Meet the Staff Team
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Cleveland Alfred
ORGANIZER
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Geno Bibbins
CANVASSER
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Melvin Bindom
CANVASSER
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Gabby Bolden Shaw
JEFFERSON PARISH CHAPTER ORGANIZER
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Trevor Carlisle
BATON ROUGE CANVASS LEAD
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Dasha Corner
ORGANIZER
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Britain Forsyth
LEGISLATIVE COORDINATOR
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Melissa Francis
NEW ORLEANS PARENT UNION ORGANIZER
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Ralissa Francis
CANVASSER
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Robert "Kool Black" Horton
ORGANIZER IN TRAINING LEAD
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Alex Jaouiche
RESEARCH ANALYST
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Will Lewis
CANVASS DIRECTOR
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Kennedy Potter
DATA MANAGER
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Kenya Slaughter
DOLLAR STORE WORKER ORGANIZER
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Rene Smith
CANVASSER
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Latasha Williams
NEW ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON PARISH ECONOMIC JUSTICE ORGANIZER
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Greg Wilson
LEAD DOLLAR STORE ORGANIZER
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Dana Winbush
BATON ROUGE PARENT UNION ORGANIZER
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Pamela Wood
DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR
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Brandon Watkins
NEW ORLEANS CANVASS LEAD
Co-Founders, Co-Directors
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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.
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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.