The Highland Project is honored to announce the inaugural cohort of Highland Leaders: 15 powerful change-agents from across the country with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.
Highland Signing Day Playlist"I am Amanda Alexander. I build community power and cultivate joy and imagination. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Detroit, MI
Role
Founder of the Detroit Justice Center; Host of Freedom Dreams podcast
"I am Ramatu Bangura. I am a strategist and community-builder. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Beltsville, MD
Role
Black Feminist Strategist; Executive Director of the Children's Rights Innovation Fund
"I am Rhonda Broussard. I am building communities of care. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
New Orleans, LA
Role
Founder & CEO of Beloved Community; Author; Maman bilingue
"I am LaTosha Brown. I am a narrative shifter and institution builder. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Atlanta, GA
Role
Founder of Truthspeaks & Southern Black Girls and Women's Consortium
"I am Mary-Pat Hector. I am neither the past nor the future, I am the now. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Lithonia, GA
Role
Spelman Graduate; Strategist; Advocate; Daughter
"I am Kaya Henderson. I am a fighter for educational justice for our young people. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Washington, D.C.
Role
CEO of Reconstruction; Co-host of Pod Save the People
"I am Representative Leslie Herod. I am a force for change. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Denver, CO
Role
First LGBTQ African American to hold elected office in CO; Adventurer; Lover of the arts; Dog mom
"I am Shelley Jackson. I am an organizer and facilitator working towards a world where our communities can thrive. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Phoenix, AZ
Role
Instituto Program Director; RSD Governing Board Member; Artist; Daughter; Sister; Aunt
"I am Carolene Mays. I am inspiring hope and influencing leadership towards purpose. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Indianapolis, IN
Role
Founder of Inspiring Leadership, LLC and Black Leadership & Legacies, Inc.
"I am Katara McCarty. I am an emotional well-being advocate. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Indianapolis, IN
Role
Founder & CEO Katecha Corp; Creator of Exhale App; Healer
"I am Aisha Nyandoro. I am a disruptor of the status quo and a builder of new possibilities. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Jackson, MS
Role
CEO of Springboard To Opportunities; Architect of the Magnolia Mother's Trust; Wife; Mother
"I am Dr. Stella Safo. I am reimagining healthcare models for historically marginalized populations. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Brooklyn, NY
Role
HIV Primary Care Doctor; Founder of Just Equity for Health - a healthcare improvement company committed to creating equitable care models
"I am Topeka K. Sam. I am E.P.I.C. (Ending Poverty and InCarceration). I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Miami, FL
Role
Founder & CEO of The Ladies of Hope Ministries, Inc.; CEO of EPIC Financial Solutions PB LLC, TKS Ventures LLC, and Faces & Voices Inc.
"I am Janice Tennant. I am striving to make the outdoors more inclusive to all people. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
East Grand Rapids, MI
Role
Merrell Global Chief Marketing Officer
"I am Monique Wilson. I am a dreamer and a catalyst for change. I am a powerful Black woman."
Current Location
Chicago, IL
Role
Senior Director of Investments at Chicago Beyond; Neighbor; Daughter; Wife-to-be