Esther Canty-Barnes, Esq. (Montclair, NJ) is a Clinical Professor of Law and the Director of the Education and Health Law Clinic at Rutgers University Law School. Under her leadership, the clinic represents indigent parents and caregivers of disabled children in need of educational services; teaches law students in this area of the law; and provides educational programs for parents/caregivers, attorneys, and others responsible for the welfare of disabled children. Professor Canty-Barnes was instrumental in developing and implementing one of New Jersey’s first “Special Education in the Courts Initiative.” Professor Canty-Barnes is former president of the Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey and a former presiding municipal court judge for the Township of Irvington. She served on the Supreme Court committee on Women in the Courts where she was appointed the first chairperson to the committee on women of color. She currently serves as a member of the Social Justice Committee of the United Methodist Women and chair of the Finance Committee of The Mark Montclair. Professor Canty-Barnes earned her B.A. From Bennett College (summa cum laude) and her J. D. from Rutgers School of Law-Newark. https://law.rutgers.edu/directory/view/ecantyb
Khemani Gibson, Ph.D. (Orange, NJ) is a community organizer from Orange, NJ with a Ph.D. from New York University in history with a focus on the African Diaspora. He has taught as an adjunct instructor at New York University and at Fordham University. He is currently teaching in the history department at Drew University. Dr. Gibson is deeply committed to bridging the gap between the academy and marginalized communities. He serves as the Academic Dean of the University of Orange, a free people’s university based in Orange. Dr. Gibson recently delivered a public lecture on White Supremacy for the Drew University Holocaust and Genocide Studies Center and participated in the New Jersey United Methodist Women’s program on social justice and ending racism. Dr. Gibson is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Drew University where he received his B.A. (magna cum laude) in Pan-African studies, Spanish, and history and he received the La Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra CIEE Certificate in Intercultural Education (CIEE). https://www.khemanigibson.com
Lillie Johnson Edwards, Ph.D. (Montclair, NJ) is Professor Emerita of History and African American studies at Drew University in Madison, NJ where she received two university faculty service awards and two teaching awards. Dr. Edwards received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Oberlin College where she received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2002. She currently serves on the College’s Board of Trustees and she chaired the college’s most recent presidential search. Dr. Edwards has published several articles on African American women and African American religion in encyclopedia and anthologies and has served as a consultant and public historian for museums, foundations, historical societies, public schools, civic organizations, and faith-based communities. She is a life member of the NAACP, the Association of Black Women Historians, and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. She is a general member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. https://www.lillieedwards.com/biography
Rev. Dr. Shakeema North (Orange, NJ) is the Vice President of Youth Development, Equity and Inclusion at Covenant House New York. She has served as pastor of youth, families and young adult ministries in Brooklyn, NY and East Orange, NJ. Rev. North has an exceptional ability to develop holistic and inclusive youth development initiatives that are strength based, trauma informed, and geared towards serving inner city youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. Rev. North earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science (cum laude) from North Carolina A&T State University. She holds a Certificate in Internet Technologies from New York University and a Certificate in Christian Ministry and Master of Divinity degree from New York Theological Seminary. She was ordained to the gospel ministry on May 18, 2014 by The Concord Baptist Church of Christ (American Baptist Churches). She received her Doctor of Ministry degree in Leadership in the Christian Tradition at Duke Divinity School in May 2020. https://www.pastorshak.com
Karline “Kay” Dubuisson, a Palmer Theological Seminary graduate, is an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church. She’s served at Chambers, Riverside and Suffern United Methodist Churches, and the last seven years, she’s been serving Spring Valley UMC in New York. She held many positions: Administrative Assistant, Operating Room Nurse and Social Worker. Kay has served on several boards: the Connectional Table, Ethnic Local Church Concerns, Palisades District Poverty Task, and is a circuit elder. Kay and her husband Edvard are the proud parents of four children, and their beloved Pekehund, Sulli. In her free time, Kay enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Gerald Walle (Montclair, NJ)
VP Operations, Laborie
Business Executive and co-founder of several international non profit organizations
Nadia A. Mian is Senior Program Director of the Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement and a Lecturer at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. She holds a PhD from The New School, and Masters in Environmental Studies, where she specialized in urban planning from York University in Toronto, Canada. She previously taught at New York University, The New School, and Columbia University, where she was Managing Editor of the journal, City & Community. Her research focuses on urban policy, redevelopment, housing, sustainability, and neighborhood change. Her latest research examines how faith-based institutions are using their property to build affordable housing, and at the same time advocate for and change land use, zoning and housing policy. Passionate about urban planning and community development, Nadia is a member of the Planning Board and Environmental Commission in Hanover Township, New Jersey.
Dafney Dubuisson Stokes is a Partner of Wong Fleming. Ms. Dubuisson Stokes concentrates her practice in creditors’ rights, bankruptcy and automotive finance. She has led creditors’ rights teams on a national level for clients who have experienced their highest recovery rates. She has also successfully defended many automotive finance companies in connection with complex Fair Credit Reporting Act, Truth in Lending and bankruptcy litigation. Prior to a career in litigation, Ms. Dubuisson Stokes worked for almost a decade in the social service sector advocating for youth in specialized foster care placement and instructed classes on critical life skills geared towards inner city young adults that would empower them to gain independence and move forward in life. She has continued her passion for social issues as a lawyer by representing the underprivileged in the areas of civil liberties and criminal justice. With a desire to develop a strong relationship with every client and consistently steer them in the most productive direction, Ms. Dubuisson Stokes consistently goes above and beyond to help the client arrive at a beneficial and satisfactory solution.
In law school, Ms. Dubuisson Stokes served as a judicial intern for Magisterial District Court Justice David R. Strawbridge in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Her responsibilities included reviewing reports and recommendations and editing draft opinions in the area of Social Security. Ms. Dubuisson Stokes also became certified in domestic relations mediation and volunteered at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Family Division where she used her conflict management and negotiation skills to assist estranged families.
Ms. Dubuisson Stokes is licensed to practice law in New Jersey (2013), New York (2018) and Pennsylvania (2012). She holds a B.A. with honors from Boston College and a J.D. from Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law.
Jenna Mick (New Haven, CT.) is the Administrative Assistant to the Board of Directors at The Mark Cares Inc.Jenna is a fourth-year student at Oberlin College with majors in Sociology and Law and Society and a minor in Economics. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-mick/
Muntaha Rahman (Bangladesh) is the Web Designer and Manager for The Mark Cares, Inc. Muntaha is a fourth-year student at Oberlin College with a a major in Computer Science. https://www.linkedin.com/in/muntaha-rahman-6512371b7/
The Mark Cares, Inc. 