Lydia Robbins (she/her) has been organizing with workers for 15 years across Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. She has built strong committees that have led union elections, organized strikes and negotiated improvements for healthcare workers, patients and their communities. As the Citywide Organizer at Lift Every Voice, Lydia supports parents with race and class privilege to work in solidarity. Lydia is passionate about organizing with parents, caregivers, workers and community members to build a world that reflects their collective dreams for their loved ones and themselves. When she isn’t organizing, she is raising her daughter in West Philadelphia.

Monica Allison has lived in West Philadelphia her entire life and for more than 20 years has been dedicated to the issues of quality of life for those who live and work in this area.  She is a committee person in the 3^rd Ward, co-founder of the community association and RCO Cobbs Creek Neighbors, current CEO of Community Solutions CDC, board member of Ardella’s House, a transitional house for women who return from incarceration, and member of the Community Advisory Board at Netter Center for Community Partnerships. At this time she is the West Philadelphia Coordinator for ParentChild+, an international early literacy and school readiness model which assists parents in increasing parent-child interactions, to support improved development of children’s social-emotional skills. 

Ms. Allison has three main passions in relationship to this city: early childhood education, having been in the family child care education space for over 15 years; senior residents and their quality of life; and formerly incarcerated men and women, who no matter their sentence, suffers the effects of incarceration for a lifetime along with their families.  Monica is a graduate of Bartram High, and continues to advocate for parents and children as it relates to their rights within the School District of Philadelphia.  

Edurne (Eddie) Irizarry has 20+ years of experience working in Philadelphia’s nonprofit sector.  Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Philadelphia, she has held positions at leading organizations including the Philadelphia Foundation, Kimmel Center for The Performing Arts, Youth United for Change, Congreso de Latinos Unidos and the Mazzoni Center for LGBTQ Health and Well Being.  Currently, Eddie is Lead for Community Impact at Social Venture Partners Philadelphia, managing all grantmaking and donor learning, utilizing both personal and professional experiences to organize 60+ donors in implementing trust-based philanthropic practices in Philadelphia. 

Eddie is an unapologetic Philly Rican with a love for KPOP, salsa dancing, cursing, eating, drinking and baseball. A traumatized but proud product of Catholic elementary and middle schools and graduate of Bodine High School in Philadelphia, Eddie’s experiences have fostered a deep responsibility to Philadelphia, her hometown, and a deep desire to return dollars stripped from Black and Brown communities back to where and who they belong.  Eddie currently resides in Germantown with her partner, step daughters, her dog Riley and a cat named Huey. 

With over 16 years of experience, DeAndre Jones is a higher education administrative professional. Committed to completion, DeAndre’s passion is creating educational pathways and opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. During his career he has worked with the gamut of students in higher education at various types of institutions. He believes in the life-changing opportunities provided by post-secondary education completion and that all students should have the exposure and access to these opportunities. DeAndre is currently a political appointee in the Biden-Harris Administration serving at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education. He is a graduate of Bodine High School, and holds a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from Saint Joseph’s University.

Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad is a Philadelphia born writer, organizer, and co-founder of the Black and Brown Workers Co-op. In their work, they often trouble ideas of medical surveillance, bodily autonomy, and Blackness. They have over a decade of nonprofit experience, an understanding of cooperatives, and anti-oppressive praxis that informs all of their work.

Inella Ray is the Director of Parent Advocacy & Engagement at Children First. As a Philadelphia native and a proud graduate of Philly schools, Inella understands the power of what happens when we invest in tomorrow’s generation.

Prior to Children First, Inella served as the Director of School Operations at KIPP Lanning Square and has also worked across the education space ranging from out-of-school time programming,  teacher recruitment and youth development. Inella holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Temple University’s Fox School of Business, and is currently pursuing a Master of Education at The Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is a West Philadelphia native, where she still lives with her partner, and strives to live her life with the joy it deserves!