The REALize Power Leadership Program is a capacity strengthening program for staff from nonprofits and grassroots organizations to gain insight, skills, and abilities to advance equitable data and evaluation practices, heal past traumas and triggers around data and evaluation, and strengthen emotional wellbeing. The first cohort of the REALIze Power Leadership Program engaged leaders from across the U.S. These 14 REALize Power Leaders participated through virtual sessions and an in-person convening fall 2023 – spring 2024. Through this learning journey, the participants:
- Strengthened knowledge and skills to understand, implement, and advocate for equity-oriented data and evaluation approaches,
- Gained knowledge and skills to better tell their organization’s story of how they are advancing the work of their organization, and
- Discussed how shifting power dynamics through equitable partnerships and grant-making practices can help mitigate structural racism in philanthropy and nonprofits.
The 2023-2024 REALize Power Leaders
Xóchitl Cortez
Xóchitl Cortez is a seasoned nonprofit leader and cultural strategist with more than 18 years of experience advancing environmental justice, community resilience, and equity-centered leadership. Raised in East Oakland, Xóchitl’s work is deeply rooted in her lived experiences navigating environmental racism and systemic disinvestment in frontline communities.
As the Founder and Executive Director of Frontline Catalysts, Xóchitl champions frontline youth who are most impacted by social and environmental racism to be catalysts for sustainable development in their communities and lead the movement for transformative climate justice.
Her previous leadership roles include serving as Chief Operating Officer at Community Vision, where she guided organizational operations through pivotal transitions and led equity-centered strategies across the community development sector. As the National Director of Operations for the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United, she supported advocacy and infrastructure for the nation’s largest nurses’ union during the early years of the Medicare-for-All campaign.
Xóchitl brings a healing-centered approach to data and evaluation, shaped by her experience leading youth programs, public school initiatives, and housing justice projects. She believes that community-driven data practices are essential to dismantling extractive systems and promoting wellbeing.
Xóchitl holds a BA in American Studies with a Public Health concentration from UC Berkeley and an MBA in Social Entrepreneurship from Mills College. She currently serves as a racial equity advisor for the California Air Resources Board (CARB), providing community expertise to ensure culturally responsive implementation of environmental policies.
Cliven Anfernee Daluz
Cliven Anfernee Daluz is a recent college graduate who found himself in the nonprofit space helping marginalized communities after finding an interest in public policy. His drive to affect these communities stems from his background as an immigrant from the Philippines. He was born and raised there for ten years before moving to the United States. While growing up, Cliven found inequalities and poverty in his everyday life. Moving to the United States was a new opportunity, but as he spent his time in this country, he saw that the problems he witnessed in the Philippines also existed in what was sold as the land of opportunity. At first, Cliven started his education with a plan to pursue a Medical Degree and address the health disparity in marginalized communities, but found himself unhappy and searching for a new purpose. He, instead, pivoted to studying English and in his time reading the works of numerous authors he began understanding the power in reading and the knowledge that these books held. Cliven was fascinated by writing that explored power structures and their need to be restructured in order to create an egalitarian society. He hopes to use the information he learns from this program and apply it to his work to better serve and tell the story of the community. His two first names, Cliven Anfernee, came from a combination of his parents’ names and from his father’s love of basketball and belief in the Orlando Magic star Anfernee Hardaway. In his free time, Cliven enjoys cooking and even worked in a professional kitchen for two years while he took a break from schooling.
Maya Salcido White
Maya Salcido White is a Research Associate for Urban Strategies Council, contributing to research and evaluation projects primarily focused on violence prevention in Oakland, CA. Maya has over five years of experience conducting research and evaluation for non-profit organizations, specifically in public education. Maya values community-based participatory research, the creation of accessible data sources for community members, and the inclusion of youth and elders in the process of creating data-driven solutions. Maya is also an artist and arts educator who teaches bilingual after-school classes to San Francisco, CA, elementary school students.
Lisa Sprinkles
Lisa Sprinkles is a graduate of the University of California, at Santa Barbara and currently serves as the Chief Executive Director of The GIFTED Living Institute Incorporation (GIFTED) and the Project Director for Expanding Capacity for Exceptional Leadership’s youth stimulant use prevention initiative in communities of color. Sprinkles finds her moxie as a seasoned fund developer and grant writer and has successfully procured $20 million in federal, state, and private grant awards. Her range of grant awards include a mobile medical unit, a dual management initiative with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) and public housing residents residing in Nickerson Gardens, victims’ assistance, culturally appropriate community mental health engagement, gang intervention, and capacity building, to name a few. In 2000, Sprinkles created NIA Investments. NIA is a Swahili term meaning purpose–its business thrust are conversational currency and human investment. The California based management consulting firm specializes in innovative program designs to enhance trauma-informed care, mentoring, and health and wellness modalities.
Liselle Yorke
Liselle Yorke is Director of Communications at Behavioral Health System Baltimore. She leads strategic communications and supports public education and advocacy campaigns, including the Central Maryland Regional Crisis System.
Liselle has almost two decades of experience in communications, largely with organizations dedicated to working with communities in the U.S. and around the world to create positive social change. Prior to joining BHSB, she was senior public relations manager at PRB, a global policy and research organization, and also held senior communications roles at Grameen Foundation and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. She holds a master’s degree in communications from Howard University and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of the West Indies (St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago).
Jase Elam
Jase Elam is the Learning and Development Manager at Hopeworks, developing and implementing staff and participant training initiatives across the organization. He represents Hopeworks with external partners interested in transforming their organizations into trauma-informed workplaces. Jase has a background in behavioral health as a peer support specialist with experience providing direct support services to youth with trauma. He is dedicated to ensuring that individuals receive culturally appropriate and trauma informed services in all areas of their lives. Jase was also recently named a KYW Gamechanger in 2022.
Rania Ahmed
Rania Ahmed is an urban thinker who values utilizing data-driven research and evaluation to deliver initiatives that promotes the socio-economic well-being of communities. Rania holds an M.A. in Urban Affairs from the University of San Francisco and a B.S. in Urban Planning from Cairo University in Egypt. Rania is an alumnus of the 2012 Wellesley College’s cohort of Women in Public Service Project (WPSP), and a Stanford University’s Women in Data Science (WiDS) Ambassador 2018-2020. Rania is also an alumnus of the 2019 Data Science Fellowship by Tableau. One of her favorable projects was map production for the book Cairo, Center in Movement. As the Director of Research and Evaluation at Urban Strategies Council, Rania brings compassion into utilizing the power of data to develop recommendations for the public good in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Nia Matherson
Nia Matherson serves as the Director of Workforce Data & Impact at Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont (GISP) in Charlotte, North Carolina. In this role, she leads the organization’s data strategy, overseeing all aspects of workforce-related data management, equitable evaluation, and impact storytelling. She integrates project management and the responsible use of AI to enhance organizational efficiency, data integrity, and relevance in an evolving workforce landscape. Her work ensures strategic alignment between program services and measurable outcomes, driving data-informed decision-making across the nonprofit’s workforce development initiatives.
She holds a Specialist in Education (Ed.S.) in Learning, Leadership, and Organization Development from the University of Georgia, a Master of Arts (MA) in Education and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Biology from Xavier University of Louisiana. She is also a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), with a strong foundation in project design, implementation, and cross-functional collaboration. Outside of work, she enjoys swimming, reading, and traveling.
Lujain Al-Saleh
Lujain Al-Saleh (she/her) is the Education/Organizing Associate at Frontline Catalysts, a climate justice leadership development program for youth in Oakland, California. Prior to joining Frontline Catalysts, Lujain collaborated on a wide range of environmental justice campaigns and projects across the state of California and has worked with grassroots organizations such as Communities for a Better Environment, the Center for Biological Diversity, Grid Alternatives, and the Asian Pacific Environmental Network. Lujain holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Management with minors in Middle East & South Asia Studies and Professional Writing from the University of California, Davis. She also received her Master of Public Health in Global Health & Environment from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health in 2020.
Troy Malcolm Williams, Ph.D
Troy M. Williams, Ph.D., is a community-based researcher and evaluator with over ten years of experience in entrepreneurship, community engagement, and public health. He has worked with multiple agencies across the United States interested in addressing systemic challenges, co-creating responses with community members, and conducting in-depth program evaluations. Currently, he serves as the Chief Impact Officer at the Greater Sacramento Urban League, where he provides strategic leadership, management, and guidance on initiatives and impact efforts through program evaluation, community engagement, and grantmaking.
Salma V. Torres
Salma V. Torres serves as the Director of Education and Youth Advocacy for the Central California LGBTQ+ Collaborative, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for LGBTQ+ rights throughout the Northern San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra Nevada foothills. Their passion lies in education as a tool for social movement and change that should be accessible to all. As the child of blue-collar immigrant parents from Mexico, Salma intimately understands the struggles of coming to terms with one sexual orientation and gender identity while navigating a cultural space where that often isn’t easy. They employ cultural sensitivity and trauma-informed lenses in their advocacy to ensure that an entire individual is being honored and not just a singular facet of their identity. When not bringing about change, Salma can be found writing prose and poetry, attending live music concerts, and petting their loveable dog, Littles.
Lexie Taylor
Lexie Taylor is a sociologist in Philadelphia, PA, serving as the Youth Peer Navigator for the National Alliance On Mental Illness (NAMI) Philadelphia. Lexie is from Tulsa, Oklahoma and attended Oklahoma State University, where she achieved her Bachelor’s and Master’s in Sociology, focusing her research and studies on racial and ethnic issues and educational inequality. At NAMI Philadelphia, Lexie leads all youth and young adult initiatives by providing networking opportunities, support groups, and mentorship programs in the Greater Philadelphia Area. Lexie is also a member of the Young Professionals Council for The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia.
Martha Stuart, LCSW-C
Ms. Martha Stuart is a Clinical Social Worker in Public Health with over 16 years of experience. Ms. Stuart enjoys helping individuals and systems to improve for the benefit of their well-being. Ms. Stuart has a passion for empowering women, men, youth, and families.
She is a proud Alumni of Morgan State University School of Social Work, where she earned her BSW and MSW with a focus in Public Health. After completing her graduate studies, Ms. Stuart began practice as an International Social Worker by becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer. She moved from Baltimore to Botswana and worked alongside her host country, Nationals, to fight the HIV Epidemic. Ms. Stuart later traveled to South America, where she worked as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist in Guyana. Ms. Stuart has served as a Clinical School Social Worker, Community School Coordinator, Residential Director, and Program Director. She has also served as an Adjunct Professor.
She believes in community service and continues to mentor youth in Botswana, whom she has stayed connected to. She is a woman of faith and an active member of her local tian church. In addition, she has been a yogi for ten years and loves her yoga practice for overall wellness. Ms. Stuart believes wholly in the benefits of acupuncture and oriental medicine. She considers her most important job as being a loving family member, friend, and mother to one beautiful daughter whom she can be found doting on daily.
Kersti Taylor
Kersti Tyson joined the LANL Foundation in 2019. Kersti’s primary focus is utilizing research and evaluation to support the Foundation’s mission, vision, values and strategies across the spectrum of public education. Kersti will help both internal and external stakeholders to develop evaluation methods that demonstrate program impact, reflect on results and drive ongoing program improvement. Her research will assess community needs in order to develop new programs and refine existing ones.
Kersti’s early career as a math teacher in Santa Fe and Taos sparked her interest in how children learn. That prompted her to pursue a master’s in intercultural communication through the University of New Mexico’s Communication & Journalism department, convinced that culture plays an important role in how we learn.
After completing her master’s, Kersti spent four years working for the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) on Teacher Quality Policies, joining the first PED unit to focus on building quality teachers in New Mexico. The position provided useful experience for understanding how leadership and policy decisions impact teachers, students and communities, but her heart was really devoted to improving children’s opportunities to learn in NM, so she entered the Learning Sciences Program at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash., to earn her PhD. As a learning scientist, Kersti learns about learning in order to support the complex work teachers accomplish with children every day.
Kersti returned to New Mexico, joining the faculty of the University of New Mexico’s College of Education, where she taught elementary mathematics methods and graduate courses in education for educators and researchers. She earned tenure and the rank of Associate Professor in 2018.
As a native New Mexican whose family goes back several generations, Kersti values the cultural diversity of the state and is looking forward to helping Northern New Mexico communities build on the strengths they already possess and providing opportunities for children to express their natural brilliance.