Introductory Remarks by Anasa Troutman
Anasa Troutman
Anasa Troutman is the first Executive Director of Historic Clayborn Temple. A cultural strategist, writer, producer, and entrepreneur, Anasa Troutman is committed to shifting global culture to a culture of care. As President/CEO of The Big We, Anasa and her team engage deeply in storytelling as a pathway to this transformation and execute culture based strategies for artists, organizations, and brands that are aligned with their vision of a just and loving world.
Based in Memphis, Tennessee, Anasa has provided strategic and creative support in many important cultural, political and social justice spaces but is best known for her work as a strategic advisor and executive producer for long time friend India.Arie. Anasa’s latest project is the restoration of Historic Clayborn Temple, the Memphis church that was the organizing headquarters of The Sanitation Workers’ Strike of 1968, Martin Luther King’s last campaign, into a center to build cultural, economic power with Memphis’ African-American community.
Presentation by Ed Whitfield
Ed Whitfield
Ed Whitfield is originally from Little Rock, Arkansas and was a long time social justice activist before becoming involved in community development, cooperative development and philanthropy. He now spends most of his time trying to help communities build self-reliant economies to meet their needs and elevate the quality of life. Ed was Co-Founder and Co-Managing Director of the Fund for Democratic Communities (F4DC) and continues to serve on the board of the Seed Commons: A Community Wealth Cooperative. Ed spent 9 years as Board Chairman of the Greensboro NC Redevelopment Commission and was the board chair of Greensboro’s Triad Minority Development Corporation before becoming involved with the cooperatives and the world of democratic non-extractive finance. In addition to working part time as a Senior Fellow with Seed Commons, he serves as a consultant to community groups on matters of community cooperative economic development and community wealth building, as well as working in the arena of organizational diversity, equity and inclusion improvement. Ed writes, teaches and lectures on these matters of importance while balancing this work with playing blues and eating barbecue.
Breakout Sessions
Keynote by Nwamaka Agbo
Nwamaka Agbo
Nwamaka Agbo is the CEO of the Kataly Foundation and Managing Director of the Restorative Economies Fund. In her roles, Nwamaka collaborates with the Kataly Team to lead the foundation’s day to day operations, while holding the community-centered strategy and vision for the Fund. With a background in community organizing, electoral campaigns, policy and advocacy work on racial, social and environmental justice issues, Nwamaka is deeply committed to supporting projects that build resilient, healthy and self-determined communities rooted in shared prosperity.
Prior to joining the Kataly Team, Nwamaka built an independent consulting practice guided by her framework on Restorative Economics. As a consultant, she provided technical assistance and strategic guidance to community owned and governed community wealth building initiatives like Restore Oakland, Black Land & Power and others. Her work with these community driven projects led her to providing trainings and advisory services to donors, foundations and impact investment firms including institutions like The San Francisco Foundation and RSF Social Finance. Nwamaka has served as a fellow for the Center for Economic Democracy and the Movement Strategy Center. She proudly serves on the board of Thousand Currents, Restore Oakland, Inc. and Resource Generation. She graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and African American Studies and holds a Master’s of Public Administration specializing in Financial Management from San Francisco State University.
Kayon Montaque
Kayon Montaque is a research and data analyst and has consulted for both local and national organizations. Kayon conducted the analysis of local and regional economic data that informed the In This Place effort and supported the learning of the project team considering restorative economics and other alternative economic models. She is a graduate of Pace and St. Johns’ University. Kayon is Green Belt Lean Six Sigma certified, an Education Pioneer Fellow as well as a Memphis Business Journal “40 under 40” honoree for 2019.
Malik Yakini
Malik Kenyatta Yakini is co-founder and Executive Director of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN). DBCFSN operates the seven-acre D-Town Farm and is spearheading the opening of, the Detroit Food Commons, in Detroit’s North End that will house the Detroit People’s Food Co-op. Yakini views the work of DBCFSN as part of the larger movement for building power, self-determination, and justice. He is adamantly opposed to the systems of white supremacy, capitalism and patriarchy. He has an intense interest in contributing to the development of an international food sovereignty movement that embraces Black communities in the Americas, the Caribbean and Africa. He is a co-founder of the National Black Food and Justice Alliance.
Erin Byrd
Erin Dale Byrd is the executive director of The Partnership and Partnership Action Funds. The Partnership Funds invest in the development and exercise of independent political power (IPP) at the state level to drive and sustain local, state and national change. Erin joins TPF after 12 years leading Blueprint NC. Erin is the board chair of Fertile Ground Food Cooperative. Her deepest passion is to build a cooperative economy where her people can own their own labor and live in their purpose. Fertile Ground is an effort to build a multistakeholder (workers, consumers, producers) grocery store and cultural center in southeast Raleigh. The core focus of Erin's work is building power with the people most impacted at the center. She believes that a winning strategy for transformative change must be rooted in deep relationships and unlearn white supremacy colonizing culture from the inside out. She has a degree in Sociology from the College of William and Mary. Twitter & IG: @liberaytor
Noni Session
Noni Session is Executive Director at East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative, A 3rd generation West Oaklander, Cultural Anthropologist and Grassroots Organizer. Her research and organizing work spans national and global arenas. In her doctoral work under the umbrella of the UNDP in Nairobi, Kenya, Noni carried out ethnographic analysis of international humanitarian strategies and their on-the-ground consequences. After nearly gaining election to the Oakland City Council in 2016, she decided that her community’s best solution to rapid displacement and economic instability is to develop an independent cooperative economy. Noni is closely engaged with Mandela Grocery Cooperative, a Black led worker-owned cooperative in West Oakland that is not only bringing organic produce and local economics to the community, but also working to organize cooperative businesses into the upcoming developments around BART; as well, Noni is contributing her visionary energy to homeless advocacy groups across West and East Oakland who are building a movement of houseless and volunteers that are organizing for housing dignity through direct action and policy.