Raven Vance is a young voice in West Virginia who spends her time searching for new ways to get her message of change across to those who are not always willing to hear it. She attends Sarah Lawrence College in New York where she studies Political Science in preparation to pursue a career in Law.
Theresa "Tess" Jackson is a middle school teacher in Huntington, West Virginia. She is currently running for the West Virginia House of Delegates 15th District. She loves reading, spending time with her family, and her two cats Wally and Lillian.
Mamone is an audio engineer and artist living in the coalfields of West Virginia. Mamone engineered and produced some of the first Riot Grrrl albums and served as President of Riot Grrrl Ink (RGI), the largest queer record label in the world until 2014. Today, Mamone is the Creative Director of the Queer Appalachia Project, communicating with over 100,000 people a day who call home below the Mason-Dixon Line through the project's social media. This fall, Mamone's art will be featured in a solo show at Sheherazade Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ibtesam Barazi is the Vice President of the Islamic Association of West Virginia. Her work as a humanitarian and civil rights activist, in collaboration with the interfaith community in Charleston, spreads peace and understanding, breaks down walls, and removes barriers of misconception about Muslim Americans and their contribution to the United States. She also serves as Vice President of the West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry (WVIRM), a coalition of religious and community leaders formed in 2015 to bring greater understanding of the plight of Syrian refugees to West Virginians and their leaders.
Gabrielle Chapman is the inaugural director of Call to Action for Racial Equality, a statewide racial equity leader, geared towards dismantling oppressive structures and institutional racism plaguing black and brown communities across the state of West Virginia. She carries the story and perspective of a mixed race, black woman in West Virginia and lends her skill set to open up often complex conversations around race and identity with hopes to strengthen her community, and to grow a statewide racial equity network.
Karan Ireland is a mother, writer, activist, and local elected official living in Charleston, West Virginia.
Amy Goodwin is applying to be Charleston, West Virginia's next mayor because she wants Charleston to be a place where her two boys -- and your children and grandchildren.
Katonya Hart is simply working to empower and support people. She believes we must value each other to create the progressive power needed to make change.
Tonia Thomas is one of two Team Coordinators of the West Virginia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Tonia received both her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Marshall University. She is a lifelong resident of West Virginia.