Black
Bryan Epps
Bryan Matthew Charles Epps is a policy wonk and community lover. He has worked for Mayor’s Cory A. Booker and Michael Bloomberg conducting outreach and training to the not-for-profit sector and performance management for city departments. Currently Epps directs a historical human rights based nonprofit and operates a beverage startup. As a Newark native Epps has dedicated himself to helping to build community as founding board chair of People's Prep high-school and First Advisory board chair of HMI:NJ and a former President of the James Street Neighborhood Association. He studied Urban Policy...Perris Straughter
Perris Straughter is the Director of Planning for Queens and Staten Island for the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. He is charged with leading the planning activities related to affordable housing development and preservation for these boroughs, the City’s two largest by land area. Previously he was Supervising Planner in the City of Newark, where he coordinated the development approvals process for the City. During his tenure in Newark Perris also managed a $20 million commercial revitalization program and served as the coordinator of Newark's mural program,...Rodney Gilbert
Rodney Gilbert (July 27, 1967 - November 8, 2017) was the founder and CEO of Yendor Productions, a Newark-based firm that consults, develops, and produces arts education programming and events. Yendor Productions was founded in 2003 to meet the challenges for the under served artists and communities. Mr. Gilbert has worked in professional theatre for over thirty years. He was a graduate of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he earned a BFA. He served the arts community through acting instruction for various institutions and organization as one of the leading teaching artists...Rejean (Tornado) Veal
Rejean “Tornado” Veal was born and raised in Newark, NJ. During his sophomore year in high school at Malcolm X Shabazz, he ventured into the world of voguing. Since then, he has built a career as a professional dancer and has become active on the ballroom scene. Veal has performed in a number of venues in the United States, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Drawing Center in New York City. He has also toured abroad in countries like France, Russia, and China. Veal is a member of the House of Revlon.June Dowell-Burton
June Dowell-Burton is the founder and an executive board member of Newark Gay Pride, Inc., a LGBT community-based, volunteer run organization that works to enhance LGBTQ life by producing an annual Gay Pride Week and facilitating programming in Newark, New Jersey. The organization was recognized by the White House in 2012 and recently celebrated its Decennial anniversary in 2015. June became an Essex County LGBTQ advisor in 2011, working primarily on identifying issues, providing recommendations and guiding strategy for the County Executive. In 2010, June was vetted and hired as 1 of 23...Renata Hill
Renata Hill is currently a full-time student on the path to earn an Associates degree in Human Services at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and will then work to get her master’s degree in Social Work. She has toured the country speaking out for this case and also for all women who are incarcerated for defending themselves. She spoke to a room of over 1600 people at the national INCITE! Color Of Violence Conference in Chicago in March 2015. Renata won the 2015 Beyond Measure Award co-presented with DapperQ and New York Fashion Week for her dedication to activism and social justice...James Credle
James Warren Credle (1945-2023) is a retired American academic administrator, counselor, and Veterans and LGBT rights activist. Born in Mesic, North Carolina, he was one of 14 children born during the time of Jim Crow. His mother was a dayworker and his father worked part-time as a carpenter. Credle and his siblings worked through high school to supplement the family income. He worked in fields picking cotton, potatoes, corn, and cabbage. He later worked in a crab factory. His family were members of Mount Olive Baptist Church where he sang in the choir. James graduated from the all-black...