Shavon Arline
Shavon Arline is the National Director of the NAACP’s Health Program, where she is responsible for coordinating and planning the Association’s health agenda and program implementation efforts. A graduate of Tulane University with a BS in Exercise Science and Masters in Public Health (MPH), Shavon has ten years of public health experience in the areas of health disparities, federal and state government health program management, and community and stakeholder collaborative relationship building.
Carmen Berkley
As a Field Organizer for the NAACP’s Regions 2 & 7, Carmen Berkley oversees NAACP activity in Maine, Virginia, and every state in between. Prior to joining the NAACP in fall 2009, Carmen served as the President of the United States Student Association (USSA), developing current and future leaders and amplifying the student voice at the local, state, and national levels.
Alethea Bonello
Alethea Bonello has been a member of the NAACP since 1989, and a staff member since 1998. She currently serves as Regional Field Director for the Southeast Region, which encompasses Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. In this role she implements multi-faceted advocacy campaigns on key issues; trains and mobilize Units, members and stakeholders to advance the NAACP’s strategic goals and objectives in the Southeast.
Stefanie Brown
As the NAACP’s National Field Director, Stefanie Brown oversees more than 2,200 units from coast to coast, training thousands of NAACP members to advance the Association’s campaign goals and advocacy campaigns. She also serves as the Director of the NAACP’s Youth and College program, and works daily to develop a new generation of NAACP leadership.
Jotaka Eaddy
Jotaka Eaddy is the Special Assistant to the President and CEO for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People where she manages external affairs/relations and strategic initiatives on behalf of the Office of the President and CEO. She is a dedicated and seasoned progressive policy advocate with more than 12 years experience, and has served in several leadership capacities and at the forefronts of some of the nation’s leading issue and electoral campaigns. A staunch opponent to the death penalty, Jotaka has advocated on numerous death penalty cases, coordinated national lobbying efforts, and managed grassroots campaigns in more than 45 states and 28 countries.
Rebecca Guerra
Rebecca Guerra serves as a Program Specialist for the Education and Criminal Justice Programs, where she supports the Association’s major policy advocacy, reform and public education programs around criminal justice reform and public education and advocacy. Her previous experience includes community organizing and strategizing on issues related to education, health and criminal justice.
Quentin James
At just 22, Quentin James is one of the youngest members of the NAACP National Board of Directors. Formerly, Quentin worked Rep. Kilpatrick on Capitol Hill and currently he is the Political Aide to the CEO of Green For All.
Curtis Johnson
Curtis Johnson serves as duel capacity in both the Communications and New Media departments of the NAACP. He has provided communications and new media outreach, strategy, and support for field operations including the NAACP Leadership 500 Summit, the South Carolina King Day at the Dome, the Justice for Mark Barmore Rally in Rockford, Ill., and the NAACP Centennial Convention.
Robert Rooks
Robert Rooks has more than ten years of community organizing experience and focuses his work on developing strategies that maximize grassroots participation in criminal justice policymaking. He is most recognized for his work as Executive Director of the A Better Way Foundation, a Connecticut based policy organization, where he led efforts that equalized the crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity in Connecticut. Robert was active with the Prairie View A&M NAACP chapter in college, and has worked with many branches across the country during his career.
Chris Fleming
Christopher serves as deputy communications director for the NAACP in Washington DC. He has helped guide media, strategy and messaging for the NAACP Centennial Convention, the NAACP 880 Campaign for Real Health Care Reform, and the NAACP Don’t Erase Our History Campaign to keep civil rights history in textbooks.
When we think of the NAACP, we recall more than a century’s worth of monumental civil rights victories. From Brown vs. the Board of Education to the Mathew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Act, the NAACP has been at the forefront in the ongoing struggle for the rights of people of color.
As the NAACP hosts its 101st Convention this week in Kansas City, the organization is looking to a younger generation of civil and human rights activists to continue its legacy. These 10 NAACP leaders are all under the age of 35, and represent the new frontline of civil rights advocates who are working to realize the NAACP’s vision of “One Nation, One Dream”.
