Rev. Eddie Anderson

Rev. Edward ”Eddie” Anderson is a passionate civil rights activist and ordained minister with degrees from Morehouse College and Claremont School of Theology. Rev.Anderson was born on Warner Robins Air Force base and raised on the Southside of Atlanta as the fourth (youngest)child of Rev.Ganus and Priscilla Anderson. Currently, he serves the historic McCarty Memorial Christian Church located in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Rev. Anderson affectionately known as Pastor Eddie is an Regional organizer for LA Voice (PICO), advocate for Black Lives Matter, Co-Founder of Clergy4BlackLives, a convener and former Co-Chair of the New Poor People’s Campaign in California (led nationally by Rev.William Barber II) and was a Bethany and Preston Taylor Fellow. Rev. Anderson has served as a movement and thought leader for many of the local and state-wide reforms around transformative justice and has been jailed for justice at least 4 times. Reverend Anderson served as a Commissioner for the Los Angeles Redistricting Commission (2020-2021) and is on the board of the ARDI Advisory Body of Los Angeles County and the Black People Experiencing Homelessness Committee for LAHSA and LA County. He serves on the National Convocation Board as the President of Youth and Young Adults as well as the Regional Board for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as Chairman of New Church Development. He is a sought out leader within his church denomination and served on every level of the church including his latest appointment to the General Ethics Commission of the denomination. Last year,Pastor Eddie was humbled to be awarded the honor of being a Leonard Beerman Fellow, a fellowship that has funded the work of rising political and civil rights leaders across the nation.

Pastor Eddie serves on the Board of Directors for Claremont School of Theology as well as Progressive Christians Uniting and served on Crossroads for Women Inc, Eastmont Community Center boards raising the voices of those who are forced to live along the margins of society. Rev. Anderson Co-Organized Trust Talks LA with Rev. Delonte Gholston.Trust Talks is a award winning faith community-led initiative that brings together all sides of the Downtown Los Angeles community—including representatives of Skid Row, condo owners and renters, police, business owners, and activists—in discussions around race and policing.The model was also used to heal race relations in West Virginia. He continued this work for equity and repair as member of the Measure J Steering Committee, Black People Experiencing Homelessness Committee(LAHSA) and the community advisory board for the Los Angeles County Anti-Racisim, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative.

In 2020 Rev. Andeson co-founded the Partnership for Growth Los Angeles Community Development Corporation with Rabbi Joel Simonds, which has partnered with local communities to impact the lives of over 10k South LA residents to date and will break ground on the largest Urban farms program in SD30 and the 37th Congressional district in a decade.

Rev. Anderson core values around impactive community engagement, civil rights, brotherhood and faith stem from the legacy of his late grandfather the Honorable Rev. Willie Anderson Sr, a civil rights icon in South GA,Pastor and elected official. While he has been honored to serve in many capacities which have afforded him to be seen and heard on television, radio and become a published author; his greatest accomplishment to date has been to be the son of Rev.Ganus and Priscilla Anderson, a good little brother to his 3 older siblings and the husband to Clare Anderson-Fox.

The scripture of calling for Pastor Eddie’s life has been Isaiah, Chapter 42, verses 1-7 which says in part, “I am the LORD. I have called you in righteous, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a Covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

Julie Bank

Julie Bank is a Strategic Consultant with a focus on start up non-profit and small businesses. She has been the Managing Director for Upstage Theatre Schools, Inc. where she has overseen operations, marketing, human resources, financials and business development for the close to ten years. Julie is the Founding Board Chair of the Jewish Center for Justice and a Founding Board Member of Partnership for Growth-Los Angeles. She has worked for organizations including the Chicago Urban League and Dallas CASA and served as Chair of the Economic Justice Task Force of the Commission on Social Action for Reform Judaism. She holds a Bachelor’s in Sociology from University of Texas, Austin and a Master’s in Social Service Administration from University of Chicago.

Bryce Cracknell

Bryce Cracknell is a writer and filmmaker from North Carolina based in Los Angeles, CA. As a storyteller, Bryce seeks to elevate narratives, histories, and experiences that are often overlooked, cast aside, or forgotten. He is in post-production on his directorial debut feature film, a hybrid-documentary on climate justice produced by Effie T. Brown and Gamechanger Films. Bryce is the Founder and Editor in Chief of the Anthem award-winning environmental justice publication The Margin. He led social impact campaigns for narrative and documentary features and television shows including Descendant, Flee, My Name Is Pauli Murray, John Lewis: Good Trouble, Just Mercy, and When They See Us.

Bryce is a Morris K. and Stewart L. Udall Scholar and a graduate of Duke University where he earned a B.A. in Public Policy. Forbes named Bryce as one of 68 climate leaders changing the film and TV industry. He is a member of the 2024/25 NBC TV Writers Program and is repped by Kronicle Media. He serves on the Boards of McCarty Memorial Christian Church, The Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice, The Hollywood Climate Summit, and Partnership for Growth Los Angeles.

Tina McKinnor

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor (D – Inglewood) was first elected to the California State Assembly in June 2022 representing the cities and communities of Gardena, Hawthorne, Inglewood, Lawndale, Lenox, Los Angeles, Marina del Rey, Venice, West Athens, Westchester and Westmont in Los Angeles County.

McKinnor currently serves as Chair of the Public Employment and Retirement Committee and serves on the following policy committees: Arts, Entertainment, Sports and Tourism Committee; Business and Professions Committee; Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee; the Governmental Organization Committee and the Judiciary Committee. Additionally, in March 2023, McKinnor was appointed to the State Coastal Conservancy. In this capacity, McKinnor has become one of the most influential, respected and progressive policy leaders in California.

In January 2024, McKinnor was unanimously elected Chair of the Los Angeles County Legislative Delegation. The Los Angeles County Legislative Delegation is the largest, bi-partisan, and most diverse delegation in the California Legislature. Collectively, the Delegation’s 39 Assemblymembers and State Senators represent nearly ten million Californians.

As a legislator, McKinnor has received national recognition for leading some of the most progressive policy issues in California including legislation to unionize state legislative employees, reducing microplastics from our environment and eliminating racist housing policies needed to create safe and inclusive neighborhoods across the state.

Prior to her election to the State Assembly, McKinnor served as Civic Engagement Director for the non-profit LAVoice and previously served as Operational Director for the California Democratic Party and Chief of Staff to several Members of the State Assembly. McKinnor received a BA in Accounting from California State University, Dominguez Hills. McKinnor was born and raised in Los Angeles County, is the mother of two adult sons and recently welcomed her first grandchild.

Nick Melvoin

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nick Melvoin has devoted his career to enhancing his community through roles as a teacher, civil rights attorney, nonprofit leader, and School Board Member. His journey began teaching in Watts, where exposure to systemic inequities fueled his civil rights activism, leading to impactful litigation and new protections for students. This spurred his legal studies on a public interest fellowship, working with the Obama White House and U.S. Attorney’s Office. Nick returned to LA, aiming to effect broader change from the Los Angeles Unified Board of Education, where he’s served for the past seven years. Under his leadership, the school district has seen significant improvements in both academics and operations and Nick has also been a leader on addressing broader societal issues like climate change, food insecurity, housing, and health care. Nick is a recent recipient of the Los Angeles Young Democrat of the Year Award, was the Elected Official of the Year from the California Charter Schools Association, and has served on the boards of the Jewish Center for Justice, the Union of Reform Judaism, and United in Harmony. Nick is also proud to still serve as the director of Camp Harmony, a camp for homeless and underserved children in the greater LA area. Nick received a BA from Harvard University, a Master’s in Urban Education from Loyola Marymount University, and a law degree from New York University, where he was a Root Tilden Kern Scholar.

Rabbi Joel Simonds

Rabbi Joel Thal Simonds is the founding executive director of the Jewish Center for Justice, where he envisioned the need for a Jewish justice organization to reach the unaffiliated and expand the breadth and scope of the wider Jewish community. Previously, he served as a Rabbi for University Synagogue in Los Angeles and West Coast Legislative Director for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Rabbi Simonds served for seven years as Rabbi of the Synagogue for the Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles and as instructor in multiple courses. Rabbi Simonds in the founding President of Partnership for Growth LA, a black/Jewish community development corporation. Rabbi Simonds serves on the clergy team at Wilshire Boulevard Temple in Los Angeles.

Rev. Dr. Damali Najuma Smith

As Assistant Director of Community and Public Engagement with the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, the Rev. Dr. Najuma Smith combines her experience as a pastor and expertise as a community leader to help faith leaders become full partners in the work of social change. She leads programming for the Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, which is housed at CRCC.

Smith also is a pastor, motivational speaker, author, life coach, radio personality and community activist.

She accepted her call to ministry in 1996, while serving under the phenomenal tutelage of the Rev. Dr. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, her father in ministry. Smith was ordained as a Deacon in 1996 and as an Itinerant Elder in 2000. Since that time, she has served as Assistant Pastor and Pastor of Family Ministries at Christ Our Redeemer AME Church in Irvine, California; Pastor of A.K. Quinn AME Church in Moreno Valley, California; and Pastor of St. James AME Church in Los Angeles, California. In 2014, Smith launched Word of Encouragement Community Church (WOECC.org) in Los Angeles. She is a frequent speaker at churches and church conferences.

Pursuing her passion to serve others beyond the walls of the church, Smith founded the company Living on Assignment, LLC, a personal development coaching and consulting firm that helps people live rich and meaningful lives. She is also the executive director for the Southern California School of Ministry. She founded a sexual violence awareness and training campaign called “It’s Not Okay” (www.itsnotokay.org). Combining her passion for social justice and entrepreneurship, Smith established Chocolate Tee’s, an urban apparel company that uses a portion of its profits to support selected non-profit efforts and the “It’s Not Okay” campaign. She also leads the “…And She Can Preach!” mastermind group, committed to supporting emerging women preachers.

Smith holds a B.S. in management from Pepperdine University, a Bachelor of Theology degree from the Southern California School of Ministry, an M.B.A. from Woodbury University and a Doctorate in Ministry from United Theological Seminary. She is an alumna of the “Passing The Mantle” Civic Engagement and Community Development Institute at USC, the precursor to the USC Cecil Murray Center’s Faith Leaders Institute.

Aaron Thomas

Aaron Thomas is the Senior Managing Director at Standard Communities, a national affordable housing developer. At Standard, Aaron assists the founders in their leadership of the firm while working with cities around the country on affordable housing solutions. Prior to joining Standard, Aaron was the President and CEO of Accelerator for America, a national nonprofit focused on capital solutions to economic insecurity. He is a graduate of Harvard College and received his MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.