Meet the Staff Team

  • Cleveland Alfred

    ORGANIZER

  • Geno Bibbins

    CANVASSER

  • Melvin Bindom

    CANVASSER

  • Gabby Bolden Shaw

    JEFFERSON PARISH CHAPTER ORGANIZER

  • Trevor Carlisle

    BATON ROUGE CANVASS LEAD

  • Dasha Corner

    ORGANIZER

  • Britain Forsyth

    LEGISLATIVE COORDINATOR

  • Melissa Francis

    NEW ORLEANS PARENT UNION ORGANIZER

  • Ralissa Francis

    CANVASSER

  • Robert "Kool Black" Horton

    ORGANIZER IN TRAINING LEAD

  • Alex Jaouiche

    RESEARCH ANALYST

  • Will Lewis

    CANVASS DIRECTOR

  • Kennedy Potter

    DATA MANAGER

  • Kenya Slaughter

    DOLLAR STORE WORKER ORGANIZER

  • Rene Smith

    CANVASSER

  • Latasha Williams

    NEW ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON PARISH ECONOMIC JUSTICE ORGANIZER

  • Greg Wilson

    LEAD DOLLAR STORE ORGANIZER

  • Dana Winbush

    BATON ROUGE PARENT UNION ORGANIZER

  • Pamela Wood

    DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR

  • Brandon Watkins

    NEW ORLEANS CANVASS LEAD

Co-Founders, Co-Directors

  • Maria Harmon

    Maria Harmon is from Lake Charles, LA. She is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of Step Up Louisiana. She leads Step Up's education justice and climate justice work and lives in Baton Rouge. Maria has been organizing since the age of 16 with the Junior Daughters of the Knights of Peter Claver. She has a Master's Degree in Public Administration and a bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Southern University A&M College of Baton Rouge, LA. During her time at Southern, Maria built a network of over 2,000 students to become civically engaged while working with the Louisiana Democratic Party. She helped start Democracy Prep Public School of Baton Rouge by enrolling 192 students for their first school year in 2015-2016. She has also worked for the Micah Project, a federation of the PICO National Network/Faith In Action, in 2016 as a community organizer working in education and civic engagement. 

  • Benjamin Zucker

    Ben is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of Step Up Louisiana. He leads our economic justice work and lives in New Orleans. He is a labor and community organizer who comes from a movement family has been working and learning in Louisiana since he was 18 years old. Ben worked as a lead regional organizer with the Fight for $15 fast food workers organizing campaign until co-founding Step Up Louisiana in 2017. Some victories Ben has been proud to be a part of organizing include passing the workplace safety shareholders’ resolution at Dollar General, passing the Fair Chance Hiring Act, winning a $15 minimum wage for New Orleans city workers and city contract workers, increasing the weekly Louisiana unemployment benefit maximum by $28, the New Orleans and Baton Rouge Fair Chance Hiring Ordinances, $10.10 minimum wage increase in Connecticut, and the New York Fast Food Worker Wage Board $15 victory. Ben graduated from Tulane University in New Orleans with a degree in Public Health in 2011 and supports the Louisiana Organizer of the Month series.

Our Board