Partners
Our Partners
Meet Our Partners

Brittany Brathwaite, MSW, MPH (Her/she) is a reproductive justice activist, youth worker, creative entrepreneur and community accountable scholar with a deep-seated commitment to supporting the leadership, organizing, and healing of girls of color. Most recently, Brittany was the Organizing and Innovation Manager at Girls for Gender Equity, where she successfully won the Schools Girls Deserve Campaign. She also is the co-founder of Kimbritive and The Homegirl Box.
Brittany has worked with us since early 2020, when she helped us create our Needs Assessment. As part of Rebellious Root Collective, Brittany has also offered Technical Assistance and Capacity Building opportunities to Network members and helped guide the work of this grant.

Mickey Ferrara (She/her) is a fierce community organizer, sister and youth worker who has been organizing for justice for the last 15 years . Most recently, she was the Deputy Director of Atlas DIY, a holistic youth drop-in space in Sunset Park centering immigrant and undocumented youth and a co-organizer of the Ray of Hope Walk to End Violence Against Women. By night, she can be found designing graphics and earrings for the revolution. She is also the co-founder of The Homegirl Box – a gift box for the revolution!
As part of Rebellious Root Collective, Mickey has worked with us since 2020, offering Technical Assistance and Capacity Building opportunities to Network members and guiding the work of this grant. Mickey was part of our August 2022 Planning Retreat.

Shea Beiter (they/them) is a Registered Nurse at URMC in the adult Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU). They serve as Charge RN and can often be found precepting new staff members. In their role as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Representative for Perioperative Services, they expand initiatives in clinical education and mentorship at the department level. They also serve as the Staff Co-chair on the Cultural Inclusion Council, a sub-committee of the Professional Nursing Council, are a member of the Nursing DEI Advisory Board, and a member of THRIVE. They are thrilled to offer clinical expertise in caring for transgender and gender expansive patients. Shea co-facilitated our second offering of Navigating Difficult Conversations through Healthcare Equity in April 2022.

Bianca is a community trainer at the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. Bianca co-facilitated the first of our two 4-week Feedback Learning Labs in early 2022.

Gwen Olton (she/her) is the interim director of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, and is a lifelong student of nonviolence and brings her unique background in mental health nursing and conflict transformation to her work at the Institute. Gwen designed and co-facilitated our 2 4-week offerings of Feedback Learning Labs in early 2022.

OJ Shepard is an Equity and Inclusion Learning Specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Prior to joining URMC, OJ was employed at Alfred State College where he held a number of roles specializing in equity & inclusion work. OJ earned his bachelor’s degree from Alfred University in sociology and is currently working toward his Master of Business Administration degree in organizational development. OJ co-facilitated our first offering of Navigating Difficult Conversations through Theater for Healthcare Equity in March 2022.

Carli Gaughf (she/her) is an Equity and Inclusion Learning Specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She is a facilitator with a long history of using theatre with diverse groups to address inequity. With URMC, she has adapted Theater of the oppressed techniques for the medical field. She has an M.A. in Applied Theater from the City University of New York. Carli created and co-facilitated 2 sessions of Navigating Difficult Conversations through Healthcare Equity in early 2022.

Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)
Armstrong Tingwane, Shivang Shah, and Lynnette Ford co-created and co-facilitated a workshop for us on the unique Triad Management Model that GMHC utilizes.

Sara Cousins (she/her) owns Mighty Spark Design, designing and developing accessible and responsive WordPress websites. Starting her sole proprietorship in March 2007, Sara offered branding services, design for print and digital media and web design and development. In 2021,
Sara redesigned a client’s website to be ADA compliant. A pivotal time for Mighty Spark Design, Sara decided then and there she wanted to focus solely on web accessibility. She is currently working on her Web Accessibility Specialist certification with the International Association of Accessibility Professionals. Sara Cousins/Mighty Spark Design is also a New York State Certified Women-Owned Certified Business Enterprise.
Needs Assessment
View a list of everyone who worked with us on our Needs Assessment.