MS Speaks: Legacy of the Lash
Panelist Bios Ellen Reddy Ellen Reddy has been the Executive Director for Nollie Jenkins Family for twenty-five plus years. She is responsible for conducting the day-to-day activities including financial, administrative, and programmatic work of a community-based organization that develops grassroots leaders, community organizers, parents, and students and other members of the African American community in Holmes County. Kameisha Smith Kameisha Smith, from Lexington, MS, is the Youth Program Coordinator for Nollie Jenkins Family Center. She is known for her vision, passion, and dedication to improving the lives of youth in her community. The Equal Voice Network nominated Ms. Smith for the foundation’s Youth Warriors Against Poverty Award and she’s a current “Young Leaders for Change” fellow of Southern Partners Fund. She has been an organizer at Nollie Jenkins Family Center since elementary school. As a child, one of her first efforts to improve her neighborhood was organizing and fighting for new & safe playground equipment for all schools in her district. Breon Wells Breon Wells is a policy advisor, social impact strategist, communications expert, racial equity consultant, thought leader, public speaker, Faith leader, and author. He is the President and Founder of The Daniel Initiative (TDI), a government relations and strategic communications firm that specifically services traditionally underrepresented and underserved populations in public policy spaces. A former Congressional Aide on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Breon is a National Security Policy Specialist. While on the SASC, he provided legislative support to the Investigations Team (Detainee Abuse), the Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee, and the foreign affairs team (particularly African and Asian geopolitics). TDI continues to assist clients in navigating the annual National Defense Authorization Act and broader national security issues. Breon works with non-profit organizations, corporations, activists and influencers to develop public policy and advocacy programs. On August 28, 2020, The Daniel Initiative coordinated Congressional Engagement for the 2020 March on Washington, convened by Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King, III. Christopher Scott Christopher Scott is a Senior Program Manager for Open Society U.S.’s Innovation team focusing on democratizing education and dismantling inequities, reparative justice, and innovative practices and policies to advance alternative paradigms to punitive practices and policies and democratizing public spaces and resources. Chris promotes policy initiatives for Open Society on criminal justice, police reform and youth reentry, and convenes the Federal School Discipline and Climate Coalition (FedSDC), a coalition working to advance police free schools while implementing effective, non-punitive, and culturally-sustaining practices in schools and alternatives to school discipline. In addition to his leadership and role within FedSDC, Christopher also Co-chairs the Reentry Working Group, a coalition working on transformational change in the U.S. without a focus on punitive or carceral remedies or reentry solutions reliant on law enforcement. Morgan Craven Morgan Craven, J.D., is IDRA’s National Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Community Engagement. She supports the integration and coordination of national and state policy reform efforts impacting school finance, school discipline and safety, education for emergent bilingual students, preparation and access to higher education, and community-led, culturally-sustaining schools. In addition to crafting community-centered policy positions and advocacy strategies, Morgan spearheads IDRA’s critical work to expand access to policymaking spaces for impacted communities, particularly for students and families of color, families with limited incomes, and recent immigrant populations. She presented expert testimo
