Authors

Alexa Borromeo (she/her) is a Filipina multimedia artist, community organizer, and experienced DE&I facilitator. Alexa is Founder & Principal Consultant for Alexa Borromeo Creative & Community Consulting and she also serves as Communications Officer at the Skillman Foundation. Before that, she led Focus: HOPE’s Generation of Promise Program, a social justice and youth leadership program serving 15 Metro Detroit high schools. At Focus: HOPE, she also provided customized DE&I training and facilitation and creative services in corporate and non-profit sectors across Southeast Michigan.

Tory Cross (she/her) is a disabled queer survivor, organizer, and disability advocate. Tory graduated with her Masters of Science in Public Health in 2017 from Johns Hopkins, where she focused on public health policy and poverty. Her past work includes policy research and analysis, advocacy, and staffing progressive campaigns, including providing accessibility guidance and advising on disability policy. She currently serves as the Senior Policy & Legislative Lead at Be a Hero, the health care justice organization founded by Ady Barkan.

Sara Fisch (she/her) is a disabled organizer from New York with a passion for making every community more accessible. As Co-Director of Neighborhood Access, she collaborates with political campaigns, social justice organizations, small businesses and large companies to make their content and practices more accessible to the disabled community. She was an Organizing Fellow, GOTV Organizer, and Disability Policy Advisor on Mondaire Jones’ congressional primary campaign and was a Field Organizer on the Iowa Democratic Party’s Coordinated Campaign for the general election. Most recently, she advised on Rebecca Lamorte’s New York City Council campaign while finishing her Associates in Human Development at Penn State University.

Jules Good (they/them) is a multiply-disabled disability justice activist. They are the Founder and Consulting Lead at Neighborhood Access, which works with organizations to help them make their presence, processes, and practices accessible to the disabled community. They are passionate about making civic engagement accessible and playing a part in creating a democracy where the most marginalized perspectives are taken into account. Jules holds their Master in Public Policy from the University of New Hampshire. 

Jasahn M. Larsosa is a community and social justice organizer, business and DEI strategist, and nonprofit leader serving currently as Founding Director of Advocacy, Equity, & Community Empowerment for the Detroit-based and nationally renowned civil rights and human services organization Focus: HOPE. He’s a co-Principal Investigator for Community-Based Participatory Research projects addressing mass incarceration, economic justice, and mental wellness. He’s co-owner of the community and economic development firm Black America Rising. He lives in Detroit with his wife Krystal Larsosa and their three brilliant and beautiful Black daughters known collectively as the HerSheKissis.

Tova Perlmutter (she/her), Special Projects Consultant at Detroit Disability Power (DDP), has over 30 years of experience helping progressive initiatives obtain and use resources to advance social change. In 2020, she managed DDP’s get-out-the-vote campaign, leading a diverse team of 11 who reached over a quarter of a million voters in Southeast Michigan. Before that, she was part of the leadership team at nonprofit media outlet Mondoweiss.net and served as Executive Director of the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, a Detroit-based national nonprofit dedicated to advancing the rights of working people and their communities. Tova’s work with DDP has been healing and awakening, as she has learned to recognize and draw on her own experience as a disabled person.

Eric Welsby is an activist, educator, entrepreneur and nonprofit manager. He has provided project management and strategic planning support to a number of organizations, including the Michigan AFL-CIO and numerous political and lobbying campaigns. He operates his own political consulting business and serves as Project Manager for Advocacy, Equity & Community Empowerment at Focus: HOPE. Welsby has taught at Saginaw Valley State University and Delta College. He has expertise as a trainer, facilitator, content expert and consultant, on topics including government, politics, DE&I and strategic planning.

Readers of Early Drafts

Sarah Blahovec is a disability rights advocate and activist. She currently works as the Voting and Civic Engagement Director for the National Council on Independent Living, where she advocates for greater accessibility in elections; educates the disability community on voting rights and works to energize a disability voting bloc; and addresses barriers to running for office for people with disabilities. Sarah is the creator of Elevate: Campaign Training for People with Disabilities, the first national training program on running for office for people with disabilities.

Kareem Jones is the director of data and technology at Community Outreach Group. He oversees a team that analyzes progressive programs, provides support and training to organizers, and tracks campaign outreach. He's a board member and senior trainer for Generation Data, a non-profit that offers progressive data training for free or at a low cost.

Jamila Martin is the Michigan State Advisor at Movement Voter Project. Before joining MVP, she was a student, labor, and community organizer for 15 years. 

Laura Misumi (she/her) is a fourth-generation Japanese-American who believes strongly in building the capacity for people to come together to exercise their collective power, grounded in their history and identity. She is Director of Special Projects for Rising Voices, a project of the Center for Empowered Politics, and previously served as its founding Executive Director. She also served as Managing Director for Detroit Action, a grassroots community-based organization building power for workers and Detroiters of color.

Vanessa Velazquez is the Field Director at Detroit Action. She comes from a proud Puerto Rican household which influenced her passion for politics at a young age. She received a B.A. in World Politics and a minor in Peace & Justice from Michigan State University. Vanessa works with her community to leave a lasting impact.