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Allison Riggs

Co-Executive Director / Chief Counsel, Voting Rights
allisonriggs@scsj.org

Allison Riggs leads the voting rights program at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, an organization she joined in 2009.  In March of 2020, she also took over as Interim Executive Director of the organization, and in March of 2021, became the permanent co-Executive Director.

Her voting rights work over the last decade at SCSJ has been focused on fighting for fair redistricting plans, fighting against voter suppression, and advocating for electoral reforms that would expand access to voting.

She has litigated redistricting cases on behalf of State NAACP Conferences in Texas, Florida, Virginia and North Carolina. In 2018, she argued the Texas redistricting case in the United States Supreme Court, and in 2019, she argued the North Carolina partisan gerrymandering case in the Supreme Court.  Allison works closely with grassroots organizations and communities of color as they seek to advance their political and civil rights.  She received her undergraduate, Master’s Degree and J.D. from the University of Florida.

Irving Zavaleta

Networks Director for Voting Rights
irving@scsj.org

Irving Zavaleta joined the Southern Coalition for Social Justice in August 2020 as the Communications Manager, and now serves as the Networks Director for Voting Rights. He is a well-known and highly regarded leader, educator and speaker with in-depth knowledge and experience in the areas of inclusion and equity. Irving has firsthand experience and knows best practices for working with underrepresented populations including students of color, LGBTQIA communities and first-generation college students. Prior to joining SCSJ, he worked as an Assistant Director for the North Carolina Campus Compact.

He graduated from high school with honors and from Guilford College with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and French. He was recognized nationally as one of the best 25 Latinx college students by the Hispanic College Fund in 2007. Irving obtained his MBA at High Point University with a concentration in leadership and organization development.

Irving is a frequent speaker at meetings and conferences highlighting his work and the ongoing challenges within the Latinx and LGBTQIA communities. He currently sits on the board of directors of Fortaleza & Equality NC.

He founded the highly successful Soy un Líder (I am a Leader) Conference. Soy un Líder is a college prep and empowerment conference for students who identify as a Latinx, immigrant or refugee. It is the only conference of its kind in North Carolina, offering workshops on the college application and financial aid process while providing information for DACAmented, undocumented, and refugee status students. Soy un Líder has empowered students to dream big through a social justice lens for more than a decade. 

Irving was a recipient of the 2017 Community Involvement Diamante Award, a statewide recognition of people and organizations that support the North Carolina Latinx population. He was also named a 2018 Community Game Changer by the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro for his community involvement.

He participated in the 2018 Hispanics in Philanthropy Next Generation Latinx Líderes Program. He was one of only 29 Latinxs invited to participate in this highly acclaimed national leadership initiative. 

Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Partnering with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the south to defend and advance their political, social and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing and communications.

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CROWD Academy Fellows 2020-2022

Redistricting of the People, by the People, for the People

The Southern Coalition for Social Justice is excited to support CROWD Academy graduates to serve as regional CROWD Fellows for two years starting in the summer of 2020! Fellows will learn skills to support their community and partner organizations in their organizing efforts to monitor and intervene in the 2020-2022 redistricting cycle.

Fellows will educate their community on the redistricting process and intervention points, monitor the redistricting process as it pertains to their community, and will be able to draw and propose alternative maps using map-drawing software.

Get to know our CROWD Fellows!

Channelle is empowered by the impact she can make as a CROWD Academy Fellow. She is already conducting workshops in her community to educate others about the 2020 Census and the redistricting happening next year.

Channelle is passionate about working with and for her community. She wants to help create the country that we all deserve. She is pleased that the CROWD Academy Fellowship is equipping her with the information and skills she needs to help make this happen. One of the tools she learned about during the CROWD Academy training is how to draw fair redistricting maps. She plans to use this tool to fight for the representation her community deserves.

Host organization: Community Ventures Inc.

Email: channelle@communityventuresinc.org

Keisha believes the CROWD Academy Fellowship is a unique opportunity to enact long-lasting change across North Carolina. She is excited about having input into the next 10 years by taking an intentional role in designing maps that will benefit all North Carolinians.

One of the things Keisha appreciates about the CROWD Academy Fellowship is the opportunity to learn from highly experienced and knowledgeable presenters. She feels this Fellowship is enabling her to advocate for her community more effectively.

Host organization: Pasquotank County NAACP

Email: keishad73@gmail.com

Keith is a faith and community leader in Columbus County, North Carolina. Currently, he serves on the Board of Directors of Men and Women United for Youth and Families, a nonprofit organization focusing on underserved rural communities in southeastern NC.

Keith decided to become a CROWD Academy Fellow because he believes that community members must know how the redistricting process works. He hopes to engage his fellow community members in the upcoming redistricting process. He believes this Fellowship will equip him with the necessary tools to advocate for fair redistricting lines.

Host organization: Men and Women United for Youth & Families

Email: kgraham35@gmail.com

Kendra is a native Memphian and has dedicated her work to putting community first –whether through being a foot soldier on the ground personally helping individuals in her community on a one-on-one basis or advocating for meaningful and responsive public policy.

As a CROWD Fellow, she is using the knowledge gained from the academy to ensure there is as much community input as possible within the redistricting process.

Host Organization: Memphis A. Philip Randolph Institute

Email: kendranlee2010@gmail.com

Based in Chattanooga, TN, Michaela is excited to be a CROWD Academy Fellow. Her favorite part of the CROWD Academy was getting to practice drawing maps and using the related software.

Michaela believes that during the 2011 redistricting process in Tennessee, maps were passed through the legislature by political players focusing on highly partisan interests. She knows that when maps are drawn prioritizing incumbency or partisanship, they often ignore the needs of our most vulnerable communities. Michaela hopes to facilitate a redistricting process that protects the rights of traditionally disenfranchised voters in communities across Tennessee.

Host organization: UnifiEd

Email: Michaela@unifi-ed.org

As the Black Voters Matter Fund State Coordinator for Tennessee, Timothy works at the intersection of public policy and social justice issues. He believes the CROWD Academy Fellowship is a unique opportunity to connect his professional interests around equity with the skills he needs to advocate for a fair and just redistricting process in Tennessee.

Timothy particularly enjoyed the CROWD Academy discussions that had a legal framing. He believes the work that he and the other Fellows will be able to accomplish will depend on their ability to understand the mechanics of the processes within the existing legal structures.

Host organization: Civic TN

Email: MiddleTNCROWD@gmail.com

Key Contacts

Allison Riggs, Co-Executive Director / Chief Counsel, Voting Rights
allisonriggs@scsj.org

Irving Zavaleta, Networks Director for Voting Rights
irving@scsj.org

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NOW: 17-year #ncga veteran Rep. @priceyharrison — who serves on House elex cmte and has sponsored dozens of elex-related bills — testifies re: the voter ID amendment legislation's strange trajectory to passage. “It was interesting.” Watch: bit.ly/3dyQEYW #NCVoterIDtrial

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REMINDER: Join @nc_cred & @LawyersComm on tomorrow's #webinar from 7-8PM ET to review the law & how communities can continue advocating for the removal of monuments and other iconography to white supremacy from all court spaces. Learn more and register: bit.ly/2R9llLK

Yesterday

ICYMI: Research presented by Dr. Ariel White, an expert in how voter ID policies impact behavior, supported #NCvoterIDtrial testimony of disenfranchised voters. Bias aside, she said ways county poll workers in NC are trained to enforce these complicated laws can lead to problems. pic.twitter.com/vM3o…

Yesterday

"plaintiffs argue the newer law still fits into the same pattern of voter suppression laws from the past. 'Preventing fraud was one of the reasons given for imposing a literacy test,' testified James Leloudis, a professor of history at UNC wunc.org/politics/20… #NCvoterIDtrial

Yesterday

Mr. Kearney has been a registered voter for 50+ years. Poll workers knew him by name, and still voter ID kept him from voting in 2016. This is why we’ve taken NC’s latest voter ID law to court. Watch as the #NCVoterIDtrial continues tomorrow: youtube.com/channel/… pic.twitter.com/vTWA…

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