Maya Wiley
Founder & President
Maya Wiley is the Founder and President of the Center for Social Inclusion. A civil rights attorney and policy advocate, Maya has litigated, lobbied the U.S. Congress and developed programs to transform structural racism in the U.S. and in South Africa.
Prior to founding the Center for Social Inclusion, Maya was a senior advisor on race and poverty to the Director of U.S. Programs of the Open Society Institute and helped develop and implement the Open Society Foundation – South Africa’s Criminal Justice Initiative. She has worked for the American Civil Liberties Union National Legal Department, in the Poverty and Justice Program of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. and in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Maya previously served on the boards of the Tides Network, Human Rights Watch, the Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota School of Law and the Council on Foreign Relations. She was named a NY Moves magazine 2009 Power Woman. In 2011 Wiley was named as one of “20 Leading Black Women Social Activists Advocating Change” by The Root.com.
Maya has authored an article, “Talk About Race Right: the Why and How of Persuasive Race Talk” for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies 2012 Focus magazine. She was a contributing author to the 2010 Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity’s (PRE) Critical Issues Forum, Vol. 3 and to the National Urban League’s 2006 State of Black America Report. Maya also authored a chapter on race, equity and land use planning (“Smart Growth and the Legacy of Segregation in Richland County, South Carolina”) in Growing Smarter: Achieving Livable Communities, Environmental Justice and Regional Equity (The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, 2007). Recently, Maya was interviewed in the book Beyond Zuccotti Park: Freedom of Assembly and the Occupation of Public Space (New Village Press: Oakland, CA, 2012) in which she talked with Professor Ron Shiffman at the Pratt Institute about race, civic engagement and Occupy Wall Street. Maya holds a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law (1989) and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Dartmouth College (1986).
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Management Team
Randall Oakley, SPHR
Vice President, Finance & Administration
In his role as Vice President of Finance and Administration, Randall Oakley is responsible for providing financial and operational leadership through the management of CSI’s Finances, Operations, Administration, Human Resources and Management Information Systems.
Randall has over 20 years of experience in multiple areas of finance: accounting, banking and insurance. With a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Randall began his professional career as the credit manager of a small community bank in Tennessee, managing the documentation efforts for all loans/credit activities for the bank. Afterwards, he worked with Travelers Property and Casualty Insurance Company, where he was recognized as being one of the top 10 insurance agents in his division nationally, and was instrumental in the integration of a computer telephony system. He has operated a financial services business for 8 years, during which he was a principal securities broker, an insurance broker, and a mortgage broker; working directly with individual families and small businesses to achieve financial freedom. Most recently he held the position of Senior Officer of Administration and Finance for Southern Partners Fund, a regional grantmaking organization based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Randall has earned certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), awarded by the HR Certification Institute. The HR Certification Institute is the credentialing body for human resource professionals and is affiliated with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest organization dedicated exclusively to the human resource profession.
In addition to his work at CSI, Randall is co-owner of Oakland Log Cabin Rentals, in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. He is an advocate for all social justice issues, and is an active member of many LGBTQ organizations, both locally and nationally.
Reada Bunin Edelstein
Director of Development
Reada Bunin Edelstein serves as CSI’s Development Officer. Reada brings to CSI a full array of resource development experience. She has expertise in evaluation of existing fund development activities and potential; strategic design and recommendations for enhanced ongoing fundraising activities; board relations; budgeting; capital campaign management; feasibility studies; special event planning; preparation of case statements, annual reports, direct mail pieces, newsletters, speeches and other communication materials; proposal writing; and prospect research.
In addition to her work with CSI, Edelstein is Co-President and Founder of Special Event Partners, a full-service event firm specializing in fundraising for non-profits. Her event experience includes seven figure special events honoring CEOs of Fortune 500 corporations and multi-national financial institutions, theater benefits, film screenings, concert, golf outings and auctions.
Previously, she was Associate Executive Director for Communications & Development for the YWCA of the City of New York. In that position, she was responsible for conceptualizing, implementing and managing all private sector fundraising. During her tenure at the YWCA/NYC, Edelstein guided the Association to an increase in annual contributions of over 500%; secured the largest six-figure grants in Association history at that time; and increased event income from $176,000 to over one million dollars by the time she left.
She holds a master’s degree in Social Work (M.S.W.) from Adelphi University.
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The CSI Team
Madeleine Adamson
Project Coordinator for the Alston Bannerman Leadership Initiative
Madeleine Adamson has been Coordinator of the Alston Bannerman Fellowship Program, which supports organizers of color with the resources to take sabbaticals for reflection and renewal, since its inception in 1988. In the 1970s, Madeleine worked for the National Welfare Rights Organization, as Research Director of the Movement for Economic Justice and as the editor of Just Economics, the leading publication on community organizing. Subsequently, she served as Publications Director and National Representative of ACORN and as the editor of Minority Trendsletter, a publication of the Center for Third World Organizing. Madeleine has also worked as a freelance writer and designer for community and labor organizations and is co-author with Seth Borgos of This Mighty Dream: Social Protest Movements in the United States (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985). She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from American University.
Grigoris Argeros
Director of Research
As Director of Research, Grigoris is responsible for developing research ideas and methodology to advance CSI’s mission and programmatic goals. In collaboration with the advocacy and communications staff, his work also focuses on research to advance advocacy goals and impact the public discourse on race.
Prior to joining CSI, Grigoris was an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Mississippi State University. His scholarly interests are in the areas of race and ethnicity, immigration, urban sociology and social demography. Grigoris’s research work focuses in the correlates and consequences of both patterns of racial/ethnic neighborhood change and changes in levels of residential segregation. His dissertation, “Locational Attainment to Human Capital Levels: The Case of Black Caribbeans and Black Africans,” examines nativity status and place-of-birth residential differences in suburban location among black ethnic groups.
Grigoris earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from Fordham University and an MA in Applied Social Research from Queens College of the City University of New York.
Julia Beatty
Coordinator for Leadership Initiatives
As Coordinator for Leadership Initiatives, Julia Beatty develops trainings for CSI and oversees CSI’s new Leaders Initiative.
Julia brings a strong background in community organizing, public policy advocacy, organizational development and social justice philanthropy to her work with leaders, organizations and communities. Prior to joining the CSI team, Ms. Beatty served as the Program Director for the Twenty First Century Foundation (21CF) and led its Gulf Coast Organizing, Advocacy and Leadership Initiative (GOAL) which raised and allocated more than $4 million in grantmaking and capacity-building support to grassroots organizations working to transform post-Katrina communities. She also managed the Foundation’s donor advised funds, in addition to leading the overall programmatic work and direction of 21CF.
Ms. Beatty also served as a Program Officer at the Ms. Foundation for Women, where she managed all aspects of the organization’s Collaborative Fund for Youth-Led Social Change a five-year cycle of grantmaking, capacity-building, networking and learning that engaged youth-led organizations and individual donor partners.
She also is a former President of the United States Student Association (USSA) in Washington, D.C., a 65-year old policy advocacy organization that represents hundreds of thousands of student members nationwide on Capitol Hill, at the Department of Education and at the White House to advocate for increased access to education for women, people of color, LGBT, low-income and other populations traditionally underrepresented at the college level.
Ms. Beatty holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.P.A. from New York University.
Dennis Chin
Communications Coordinator
Dennis Chin oversees CSI’s communications work, including media relations, online strategy and media/editorial content.
Dennis’s work is informed by his early experiences learning and growing alongside women of color and within LGBTQ people of color communities organizing for visibility and survival. These early experiences led him to contribute to local, state and national campaigns for justice, dignity, access and opportunity for all people. Most recently, he served as a communications specialist for the Center for Community Change, working to pass federal legislation for health care and immigration reform.
In addition to his work at CSI, Dennis serves on the steering committee of the Gay Asian Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY) and is active with local and national LGBTQ organizations. He also serves on the Board of Directors for CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, an organization working to build grassroots community power across diverse poor and working-class Asian immigrant and refugee communities in New York City.
Anthony Giancatarino
Coordinator of Research & Advocacy
Anthony Giancatarino holds a master’s degree in public administration, with a specialization in policy analysis, from the NYU Wagner School for Public Service. Anthony’s studies have focused on urban economics, food policy, and participatory policymaking strategies in urban communities of color. As a graduate student, Anthony worked as a research assistant at the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. There, he provided research and GIS support for several projects, including the 2010 State of New York City’s Housing and Neighborhoods report, which provides advocates, city officials, and residents with a comprehensive demographic and housing analysis of New York City’s 57 community districts. Before enrolling in graduate school, Anthony taught high school courses in U.S. and world history, U.S. government, and social justice. While a teacher, Anthony also coached cross country and track and coordinated volunteer programs for students. In addition to his M.A., Anthony holds a bachelor’s degree in Theology and Political Science from the University of Scranton.
Jarrid L. Green
Project Associate
As Project Associate, Jarrid provides administrative and programmatic assistance to the Coordinator of Research and Advocacy and the Coordinator of Advocacy.
Prior to joining CSI, Jarrid served as a Research Associate for the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Policy and Analysis where he supported studies that assessed organizational policies and procedures for Smithsonian museums and external organizations. While at the Smithsonian, Jarrid also served as a Project Coordinator for the Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies where he worked in partnership with MIT’s Education Arcade to coordinate the development of a national education program that sought to increase middle-school-aged students’ understanding of the scientific process and spark interest in science-based careers through web-based and in-person interactions with Smithsonian scientists and affiliate museums around the country.
Jarrid’s work is also informed by his internships at the White House Office of Communications and the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior, as well as his work on the Obama reelection campaign in Iowa. Jarrid holds a bachelor’s degree In English Language and Literature from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Ashley Hollingshead
Project Associate
As Project Associate, Ashley is responsible for providing organizational and administrative assistance to the Communications Coordinator and the Coordinator of Leaders Initiatives
Prior to joining CSI, Ashley served as a research assistant on the Obama Fatherhood Project at the City College of New York. There she assisted in analyzing Obama’s rhetoric on fatherhood and his policies and programs targeted at strengthening fathers and families. She was also part of the Social Media Team of the Social Justice Sexuality project, a knowledge-based study that examines the sociopolitical experiences of LGBT people of color. Ashley is deeply committed to advocating for underserved communities, for people of color and women.
Ashley’s commitment is also informed by her internships with the American Friends Service Committee, the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, as well as her participation in Groundswell Community Mural Project’s “Voices Her’d Visionaries” program. Ashley holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the City College of New York-CUNY.
Jessica J. Kang
Research Associate, Message Testing
As the Research Associate of Message Testing, Jessica Kang engages in research strategies and initiatives on communications testing.
Prior to joining CSI, Jessica obtained her master’s degree in Social Psychology from the University of Connecticut. As a graduate research assistant, Jessica’s research focused on people’s identification with a social group such as race and gender and the effects of this identification on attitudes and stereotyping. Jessica also researched the effects of the 2008 presidential election on different racial groups’ identification with being American. During her undergraduate career, Jessica studied how people react to racial minorities who are strongly identified with their racial group. Outside of research, Jessica has actively participated in organizations that advocate for people of color and provide opportunities for underserved populations including One Heartland and the Pipeline Project.
In addition to her master’s degree, Jessica holds bachelor’s degrees in Psychology (B.S.) and English (B.A.) from the University of Washington.
Simran Noor
Coordinator of Advocacy
As Coordinator of Advocacy, Simran is responsible for policy research and analysis, cultivating and maintaining relationships with grassroots and national allies and working closely with the data-based research team for advocacy strategy and tool development.
Prior to joining the Center for Social Inclusion, Simran served as Program Manager at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation where she worked with the Food, Health & Well-being, Racial Equity and Civic & Community Engagement portfolios. She also served as Program Assistant at the Annie E. Casey Foundation where she supported the Policy Research and KIDS COUNT teams. Simran is deeply committed to youth development, having worked in organizational development and as frontline staff for the Holistic Life Foundation, a Baltimore-based yoga and mindfulness program, and as a language arts and community engagement teacher for middle school students through the Middle Grades Partnership.
Simran holds a dual bachelor’s degree in American Studies and Political Science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a dual master’s degree in Public Administration and Social Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Nelsangela Peña
Office Manager
As the Office Manager for CSI, Nelsangela Peña oversees all office operations and assists the Vice President of Finance and Administration.
Prior to joining the CSI team, Nelsangela worked as the Operations Manager at the Twenty-First Century Foundation (21CF), a non-profit organization that works to advance the African American community through strategic and collective grantmaking, special initiatives, research, and donor education and services.
Nelsangela holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Bernard Baruch College and is currently obtaining her master’s degree in Public Administration (M.P.A.) at the same college.
