AMPLIFY: CELEBRATING TRANSFORMATIVE LEADERS

The Equity | Impact Center Presents... AMPLIFY: Celebrating Transformative Leaders on Saturday, November 2, at The Carnegie Science Center. Join us for an evening of celebration, inspiration, and community building as we recognize and honor the leadership and impact of our 2024 cohort, along with all the transformative leaders and change-makers in our community. Guests will enjoy complimentary food and drinks, live music, and the opportunity to connect with and support some of the most impactful leaders in our region.

Hosted by: Dr. Tameka Cage-Conley

Keynote Address by: Dr. Andre Samuel | Founder of the Citizen Science Lab

Music by: Dejah Monae and DJ illeso

ADVANCE VIP Hour: 6:00PM

Dinner & Celebration: 7:00PM

AHMED TACUMBA TURNER | Pittsburgh, PA

Tacumba Turner is a native of Pittsburgh and a self-taught curator, creative space maker, D.J., and founder of The Future Is Black, an arts and culture series established in 2019. He seeks to steward a community and ecosystem around forward-thinking, progressive BPIOC artists.

BRANDON BOND | Van Buren Twp, MI

Brandon Bond is the LSA Mental Health & Well-Being Student Advocate at the University of Michigan (U-M), who is focused on driving systemic changes by integrating DEI and public mental health strategies into policies, programs, and structures. He holds a BA, MPH, and MSW from U-M.

HAILEE BRYANT-ROYE | Pittsburgh, PA

Hailee B. Roye, a Pittsburgh native and first-generation college student, has embarked on a career journey marked by growth and dedication. Her passion lies in enhancing the early learning experiences of young children through advocacy and policy strategies. With a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood from Tennessee State University and a Master’s in Public Policy from Vanderbilt University, she currently serves as Practice and Policy Manager at Trying Together.

JENNA BARON | Pittsburgh, PA

Jenna Baron is the Executive Director of ARYSE. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh ’13 in Anthropology, is a Fulbright Scholar, Humanity in Action John Lewis Fellow, New Leaders Council Pittsburgh Alumna, a board member of the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, and in 2019, was recognized as one of Pittsburgh’s 40 Under 40. Jenna is passionate about building relationships and working with people dedicated to taking meaningful action to create equity and systemic change.

JESSICA ESTELLE HUGGINS | Boston, MA

Jessica Estelle Huggins is a Boston native and an acclaimed Filmmaker. Various films that she has produced have been accepted into dozens of film festivals around the country and have received awards. Titles include The Mural Master, Memoirs of A Black Girl, Chi~Voices: A Poetic Film Series, Perfect Day and more. Jessica is currently the Director of Activation and Community Engagement at Embrace Boston.

MEDINA JACKSON | Pittsburgh, PA

Medina Jackson, MSW is the Director of Engagement for The University of Pittsburgh’s P.R.I.D.E. Program (Positive Racial Identity Development in Early Education), and co-facilitator of the Black Transformative Arts Network. She is also a poet and spoken word artist, writer, mother, and creative producer.

NINEL NEKAY | Douglasville, GA

Ninel Nekay (preferably known as Nzzy) is a Jamaican-American Southerner and interdisciplinary cultural worker whose art demonstrates the stifled desires and salvation of Black non-men in the American South. As a poet, filmmaker, organizer, and student of apocalypticism through a bicultural lens, she entices fellow worldbuilders to reimagine their agency by flirting with the past to form crushes on the future that make pursuing tomorrow worthwhile.

RACHEL JUNE HOPKINS | Pittsburgh, PA

Rachel Hopkins serves as the Director of Equity and Belonging at the Pittsburgh Glass Center and Contemporary Craft in Pittsburgh, PA. During the past four years, Rachel has designed, implemented, and evaluated equity-focused educational interventions in higher education, K-12, and nonprofit contexts. Committed to antiracism and transformative pedagogy, Rachel has presented at the Pittsburgh Racial Justice Summit and Center for Urban Education Summer Educator Forum and in the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University classes.

SEAN BEAUFORD | Pittsburgh, PA

Sean Beauford is an arts producer, writer, and educator based in Pittsburgh, PA. He currently works alongside Duolingo as a Community Engagement Specialist and is an Adjunct Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon’s School of Art. His work is dedicated to producing publicly accessible opportunities for learning and creative engagement. Sean seeks to collaborate as often as possible and believes the sum of our resources has the potential to be more impactful than our individual efforts.

AMPLIFY Tickets: $50.00-$100.00

*Ticket purchase includes complimentary food and drinks

The Transformative Leader Program is a leadership development and award program for social justice, social impact, and nonprofit leaders. The program is designed to recognize leaders from all sectors for their impactful community-centered work through a financial award and support them in building strategies that navigate existing barriers, as well as design solutions that lead to sustainable change. This program intentionally centers justice, equity, and inclusion as the core principles within an infrastructure designed and led by individuals with the appropriate skills, expertise, knowledge, and lived experience.

The Transformative Leader Award Program is supported by The Heinz Endowments, The Pittsburgh Foundation, and Leigh Solomon Pugliano.

ABOUT THE EQUITY | IMPACT CENTER

The Equity | Impact Center addresses systemic inequity through broad social, cultural, and economic solutions and comprehensive, intentionally designed initiatives. We provide capacity-building, leadership development, and organizational development support to advance social justice missions through programs and initiatives that address systemic inequity.

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