Introducing:

The LDSJ Alumni Council

LDSJ is proud to have a community of more than 300 alumni across all of our fellowship programs—ROCC, ELF, MLF, Radical Release, and SCF. Our goal is to activate our alumni community, creating a dynamic network of changemakers who can call upon each other for professional support and personal connection. Earlier this year, more than half of our alumni shared their vision through a survey, expressing a strong desire to unite and lead within this 300+ network.

In response, we’re thrilled to launch the LDSJ Alumni Council. The Council will ensure alumni voices are central to program design and that the network is shaped by those it serves. With members based across the country, each member will host at least two in-person gatherings and one virtual offering each year.

We’re incredibly excited to partner with the inaugural nine Council members to bring this vision to life.

Meet the Council

Social Change Fellowship (SCF) Branch

  • My own lived experience, psychology background, and Social Change Fellowship training enhance my ability to empower working-class communities fighting for sustainable change. My diplomatic approach and coalition-building expertise have secured major housing victories, by organizing successful negotiations with landlords, financial institutions, and elected officials that ensured safer buildings and vital policy changes. I believe that real, sustainable change only happens when our communities harness their collective power. Every campaign, every negotiation, and every policy win strengthens our foundation for building a more equitable New York – one where we all have access to the resources, opportunity, and dignity that we deserve.

ADONIS ICIANO

  • Anakaren Santana is a recent graduate of CUNY York College and an incoming MPA student at NYU Wagner, where she will focus on environmental and climate justice, with an emphasis on health disparities. Her research interests include consent education, community resilience, and the intersection of climate and public health. She previously served as a Social Change Fellow with the Leadership for Democracy and Social Justice program for the 2023-2024 cohort.

ANAKAREN SANTANA

  • Cade is an alumnus of the Social Change Fellowships' second cohort. He holds a degree in political science with a concentration in Puerto Rican and Latin American Studies from Hunter College. He hails from the great state of Alaska, in the town of Unalaska. In his free time, Cade enjoys the finer things in life, such as looking for beach glass, enjoying sweets, and lounging in hammocks at the park. Currently, Cade is a Community Organizer at Common Justice, working to find community-based solutions to violence.

CADE TERADA

ELF, ROCC, & MLF Branch

  • Chas Moore is a nationally respected organizer, abolitionist, and visionary leader committed to transforming systems that harm Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities. As Founder and Organizing Director of the Austin Justice Coalition, Chas has led campaigns that redefined public safety in Austin—including securing a historic $150 million reallocation from police budgets to community-first initiatives, reshaping the city’s Use of Force policy, and defeating a harmful police union contract. His work blends unapologetic advocacy with deep love for the people, proving that grassroots power can shift both policy and culture. Today, Chas continues building movements across Texas and beyond, driving political education, base-building, and healing-centered approaches to justice.

CHAS MOORE

  • Kass Colón is a movement educator and cultural organizer who weaves arts, storytelling, and collective care into the fabric of campaigns that reclaim our humanity. Born in NYC and raised in South Florida, they ground their organizing in the resilience and collective spirit of working-class, migrant communities. For over a decade, Kass has worked alongside young people, parents, and teachers in the education justice movement. They have coached local grassroots campaigns, built youth-led research teams, and facilitated spaces where everyone can show up as their full selves. Kass currently serves as a Senior Training Specialist at Popular Democracy, where they facilitate national leadership programs for a network of grassroots organizations. Outside of organizing, you can find Kass performing as a part-time comedian with their improv group, Femme&M, and cuddling with their kitty boyz Mofongo, Sofrito, and Sazón.

KASS COLÓN

  • Leia Squillace is a director, producer, cultural organizer, and artivist (artist + activist). Currently, she serves as the Director of Artistic Impact for the Tony-Award winning Broadway Advocacy Coalition, as well as a lecturer at Columbia Law School and an Artist Ambassador for the New York Civil Liberties Union. Previously, Leia served as the Director of Strategic Arts Engagement for The Confined Arts, a program of Columbia University’s Center for Justice that showcases creative voices of artists impacted by incarceration. Leia has designed and managed programming for Roundabout Theatre Company, Asolo Repertory Theatre, the Prison Creative Arts Project, and the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center.


LEIA SQUILLACE

  • campaigner, organizer, and movement builder with more than 15 years of experience in progressive politics. As an independent consultant, Maria has worked with groups in the organizing and philanthropy space, including MoveOn, Kairos, and Progressive Multiplier Fund. Their work focuses on strategic planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of new projects, as well as campaigning, training, coaching, and facilitation. Before starting their consulting work, Maria served as VP of Campaigns at UltraViolet, where they built a team to drive campaigns focused on the intersection of racial and gender justice, including launching the first cross-movement campaigning table focused on countering racist and sexist disinformation attacks on women of color running for office. Prior to their work at UltraViolet, Maria worked in both the nonprofit and startup worlds, leading teams at MoveOn, Food & Water Watch, and Change.org.



MARIA TCHIJOV

  • Kevin Harris was born in the inner city of Washington, DC and raised by his single mother.  Kevin attended Mercersburg Academy for high school where he was recently awarded the Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement. After high school, Kevin graduated from Alabama State University where he served as the captain of the men’s basketball team, won a SWAC conference championship, and played in the NCAA Tournament (the first time in the school’s history).  After college, Kevin played basketball in the CBA for the Dakota Wizards and tried out for the Washington Wizards.

    Kevin has served as a high school basketball coach, Deputy Chair of the Alexandria Democratic Committee, Strategy Team Member for Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement, and candidate for Alexandria City Council.  

    Currently, Kevin lives in Alexandria Virginia with his wife and four daughters.  He serves as an Elder at his church, Commissioner for the Alexandria Redevelopment & Housing Authority, Founder of the Alexandria Minority Business Association, mentor to social justice leaders, and owner of his small business of over 20 years, Hoop Life.  Kevin sees teaching and service as his calling from God.  Kevin’s faith in Jesus Christ is central to his foundation, guidance, and achievements. He knows that without God, he could do nothing.

KEVIN HARRIS

  • Nathan is a Los Angeles–based organizer, artist, and cultural worker whose practice bridges grassroots movement building and social practice. A formerly undocumented immigrant from Hong Kong, they bring nearly a decade of experience in movement spaces, academia, and the arts. Believing in the power of art to build narrative power and invite people into social movements, Nathan draws from lived experience to center the most marginalized and build collective power, creating space for queer joy, love, and liberation beyond borders. Their work is grounded in deep connections across national and international movements, integrating art, political education, and global solidarity into organizing, and the deep belief that every human has an intrinsic right to love, dignity, and care.

NATHAN CHEUNG