See our RAD Institute (c3) board members at rights-democracy.org/board
See our RAD Institute (c3) board members at rights-democracy.org/board
ALYSSA BROWN
At-Large
Alyssa is a licensed clinical social worker and long time mental health and social justice activist in New England. As a New Hampshire native and a Vermont resident, Alyssa has roots in both states. She brings a wealth of experience with and knowledge of the culture and climate of both Vermont and New Hampshire.
JO SABEL COURTNEY
VT
Jo has been a RAD Member for 5 years, has served on numerous boards and committees, and is Trustee and Development Committee Chair for the Vermont Arts Council. Jo helped organize March for Our Lives, the Let Equality Bloom Festival, and the VT Women’s March 2019 and 2020. She was an At-Large Delegate, DNC for Bernie Sanders 2016, a dedicated Bernie volunteer, a 2020 Alumni of Emerge Vermont, and a 2020 VT State Rep candidate.
SHERRY FROST
NH
Sherry is a progressive activist and educator working in the Seacoast area of NH. Her professional focus is race and history in the U.S., particularly the colonial era and the Civil Rights movement, and she has done a significant amount of anti-racist study and practice. She will serve her final term in the NH House of Representatives in the 20-22 term.
STEFFEN GILLOM
VT
DANA HACKETT
NH
Dana Hackett joins the board with a wealth of experience as a longtime New Hampshire resident, low income single working parent, and fierce advocate for intersectional justice. In the summer of 2020, Dana was one of the five activists arrested at the New Hampshire State House in protest of the passage of the divisive state budget. She looks forward to stepping into this new role within Rights & Democracy to help further the mission for collective liberation, justice, and equity for all.
TOM HALEY
VT
Tom Haley was born and raised in Bennington, Vermont, and is one of the first members of the Bennington RAD chapter. Tom currently sits on the Bennington Select Board, and is a former chair of Bennington Town Democrats and Bennington County Democrats.
JEETAN KHADKA
VT
Jeetan works as an Employment & Training Counselor with the Association of Africans living in Vermont (AALV, Inc). Before this, Jeetan managed and owned Nepali Kitchen of Essex Junction. Jeetan has also worked with the UN Sustainable Development Goals project, Spectrum Youth & Family Services, the Burlington Community & Economic Development Office, and served as Commissioner of Burlington’s Parks & Recreation Department.
GRACE KINDEKE
NH
Grace Kindeke is an artist, activist, dancer, community organizer and a B.A. student of Africana Studies and Sociology at UMASS Boston. She was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and raised in NH. She is an avid reader, thinker and a fierce advocate for justice and liberation, grounding her work in a Black feminist, afro-futurist and anti-oppression practice.
KRISTEN LAINE
Vice Chair, At-Large
Kristen comes to RAD through the New Hampshire Progress Alliance, which she co-founded in 2017. NHPA made some of its early investments RAD as a way to strengthen NH’s progressive political infrastructure. As she’s continued to serve on NHPA’s board, she has been drawn to RAD’s vision and commitment to organizing and mobilizing at the grassroots level and officially joined RAD in 2019. She hopes to bring to a working role on RAD’s board: skills from a career as a writer and communicator; board experience on community nonprofits and advocacy organizations in New Hampshire and Washington State; strategic understanding of community organizing. She moved to NH in 1995 when she married writer, editor, and Granite State native Jim Collins; they have two school-age children. In 2012 they relocated to Seattle but return regularly to New Hampshire for work and family. (Term: 2020-2022)
JUBILEE MCGILL
Co-Chair, VT
Jubilee has been a RAD member leader in Vermont for several years. She has used her lived experience to fight to #RaisetheWage and enact Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance for all working Vermonters. She serves on RAD’s Vermont Leadership Committee and Movement Politics Committee, as well as her County organizing team. As a service coordinator for housing insecure folks at the John Graham Shelter, she is committed to creating a fair and just society where all can thrive.
ERIC RASMUSSEN
NH
Eric is an engineer who has been working in the non-profit world for over two decades to empower young people through STEM programs. He has seen the challenges that a growing organization can face, and he wishes to share his experience to help RAD continue to grow and fulfill its critical mission. He is a firm believer in the mission and values of RAD, and has already been volunteering with RAD since 2017 and serving on the board since 2018.
JONAH WHEELER
NH
Jonah Wheeler is an eighteen year old community organizer in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Jonah has been a leading member with Rights & Democracy for years and is a passionate public speaker, rooted in his commitment to the mission of building a new world centered around love.
BARBARA WILSON
(VT)
Barbara grew up on a small dairy farm in rural Michigan, had a long Telecommunications career, and now owns a small berry farm, Solar Haven Farm LLC. Since moving to Vermont in 2008, Barbara has been active on many fronts, where those most impacted are often unable to fight back, including litigating on behalf of a syrup producer, exposing Vermont Gas’ deceptive marketing, advocating for healthcare reform, and fighting to keep rural schools opened.