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