ABOUT
482 FORWARD


MEET OUR STAFF


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ARLYSSA HEARD

pronouns: she/her
Deputy Director / Lead Organizer, 482LAW
arlyssa@482forward.org
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JERRICA MICKENS

pronouns: she/her
Lead Organizer, 482Vote
jerrica@482forward.org
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JUANITA ZUNIGA

pronouns: she/her
Lead Organizer, YOC
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KRYSTINA WILSON-KENDRICK

pronouns: she/her
Lead Organizer, NEAT / Membership Lead
krystina@482forward.org
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MOLLY SWEENEY

pronouns: she/her
Director of Organizing / Co-chair, MEJC
molly@482forward.org
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STACI LOWRY

pronouns: she/her
Lead Organizer, AOC
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TINU USORO

pronouns: she/her
Lead Organizer, HEAT
tinu@482forward.org
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TRINA TOCCO

pronouns: she/her
Director, MEJC
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IMANI HARRIS

pronouns: she/her
Communications Lead
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Mohammad Muntakim

DMYC
m.muntakim@482forward.org
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Daisy Recinos

ELITE
drecinos@unidetroit.org
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Mariam Bazzi

JIRON
mbazzi@accesscommunity.org
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Yvonne Navarete

MI Students Dream
yvonnegnavarrete@gmail.com
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Cristal Rivas

PODER
crivas@dhdc1.org
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Kammy Webb

pronouns: she/her
Kammy@482forward.org

MEET OUR BOARD


482Forward's board includes members skilled in board governance, elected member representatives from each of our Action Teams, and the director from each of our network member organizations (Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, Detroit Action, Urban Neighborhood Initiatives, Brilliant Detroit, Total Life Christian Ministries, MIStudentsDream, Developing K.I.D.S., Brightmoor Alliance, Congress of Communities, ACCESS, and Detroit Heals Detroit.
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ANGELA REYES

pronouns: she/her
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BRANDEN SNYDER

pronouns: he/him
Director, Detroit Action
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CHRISTINE BELL

pronouns: she/her
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CINDY EGGLETON

pronouns: she/her
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DARYL HARRIS

pronouns: he/him
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EMILY GONZALEZ

pronouns: she/her
Member, 482Youth Organizing Collective
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HELENA LAZO

pronouns: she/her
482Forward Founder
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INES DE JESUS

pronouns: she/her
482Forward Founder
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JAMILA MARTIN

pronouns: she/her
At-Large Member, 482Forward
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JAYESH PATEL

pronouns: she/her
At-Large Member, 482Forward

JESSICA MASON

pronouns: she/her
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Member, 482Youth Organizing Collective
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KELSEY WILEY

pronouns: she/her
Member, MIStudentsDream Action Team
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KIM JOHNSON-NEWBERRY

pronouns: she/her
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LARRY SIMMONS

pronouns: he/him
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MARIA SALINAS

(pronouns: she/her)
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MAURICE BP-WEEKS

pronouns: he/him
At-Large Member, 482Forward
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MARILYN BALL

pronouns: she/her
Member, Northeast Education Action Team (NEAT)
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RIMA MEROUEH

pronouns: she/her
Director National Network for Arab American Communities, ACCESS
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SIRRITA DARBY

pronouns: she/her
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STEPHANIE JOHNSON-COBB

pronouns: she/her
Member, Hope Village Education Action Team (HEAT)
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TINU ROLAND

pronouns: she/her
Member, Hope Village Education Action Team (HEAT)
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YOLANDA ZAYAS

pronouns: she/her
Member, Padres Organizando Demandan Educación Real (PODER)

ACTION TEAMS


An Action Team is the basic building block of 482Forward. Action Teams are responsible for training members to lead local campaigns, listening, and spreading the word in the community that they serve. They are usually made up participants from the Organizational Member that is hosting that Action Team.
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BRIGHTMOOR EDUCATION ACTION TEAM (BEAT)

The BEAT (Brightmoor Education Action Team) is located in the Brightmoor neighborhood on the west side of Detroit, and is supported by Brightmoor Alliance. They are currently focused on addressing the root causes of trauma in the neighborhood by building a center that will provide trauma-informed care and other mental health services for students and families across Brightmoor.

Led by Molly Sweeney (Molly@482forward.org) and Jerrica Mickens (Jerrica@482forward.org)

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DETROIT MUSLIM YOUTH COUNCIL (DMYC)

The Detroit Muslim Youth Council is a citywide Action Team that officially launched in February 2022. The team came out of a successful campaign advocating for Eid to be added as a holiday to the DPSCD calendar. This year, the adult chairs and student members will be building out their first campaign.

Led by Mohammad Muntakim (m.muntakim@482forward.org)

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ENGAGED LEADERS INITIATING TOMORROW'S EDUCATION (ELITE)

The ELITE team is located in southwest Detroit and is supported by Urban Neighborhood Initiatives. They are currently focused on advocating for expanded mental health services and supports across DPSCD.

Led by Daisy Recinos (drecinos@unidetroit.org)

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JOIN IN TO REVITALIZE OUR NEIGHBORHOOD (JIRON)

JIRON (Join In to Revitalize Our Neighborhood) is supported by ACCESS, which has centers located in Dearborn, Sterling Heights, Ferndale, and Detroit. They are currently focused on advocating for expanded mental health services across DPSCD.

Led by Mariam Bazzi (mbazzi@accesscommunity.org)

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MI STUDENTS DREAM ACTION TEAM

MI Students Dream supports an action team in southwest Detroit that is currently advocating for an ethnic studies curriculum that would be used in all Detroit schools.

Led by Yvonne Navarete (yvonnegnavarrete@gmail.com) and Matt Homrich-Knieling (matthewknieling@gmail.com)

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NORTHEAST EDUCATION ACTION TEAM (NEAT)

The NEAT (Northeast Education Action Team) is located on the east side of Detroit, and is supported by True Life Christian Ministries. They are currently focused on continuing their multi-year work on defining what safety looks like in schools, and advocating for an end to current practices and policies that make schools unsafe for students.

Led by Krystina Wilson-Kendrick (Krystina@482forward.org)

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PADRES ORGANIZANDO DEMANDAN EDUCACIÓN REAL (PODER)

PODER (Padres Organizando Demandan Educación Real) is located in southwest Detroit, and is supported by Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation. They are currently focused on advocating for language accessibility for the hundreds of families across the district who need it for report cards, letters home, robocalls, events, board meetings, and much more.

Led by Cristal Rivas (crivas@dhdc1.org)

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TAKING ACTION FOR NUESTROS NIÑOS (TANN)

TANN (Taking Action for Nuestros Niños) is located in southwest Detroit, and is supported by Congress of Communities.They are currently focused on advocating for culturally competent mental health services for students across DPSCD.

Led by Cristian Aranda (cristian@cocswdetroit.com)

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NETWORK COMMITTEES


If we do not have an Action Team in your neighbor-hood, you may want to participate instead by joining a Network Committee. Network Committees support our campaigns by training our members to be experts in the committee's area of focus.
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482FACT

The FACT team focuses on research that seeds and supports our organizing campaigns.

Led by Imani Harris (Imani@482forward.org)

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482LAW

The LAW team tracks and analyzes legislation relevant to education justice, as well as engages with current electeds around our campaigns.

Led by Arlyssa Heard (Arlyssa@482forward.org)

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482TALKS

The Talks team generates media to spread the word about our campaigns and educate the public about key issues.

Led by Imani Harris (Imani@482forward.org)

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482TRAIN

The Train team develops skill- and knowledge-building trainings most relevant to our work. The Adult Organizing Collective Fellowship (details below) is a 482Train project.
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482VOTE

The Vote team engages our members and our communities to turn out informed voters in local, statewide, and federal elections.

Led by Jerrica Mickens (Jerrica@482forward.org)

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ADULT ORGANIZING COLLECTIVE (AOC)

AOC is an application-based opportunity wherein AOC Fellows deepen their skills around organizing through hands-on work within our organization and monthly trainings.

Led by Staci Lowry (Staci@482forward.org)

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MICHIGAN EDUCATION JUSTICE COALITION (MEJC)

MEJC is a statewide coalition led by 482Forward that is working to ensure ALL students in MI have equitable access to their educational needs.

Led by Trina Tocco (Trina@miedjustice.org)

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YOUTH ORGANIZING COLLECTIVE (YOC)

The Youth Organizing Committee is made up of representatives from each youth action team, as well as direct members of 482Forward. They are currently focused on advocating for $100million that has been allocated to School Resource Officers and increased policing instead go toward more mental health counselors and supports in DPSCD schools.

Led by Juanita Zuniga (Juanita@482forward.org)


NETWORK PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS