New Voices Awards
Year 2007 Competition

Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (Houston) – equips women and men with the tools to build nurturing, functional families through victim and institutional advocacy and through pro bono legal representation to protect and support the victim-survivors of domestic violence. AVDA recognizes that domestic violence in displaced families is on the rise and offers a range of strategies to protect victims, rehabilitate abusers, and serve the whole family. As Katrina Outreach Project Attorney, the Fellow Shailey Gupta-Brietzke will work collaboratively with public and private providers, the courts and law enforcement to design/execute an outreach strategy to improve access to community resources and protections available under Texas family and criminal law for evacuees experiencing domestic violence. She will provide extended legal representation to victims of abuse who relocated to Houston. Ms. Gupta-Brietzke co-founded Aggies for Reproductive Freedom and received her J.D. from the South Texas College of Law in May 2007.

All Congregations Together (ACT) (New Orleans) - a non-profit federation of congregations, working towards positive change in Lafourche and Terrebonne parish. ACT organizes residents through leadership development, issue identification, and direct action to empower them to address the issues that are of concern to themselves, their families, their community, and their congregations. As Community Organizer, the Fellow Denise Moore will train congregations and neighborhood leaders in the principles and concepts of grassroots congregation-based community organizing and effectively organize to improve conditions in their neighborhoods, schools, and communities. She will develop bridges between community members of various races and religions and participate in statewide and national networks to move policy at both state and national levels. Ms. Moore graduated with a M.S. in Guidance and Counseling from Loyola University of New Orleans. She survived Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath at the Convention Center and has seen the impact on her own family.

Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana (New Orleans) – focuses much of its post-Katrina social justice work on investing in resident-led community organizing, capacity building for long-term citizen self-governance, affordable housing, public education, leadership training, community policing, job development, and micro-enterprise. The Fellow Joseph Francois (Joe Blakk) is a local musician in “the most musical city in America” who uses rap and hip hop to educate and organize youth and community members to fight for social change. As Community Organizer for Central and Mid-City, he will work to maximize resident influence over the course of rebuilding through partnerships and direct actions. He will be at the forefront of creating an innovative structure for combining the resources of faith networks, the indigenous musically based “Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs”, and the Hip Hop generation to create a powerful resident voice and force for quality public education, safe neighborhoods, affordable housing, and quality jobs. He will map assets and resources in Central and Mid-City, develop block clubs, and promote co-ops to facilitate the return of the Diaspora. Mr. Francois grew up in the public housing projects of New Orleans and graduated with a B.S. in Computer Science from Southern University.

Gulf Coast Teaching Family Services (Lafayette) - a private, non-profit corporation founded in 1983 in Louisiana. The organization was established to provide comprehensive human service programs and assistance to citizens with special needs. GCTFS is dedicated to establishing and operating community based facilities, services and programs providing consultation, training, and educational services to individuals and their families which promote least restrictive treatment/placement alternatives. As Education Coordinator for Families with Children with Disabilities, the Fellow Lori Foreman will focus on educating families of Special Needs children about various services and resources available to them in their regions, coordinate and facilitate educational trainings, utilize various medias for publicizing the events, collaborate with governmental and other non-profit agencies to identify educational needs, address those needs with workshops, develop a comprehensive resource guide for families and organize groups of consumers to advocate for policy changes. Ms. Foreman is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Services from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is the mother of a child with both physical and mental disabilities and understands personally some of the failures of the health care system both before and after the hurricanes in South Louisiana.

Institute of Women & Ethnic Studies (New Orleans) – works to increase access for women of color to comprehensive and quality reproductive health services. Also challenges women and youth of color to create change in their communities, their families, and themselves through sexual health education, training, and advocacy. The mission of IWES is to improve the physical, mental, and spiritual health and quality of life for women of color and their families. As Sexual Health Literacy and Reproductive Justice Program Coordinator, the Fellow Shani Mandisa Moore will partner with the New Orleans Women’s Health and Justice Initiative to develop a sexual health literacy and reproductive health curriculum and organizing toolkit. She will organize a grassroots base of 100 women and girls of color and cultivate leadership from within that base to help achieve the mission of the organization. She will also facilitate workshops and teach-ins on sexual and reproductive health disparities among women and girls of color, create a 3rd edition of the Reproductive Health Bill of Rights for Women of Color reflecting the experiences, needs and lessons learned by women in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and promote collaborations and coalition building with other local social justice organizations and national partners to build networks and public support for sexual health and reproductive justice. Ms. Moore graduated with a B.A in History from Loyola University New Orleans. She minored in Political Science and Women’s Studies.

Kids Rethinking New Orleans' Schools (New Orleans) – elevates the voices of the city’s young people so they are able to influence the public policy-making process affecting the quality of public education. Develops the leadership of middle school youth through a multi-stage program that facilitates youth visioning and evaluation of their schools, depicting their concepts in art products, architectural models, and written publications, creating media products, and speaking at news conferences and public fora. The leadership capacity and voice of youth is developed through a variety of means and direct actions. As Rethink Coordinator, the Fellow Vedisia (Dee Dee) Green will recruit youth from the Black, Latino, and Vietnamese communities to participate in the program; she will facilitate and supervise mentoring relationships with the youth, design a national publicity effort, and coordinate communications with policy-makers. Ms. Green graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Mississippi State Conference NAACP (Jackson) – ensures the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and works to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. As Research Fellow, Constance Harvey-Burwell will provide research and organizing support for the State NAACP office and the local communities it serves. She will work to strengthen local housing coalitions to address the needs of hurricane victims, build a statewide housing network, collect housing data and issue new reports, monitor the lending practices of financial institutions, analyze the use and distribution of community development block grant funds, and connect local constituencies with African-American policy makers. Ms. Harvey-Burwell graduated with a M.A. in Geography and Economic Development from Chicago State University in May 2007. Her project will include using GIS systems to map community development projects and social justice advocacy campaigns.

National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies/Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation (New Orleans) – improves social and economic justice in Vietnamese communities by transforming Vietnamese social service agencies, developing future non-profit leaders, and advocating for increased public and private resources for the community. As Gulf Coast Organizer, the Fellow Mai Thuy Tran Dang will lead the Campaign to Reclaim and Rebuild that will empower Vietnamese refugees in New Orleans and Biloxi to protect and advance their rights: to return, reclaim and rebuild their homes and communities, participate in public planning processes, gain access to public resources, access living wage jobs, affordable housing, health care, and education, and form a government that represents the diversity and interests of all people. Ms. Dang was recipient of a Smithsonian Minority Internship Award and graduated with a B.A. in Women’s Studies from George Washington University.

Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans (New Orleans) – revitalizes communities by increasing the number of homeowners and transforming vacant or substandard properties into sustainable homeownership as well as improving quality of life of residents through targeted community and leadership development, education, and collaboration. As Community Center Director, the Fellow Stephanie McKee will develop and implement resident-driven activities to improve the quality of life of the community in the 7th Ward neighborhood, managing a community center and developing new programs. She will work to identify and promote community-based leadership to improve economic and social conditions and build relationships and networks with a variety of stakeholders (e.g., local schools, businesses, universities, etc.). Ms. McKee attended two Urban Bush Women Summer Leadership Institutes, Florida State University, and Howard University.

New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice (New Orleans) – founded in response to the stark exclusion of African American workers and the brutal exploitation of immigrant workers in the aftermath of the Hurricane, the organization is dedicated to organizing workers across lines of race and industry, building grassroots worker leadership, power, and participation, and achieving a just reconstruction of New Orleans. As Immigrant Rights Organizer, the Fellow Jacinta Gonzalez Goodman will conduct outreach on day laborer corners throughout the city to create awareness of rights and issues affecting low-wage immigrant workers post-Katrina, build leadership capacity within the Day Laborer Congress that can translate into structural change, design and launch worker-led campaigns (including guest workers), conduct field research on exploitative companies, and develop allies with the faith community and other constituencies. Ms. Gonzalez graduated with a B.A. in Latin American Studies from Wesleyan University.

Safe Streets - Strong Communities (New Orleans) - is a membership organization that runs campaigns to transform the New Orleans criminal justice system into one that creates safe streets and strong communities for everyone regardless of race or income. Safe Streets envisions a system that uses innovation and best practices to keep people safe from all forms of violence and crime including street violence, domestic violence, and law enforcement violence. As Organizer, the Fellow Robert Goodman will conduct outreach to recruit new members; coordinate advocacy efforts; engage police brutality victims, former prisoners, and family members in campaigns; and develop new leadership to work for a stronger community. Mr. Goodman spent 14 years of his life in the Louisiana Prison System where he organized other prisoners to fight for their rights. The work will include advocacy for prison reform and improved services and supports for former prisoners. In May of 2006, his unarmed, mentally ill brother was killed by the New Orleans Police Department. Since then, he has been actively engaged as a volunteer and looks forward to full-time organizing. He holds a General Equivalency Diploma.

U.S. Human Rights Network (Atlanta) – promotes U.S. accountability to universal human rights standards by building linkages between organizations and individuals working on human rights issues, strives towards building a human rights culture that puts those directly affected by human rights violations in a central leadership role, and works towards connecting the U.S. human rights movement with the broader U.S. social justice movement and human rights movements around the world. As Research Associate/ Coordinator, the Fellow Tonya Williams will be responsible for outreach, organizing, and advancing a human rights campaign that recognizes and respects the human rights of displaced Gulf Coast residents (who are internally displaced persons under international human rights doctrine). She will, among other things, train and organize students at key Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s) to cultivate a cadre of youth activists employing human rights discourse to confront and combat social, economic, and political injustices. Ms. Williams is a PhD candidate at the Department of Political Science at Clark Atlanta University.