Grantmaking Panel

Chester B. Williams

I am a 43 year old Enfieldale in Enfield, NC. I am a 2002 graduate of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University with a BS in Mathematics and BFA in Professional Theatre. I matriculated at Indiana University to earn my Masters in Mathematical Physics. I have worked in education for over 10 years in Indiana, Virginia and North Carolina respectively. I recently received a Nonprofit Management Certification from Duke University.

I am doing exciting work to uplift the youth and communities throughout rural North Carolina, creating opportunities for the youth to shape a healthier world in their own communities and beyond. I currently work with A Better Chance A Better Community (ABC2), an organization which connects rural communities with resources and opportunities to activate youth power and advocate for realistic solutions and healthier lifestyles.

My official title is “Founder/Chief Empowerment Officer”, and I also support the ABC2 World Changers, the youth of ABC2. Together we manage a 2 acre Community Garden to provide fresh seasonal produce for the ABC2’s Food Sovereignty Program to increase access to healthy foods. The World Changers also host Teen Unity Summits, bringing together young people to highlight social issues impacting teens today, as well as cooking classes with younger children and their families.

I am a visionary and a tireless optimist, who stands with the World Changers and helps facilitate the vision they have for a powerful and just future. I see the community garden as a vehicle for everything from self-esteem building to financial literacy and service learning. I partner with numerous organizations and agencies and also served on numerous committees and boards—the School Meals For All NC, NC AIDS Action Network, Rural Health Group of NC, and iCreate Art Initiative, to name a few—as I believe collective engagement and partnership are key to a vibrant and healthy community.

Domenico Ruggerio

Domenico Ruggerio (he/they) is a transformative leader and social justice educator. They serve as executive director of We Are Family, a South Carolina nonprofit serving LGBTQ+ youth in the region. Raised in the Philippines and on Long Island, they earned a master’s degree in humanistic/multicultural education at SUNY New Paltz, and a B.A. in sociology and anthropology at Colgate University. Domenico is also one of the co-founders and facilitators of the Transformative Teaching Collective, a predominantly female, LGBTQ+, and BIPOC-owned cooperative that provides social justice education and consultation to non-profit organizations, university faculty and student groups, government organizations, k-12 teachers, volunteer groups, and faith-based organizations. They are formally certified in social justice mediation from the Social Justice Mediation Institute, UMass Amherst, and has skills in multipartial mediation, facilitation, and conflict resolution.

FreeQuency|Mwende

Photo by Juicebox Burton

www.freequencyspeaks.com – story|teller, cultural & donor organizer, chaos collagist, youth worker & performance artist, FreeQuency is a gender renegade shoga Kenyan e|immigrant who is often read as masculine off center, femme adjacent, an AunTea and|or a prettyboi. FreeQuency’s anti-disciplinary work interrogates and occupies the in between and beyond while exploring the nuances and stark contradictions of existence under racialized capitalism. They are a touring artist, a coach, facilitator and consultant at FreeQuency Serves Consulting, and work in the Department of Racial Justice and Movement Building at the National Performance Network as well as the Leader of Youth Liberation and Learning at LOUD: The New Orleans Queer Youth Theater.

MJ Gray

MJ (they|them) is a birthworker, yoga instructor, holistic health advocate, somatic & embodiment coach, and parent! Their center is rooted in love, liberation, reproductive and social justice. They were running the operations of the Richmond Doula Project for the last three years then shifted their work to center accessible wellness for reproductive, BIPOC, and queer communities through their business, Bright Embody Wellness, and other collaborations. When MJ isn’t parenting (very rare sighting lol), they’re whipping up body care products, playing in herbs, taking a walk, belly laughing, or dancing while cooking in the kitchen!

KD Randle

KD Randle (KD/they) is a returning generational farmer who came into land work after years of youth organizing as a student, teacher, and coach between Jackson, MS and New Orleans, LA. Their journey is rooted in remembrance and reconnection of their Black southern agrarian roots that continue to uncover stories of sustainability, creativity, and resilience. This passion has inspired them to create Home Grown Farms, a small rural farm that is still blooming into its first form. Some of KD’s favorite things are: thrifting, being a TT, cooking with their mama, a good dance party, and a “power nap”.

TAYLOR ALXNDR

Meet TAYLOR ALXNDR (they/she), the underground drag icon and queer artist making a big splash in Atlanta and beyond. Co-founder of Southern Fried Queer Pride, an Atlanta-based organization that empowers Black and QTPOC communities in Atlanta & the South, TAYLOR’S art and performances are extensions of their community activism and organizing. They are the Mother of the House of ALXNDR, an Atlanta-based drag family and events hub that creates drag-centered, inclusive spaces for marginalized folks to build community.