Naomi Campbell
Director of Legal Empowerment Program, The Right Question Institute
Naomi Campbell is the director of the Legal Empowerment Program at the Right Question Institute (RQI). She supports legal professionals working in low-income communities, who use RQI’s methods to help their clients feel greater self-efficacy and independence, partner more effectively with service providers, and advocate for themselves, in the legal system and beyond. Prior to joining RQI, Naomi was a legal fellow with Centro de los Derechos del Migrante (CDM) in Mexico City, where she supported migrant workers in defending their rights as they moved between their home communities in Mexico and their places of work in the United States. She has also represented asylum-seekers and was a teaching assistant for cross-disciplinary negotiation and dispute resolution courses. She earned her J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School and is a member of the New York Bar.
Alicia McAvay
Executive Director, FRESH New London
Alicia came to FRESH New London with a background in Community Organizing. She worked for two years as our Farm to School Coordinator before coming into leadership as the Executive Director. As Executive Director, Alicia is responsible for every aspect of FRESH– from the big grants to the tiny worms. She wished she could get into the urban farm work more often but enjoys the work of connecting families, community partners, and civic groups, to build momentum for food system change.
Julie Garay
Senior Program Manager, FRESH New London
Born in Puerto Rico and raised in New London from the age of 3, my heart belongs to this small city. I started at FRESH during my freshman year of high school as a Crew member and worked my way up to Assistant Farmer, then Youth Organizer, and now Senior Program Manager. By supporting the voices of youth and helping to grow the food put on families’ dinner tables, I am proud to say I am a part of growing (pun intended) a better, more sustainable future for New London.
Kishana Smith
Executive Director, Massachusetts Women of Color Network
Kishana (she/her) is a dynamic leader who simply enjoys helping others, and deeply values offering support that is authentic, ethical, intentional, helpful, and led by those she is serving. Along with an approachable and welcoming nature, Kishana brings 13 years of domestic and sexual violence work experience, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and a hunger for influencing positive change.
Kishana has experience in advocacy, direct service, human resources, and nonprofit management. Kishana openly identifies as a survivor of domestic violence and sexual assault, and she believes that ending violence is in the hands of all of us.
Bolstered by her excitement to lead, learn and serve, Kishana strives to foster a workplace that is unique from the rest; one where people are valued not just for what they produce, but for who they are. A workplace that gives the best quality of services they can provide, while continuously seeking to understand and do better!
Julia Martinez
Research Staff, USC’s Keck School of Medicine
Dr. Martinez is a research staff at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, of the Department of Family Medicine, and earned her PhD at USC’s School of Gerontology in 2019. Ms. Martinez’s research has focused on studying the process and outputs of elder abuse Multidisciplinary teams, and person-centered approaches of elder abuse interventions. She has studied the Service Advocate program, an enhancement of the Los Angeles County Forensic Center. Ms. Martinez’s research focus is mixed methods, applied research to integrate service provider and stakeholder learning into ongoing program adaptation and evolution.
Before earning her PhD, Ms. Martinez worked at Ventura County Behavioral Health’s Quality Improvement department and collaborated on the evaluation of the integration of Child Welfare Services with Behavioral Health.
