverty. To break this cycle, in 2002 Shanequa moved to Charleston, WV, with the hopes of raising her children in a more positive environment.

Today, Dr. Shanequa Smith is a Restorative Practitioner with a focus on assisting in the process of healing the well-being of individuals who have been systematically oppressed. Her work focuses on engaging with individuals, families, communities, and institutions to acknowledge, address, and dismantle systematic oppressions through the bridging of relationships and synergizing collaborative opportunities.

This Fellowship is named in honor of TFC Training Elder Judith C. Jones, Ph.D. Also known as “Diva Bear,” Judith worked with Training for Change for over a decade and for years was lead trainer in TFC’s Training for Social Action Trainers and Advanced Training of Trainer workshops. Judith grew up in Philadelphia, received her doctorate in Political Science from Atlanta University, and has taught at Penn State University and at Philadelphia University. Judith is also co-author of “Two Voices from the Front Line: A Conversation about Race in the Classroom,” included in the award winning anthology “Race in the College Classroom,” published by Rutgers University Press. She has led diversity and conflict workshops for a diverse client base and has served as a guide and role model to many TFC Trainers.