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Announcing New Leadership on re:power’s Board of Directors

In September, the re:power and re:power Fund board celebrated a transition of leadership. . Jennifer Epps-Addison has been appointed as our new Board Chair, with Katrina Gamble stepping into the role of Vice Chair, and Leah Boudreaux serving as Secretary/Treasurer, who has stayed on for an extra term to help transition our board into this next phase. We know that this exceptional team, along with our entire board, will guide re:power as we continue to expand our impact during this exciting new chapter.

As we celebrate new beginnings, we also extend our deepest gratitude to the board members who recently completed their board terms in September after years of dedication and service: Sarah Audelo, April Sims, Leah Boudreaux, and Carmen Berkley. These four remarkable women were instrumental in guiding our organization through a public rebrand and hiring our Executive Director, Karundi Williams.Their commitment was a key factor in her growth and success and the success of our organization. They nurtured her leadership, stood by her through challenges, and celebrated victories together. We are incredibly thankful for their investment in our shared journey. We are so grateful for Sarah, April, Leah and Carmen and will miss them dearly.

A special acknowledgment goes to Carmen Berkley, who served as our Board Chair. Carmen’s leadership and commitment to re:power’s mission have been nothing short of extraordinary. Her compassionate leadership and deep care for our work have left a lasting impact on our organization. re:power wouldn’t be where it is today without her visionary guidance.

Thank you, Carmen, and to all our former board members for your incredible contributions—we are forever grateful.

Welcoming Our Newest Team Members!

re:power is thrilled to welcome four dynamic new team members, each bringing a unique blend of experience and passion for advancing our impact.

We are particularly excited to bring a new role to our team: Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives (Rebecca Thompson)!  This role will provide strategic leadership, executive project management, and develop new regional, multi-state, multi-organizational strategic and complex initiatives while also focusing on operationalization of re:power’s strategic plan and exploring opportunities for re:power by building relationships with individuals and institutions across our ecosystem.

Rebecca, Anna, Robert, and India round out our 2025 hiring plan with their brilliance and commitment to re:power’s mission and north star! Each of them fill a critical need within our organization and bring capacity that has been missing after staff transitions.

Rebecca Thompson (she/her)
Managing Director, Strategic Initiatives

Rebecca Thompson
Rebecca Thompson

Rebecca Thompson is an award-winning Democratic political consultant and Clarity Coach who has dedicated her career to training Black womxn to run for office and lead electoral campaigns. With over 20 years of experience, Rebecca has worked with national progressive organizations, labor unions, and non-profits, focusing on leadership development and campaign strategy. A former State Representative candidate, she now resides in Baltimore and recently earned her Master’s in Medical Cannabis Science & Therapeutics from the University of Maryland.

Anna Gagliuffi (she/her/ella)
Director, Communications & Digital Strategy

Anna Gagliuffi
Anna Gagliuffi

Anna Gagliuffi is a communications strategist, designer, and coach dedicated to advancing collective liberation. As the founder of Artesanna, she has helped social justice organizations elevate their impact through creative strategy and design. Her previous roles include Director of Community Engagement at People Power and Visual Communications Director at the Latino Community Foundation, where she played a key role in raising millions for the organization and reaching millions through national campaigns. Anna holds a Fulbright Scholarship and a degree in Advertising and Graphic Design from Chapman University.

Robert Muñoz (he/him) 
Program Manager, Progressive Governance Academy

Robert Munoz
Robert Muñoz

Robert Muñoz, based in Brooklyn, NY, brings over a decade of experience in political organizing and campaign strategy. Raised in La Puente, CA, a low-income Mexican-American community, Robert was inspired to make a difference from a young age. He began his career with the Working Families Party in 2010, eventually serving as New York Field Director and leading major electoral campaigns across the country. With expertise in election targeting, data analytics, and event management, Robert is passionate about advancing progressive governance. 

India Waller (she/her)
Executive Administrative Coordinator

India Waller
India Waller

India Waller joins re:power with over 11 years of experience in executive and administrative support across various industries, including education, healthcare, politics, and digital marketing. She has provided executive support to high-level leaders, most recently at DSPolitical and Rising Tide Interactive. India holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Baltimore and a Bachelor of Arts from Salisbury University.

5 in 5: Five Reflections on Leading a Movement Building Organization for Five Years

This month as I celebrate my 5-year anniversary as the Executive Director of re:power, I’m reflecting on what I’ve learned leading a national movement building organization. When I joined re:power, it was not only a first for the organization to have a Black woman leader, but also a first for me – my first time becoming an Executive Director. I did a lot in those first two years to learn from my peers and mentors, stretch myself to grow, and find balance in this work.

Here are just five of my reflections that I hope will encourage others, especially my fellow women of color, stepping into their leadership.

1. Ground Through Purpose During Times of Crisis

When I stepped into the Executive Director role with re:power in 2019, it was a significant milestone for me and I was ready to embrace my leadership. Just as we began to reimagine our potential, the compounded trauma of 2020 hit, testing our resilience. Leading an organization through a pandemic while grappling with the personal and collective trauma of systemic racism was daunting, but we pivoted quickly to train over 2000 organizers online and form transformational partnerships with multiple foundations in that year alone. The mission of re:power and my purpose were crystallized during the pandemic, as the challenges underscored the critical need for unlocking the agency of historically oppressed communities and fostering adaptive leadership.

2. To Push Funders, Push Through Fear

Despite initial insecurities about fundraising, I led re:power to grow from a $3.1 million to a $6 million annual budget and rebuilt our reserve accounts. I challenged philanthropy and our movement to go beyond mere anti-racism rhetoric and put it into practice. This purpose became the driving force behind our actions as an organization. I learned that sharing a clear vision with funders and conveying the necessity of investing in re:power garnered their belief and support. 

3. Make an Inclusive Staff Culture Your “BAE”

Strategy is no good without a strong culture. My fellow senior leaders of color, and I, transformed a burnt-out staff with eroded trust into a values-grounded team. We addressed behaviors, policies, and practices misaligned with our vision, fostering a culture where staff, especially those most marginalized, could be their authentic selves with mutual accountability to our shared values. One staff member noted how my unapologetic leadership as a mother inspired them to reconsider their fears about parenthood. We grew from 11 staff members in 2020 and will soon be 25 by the end of this year. We continue to achieve our best work ever due to our strong staff culture. This internal work is essential to an organization’s success. Staff culture can’t be an afterthought, it must be BAE – before anything else. 

4. Innovate How to Approach Strategic Visioning 

The excessive focus on organizations having a strategic plan is a symptom of the non-profit industrial complex. Leaders must make highly strategic decisions to propel their organizations forward, even without a formal plan. For instance, the support and intentionality I aspired to create for women of color at re:power led to the development of new programming like the Women of Color Leadership Cohort, which supports 30-35 leaders annually across two cohorts. That’s why, for our strategic planning process to be more than a box we checked, it was essential to create an engaging process that involved our staff and board in creating a new strategic vision and brand identity. Our strategic planning process provided us with exceptional clarity, and thanks to our innovative approach and brilliant team, we ensured continuous progress and alignment.

5. Strive for Your Successor to Lead in Abundance

I am committed to building an organization where the next re:power leader of color will inherit an organization built on strength and purpose, allowing them to lead with abundance rather than focus on mere survival. To do this, I equip, mentor, and coach my executive team—entirely women of color—to be fully prepared to step into my role when the time comes. While many talk about building a strong team, few truly invest in preparing their successors for leadership. Too often, leaders cling to power instead of fostering the growth of those around them. I take the opposite approach. I prioritize succession planning with a high level of intentionality, focusing on developing leaders within my organization to ensure sustained success and impact. Our movement’s future depends on embracing this approach wholeheartedly.

2024: A year of growth for re:power!

2024 is a year of growth for re:power and we’re thrilled to deepen our impact with the addition of two new team members. Learn more about our new incredible team members below!

Deana Ayers (They/He)
Program Administrative Coordinator

Deana Ayers
Deana Ayers

Deana is an administrative professional and facilitator based in Chicago. Their journey to this work began while they were a college student in North Texas, where they joined the reproductive justice movement and provided political education around abortion access and sex education. Since then, Deana has continued to develop their craft of providing values-aligned administrative support and facilitation for nonprofits and social justice groups fighting for a better world.  

When they aren’t sending an email or updating a spreadsheet, you can find Deana going on a nature walk, making zines and collages, or making communal meals with their girlfriend.

Jazmyne Brooks (She/Her)
Program Events & Operations Coordinator

Jazmyne Brooks

Born and raised in the Texas panhandle, Jazmyne (she/her) graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Bachelors in Political Science. While there, she got her start in progressive politics working on election access as a field organizer for MOVE Texas .
She has since held several positions throughout the nonprofit and progressive movement space. With experience in electoral organizing, food justice, fundraising, and database management Jazmyne brings a multidimensional lens to her work in program operations.

Jazmyne is excited to join the team and ensure our trainings ,processes, and systems are efficient and impactful.Outside of work, Jazmyne loves attending old-school R&B concerts, traveling, spending time outdoors, and debriefing the latest Big Brother season with other super fans.

Introducing our new Alumni Community Manager

We’re thrilled to announce our newest staff member, Sagal Handulle! Sagal joined re:power in September 2023 as our first ever Alumni Community Manager. She will be working on the Strategy & Engagement Team to deepen our relationship with re:power alumni and help build a tighter network of incredible BIPOC women, trans & gender expansive people of color leaders.

Sagal Handulle
Alumni Community Manager

Sagal Handulle

Raised in central Ohio, Sagal Handulle graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.A. in Political Science. She got her start in politics as a Progressive Pipeline fellow with the PA Working Families Party and was shortly promoted to digital organizer. In her role, she developed digital strategies for campaigns and candidates—and found comfort in an organizing space that valued the need for a diverse point of view. Inspired by her own experience, she returned to Progressive Pipeline as the Fellowship Director, managing the flagship fellowship program and placing 400+ fellows with over 80 different employer partners.

Sagal completed re:power’s WOC leadership track this summer and felt a sense of safety, community, and kinship for the first time in her professional life. She joins the re:power team, ready to build on the momentum and deliver programming that taps into the unique experiences, challenges, and concerns faced by our alumni community. When she’s not working, you’ll find her at the gym, baking late at night, or writing short stories.

re:power Welcomes New Board Members, Kelley Robinson and Angela Ferrell-Zabala

re:power, a national training and capacity-building organization that exists to build a critical mass of social justice movements and their leaders who embody the ideology and practice of liberatory organizing, is excited to announce two new additions to our Board of Directors: Kelley Robinson and Angela Ferrell-Zabala. 

Robinson and Ferell-Zabala embody our core values of community, collective action, and abundance through their years-long commitment to organizing for material change in the lives of the most impacted. Most importantly, Robinson and Ferell-Zabala are both leading organizations that have built strong organizing coalitions and fought for necessary legislative and narrative change on issues that affect so many of us: Gun Violence Prevention and LGBTQIA+ rights. re:power’s Executive Director Karundi Williams shared, “In this critical time where states are rolling back human rights and gun violence is soaring, Kelley and Angela’s work is more critical than ever and their leadership on re:power’s board is in recognition of the need for more training and infrastructure support for their movements.”

Kelley Robinson

Kelley Robinson is the ninth president of the Human Rights Campaign — the first Black, Queer woman to lead the organization. The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality and liberation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Robinson is widely respected for her work over the last 15 years creating and leading winning campaigns and programs and has been at the forefront in the fight for bodily autonomy and racial and gender equity. 

“At a time when LGTBQ+ people face a State of Emergency and our basic freedoms are on the line, I’m honored to join re:power on the frontlines of the fight for social, racial, and economic justice. Together with activists, organizers and advocates, re:power is building a collective of effective leaders who are committed to the fight for liberation without exception.” 

Kelley Robinson

Angela Ferrell-Zabala serves as the first ever Executive Director of Moms Demand Action where she is responsible for leading and growing the largest gun violence prevention grassroots network in the country . Angela has been with the organization since 2019 leading its movement building work and overseeing grassroots organizing, external, cultural and corporate engagement, and national partnerships and programming.

Angela Ferrell-Zabala

“As an organizer at heart, I am deeply honored to join re:power’s board and to help develop a powerful community fighting for our collective liberation. We don’t have to accept a reality where people’s livelihoods are threatened simply for existing. In order to realize the better, safer world that we all deserve, it’s critical that we invest in strong organizing training for leaders across movements — and re:power is doing exactly that.”

Angela Ferrell-Zabala

Our two new board members will bring their powerful leadership and deep experience to our already dynamic board.  Their vision will be invaluable as we continue to move toward our northstar of a multiracial democracy, liberated from the oppressive systems of white supremacy and patriarchy.

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