Board of Directors
Dr. Melina Abdullah
P R O F E S S O R O F P A N – A F R I C A N S T U D I E S , C O – F O U N D E R O F
B L A C K L I V E S M A T T E R – L O S A N G E L E S , A N D D I R E C T O R O F
B L A C K L I V E S M A T T E R G R A S S R O O T S
Dr. Melina Abdullah is Chair and Council for Racial and Social Justice, California Faculty Association-Los Angeles • Mama of three children Brief Bio: Melina Abdullah is a Professor of Pan-African Studies at Cal State LA, Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Director of Black Lives Matter Grassroots, a leader in the California Faculty Association (the faculty union), and mama of three children. She earned her Ph.D. from USC in Political Science and her B.A. from Howard University in African American Studies. Abdullah has authored numerous articles and book chapters and is the creator, host, and producer of the radio programs Move the Crowd on KPFK 90.7 FM and This Is Not a Drill! on KBLA Talk 1580, and is a recognized expert on race, gender, class, and social movements. Long Form Bio: University Career and Unionism Melina Abdullah is a Professor of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles.
ANDREA FOGGY PAXTON
F O U N D E R A N D C E O O F F O G G Y – P A X T O N C O N S U L T I N G
Andrea Foggy-Paxton founded The GROW Network and has over 25 years of executive experience in nonprofit and philanthropic organizations. Recently she served as the Managing Director of Partner Strategy at The Broad Center, leading efforts to collaborate with urban school systems and strategic alliances to accelerate excellence and equity for all students. Prior to joining The Broad
Center, Paxton was Executive Vice President at Reasoning Mind, a nonprofit organization focused on transforming math education in the United States. Andrea successfully orchestrated enrollment campaigns for research projects and a State of Texas Education funded contract resulting in 34,000 new students served, and curriculum adoption in Texas and California.
DEANNA JOSEPH
S O C I A L W O R K E R , A D V O C A T E , E M P O W E R M E N T C O A C H
Deanna Joseph of Tampa, Florida is a mother who advocates on behalf of the rights of children, families, and those with developmental disabilities. Mrs. Joseph is a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Grambling State University and a Master’s Degree from Southern University of New Orleans. She has engaged in practice within private, state, and clinical settings. The acclamation of her experience has exceeded more than 20 years of service to the community and family
system desiring her expertise. Her work and cross-country travels have acquired the knowledge and foresight to engage and foster advanced
conversations about a vast array of issues relevant to the Black diaspora and the resolve toward justice and accountability of her deceased 14-year-old son Andrew Joseph, III. Andrew was failed by a multifaceted distorted system and the cohorts of many black families who are recovering from the mistreatment of their children by the criminal justice system and the school districts around the world.
Henry "Hank" Jones
Member, Black Panther Party “San Francisco 8”
Henry “Hank” Jones was born in 1935 in racist, apartheid, New Albany, Mississippi. His father was a Fisk Jubilee Singer who had been a candidate for alderman in Chicago in 1929. He was a teacher at a segregated Black school. His mother was from a sharecropper family born in the Mississippi Delta. He was raised in a village. His parents moved the family to California in 1941 looking for a better life. Mr. Jones has been an activist since the 1955 savage torture and murder of 14-year-old Emmett Louis Till. Jones was a twenty years old Marine stationed in Japan when Emmett Till was killed. The military was racist and segregated but after Emmett’s murder, a few Black Marines began to
fight back, breaking down the barriers. They desegregated the military base and the towns nearby.
Audrena Redmond
Director of Chapter Development and Political Education – Black Lives Matter Long Beach
Audrena Redmond, M.A., is the Anti-Racism and Social Justice Director for the California Faculty Association, the largest post-secondary higher education labor union the country. Her work includes identifying policy and practice changes, building internal and external relationships, developing and facilitating anti-racism workshops, organizing annual equity conferences and hosting a podcast, Radio Free CSU, available on Apple podcast, SoundCloud.
Nurtured in progressive principles of community, collective responsibility, and an understanding of the power and significance of Black lives to and in America, Audrena is a leader in Black Lives Matter Grassroots. She leads the organization’s political education and new chapter onboarding. Periodically she produces and hosts radio shows for This Is Not A Drill airing Saturday mornings on KBLA 1580 AM.
She feels fortunate to have found a profession and social activism that align with her values and beliefs that education is a human right and Black Lives Matter.
