Nia Evans is the Executive Director of the Boston Ujima Project. Her educational background is in the areas of labor relations, education leadership, and policy. Her advocacy includes a focus on eliminating barriers between analysts and people with lived experiences as well as increasing acknowledgment of the value of diverse types of expertise in policy. She is a co-creator, along with artist Tomashi Jackson, of Frames Debate Project, a multimedia policy debate project that explores the intersection between drug policy, mental health services, and incarceration in the state of Massachusetts. Ms. Evans has a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a Master of Arts in Education Leadership, with a course of study in Leadership, Policy, and Politics from Teachers College at Columbia University. She also studied abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, where she focused on International Labor Relations.

James Vamboi is the Chief of Staff of Community, and Culture at the Boston Ujima Project James co-leads, recommends, plans and executes specific cultivation, stewardship and solicitation activities for current and prospective philanthropic partners to support the operating needs and continuum of care and investment for Boston Ujima Project and Ujima Resident and Worker Care Fund. James co-designs, manages and executes on improvements to internal org structure, culture, care and communication efforts as well as co-project manage and execute the participatory planning projects in partnership with the community. James is a social worker, visual artist and fundraising strategist originally from Philadelphia. He moved to Boston to serve on the City Year Boston 2012-2013 corps and never left because he found community in Jamaica Plain and doing feminist mens work. James cares deeply about people and the planet and is inspired by the work of the Justice Funders, Bayard Rustin and his Sierra Leonean aunties who taught him all about love.

Cierra Peters is an artist currently based in Boston, MA, and Brooklyn, NY. She is currently the Director of Communications, Culture, and Enfranchisement at the Boston Ujima Project. She has given talks at deCordova Sculpture Park, The Consortium for Graduate Studies in Gender, Culture, Women, and Sexuality (GCWS), Tufts Art Galleries, Rhode Island School of Design, and the University of California, Berkeley.

Ryan Fielder, affectionately known as Rei, is an organizer, educator, social worker, and artist who hails from the Motor City, Detroit, MI. Rei has been organizing around issues that impact BIPOC Michiganders since they were 15 years old. Their dedication to movement work is fueled by their desire to see true liberation come to fruition. Rei is a graduate of Marygrove College where they received a Bachelor of Music degree in 2016. In December 2020, Rei received their Master of Social Work degree from the University of Michigan. Prior to coming to Ujima, Rei served as the Climate Justice Campaign Manager at Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition. They also worked as a clinical therapist at Havenwyck Hospital. Rei thoroughly enjoys performing arts. From the opera to the comedy club, you’re likely to find Rei in attendance. They might even be a part of the production!

Paige (she/her) is Ujima's Culture & Communications Manager. An Atlanta native, daydreamer, rabble-rouser, and third culture kid, she believes a more equitable future is possible. Formally trained in Environmental Management from the Yale School of Environment, she's most excited by community-based solutions to climate and economic issues. When she's not writing or biking around the city, she's reminding folks that pineapple pizza is not only good but oh so necessary. She's currently based in Cambridge, MA.

Andre is the Business Alliance Coordinator for Ujima Boston. An active and passionate advocate for marginalized communities in his personal and professional life, Andre is a licensed and Board-Certified Psychoanalyst, who works primarily with immigrants and BIPOC families. He holds a Masters degree in Community and Social Psychology and a PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis from UMass Lowell & Endicott College as well as a Doctor of Theology in Christian Education and a Doctor Ministry in Pastoral Counselling and Leadership from Atlantic Coast Theological Seminary and Newburgh Theological Seminary.

Raised in Cambridge, Mari (they/them) received their B.S. in Social Policy and Education and a Certificate in Civic Engagement from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. At Northwestern, they were instrumental in building and developing Black and first generation spaces such as the Black Mentorship Program and SESP Leadership Institute. They are so excited to come back home to the Boston area to rebuild and revitalize relationships to truly create the worlds we want to live in. You can catch Mari making mixes, learning to cook Ethiopian food, and binge-watching reality TV.

Georgios parents migrated to Boston where I was born, and we continue to live in the vibrant and working class neighborhood of Dorchester. I view my role at Boston Ujima as a bridge between community members and the socioeconomic change we need for our collective liberation. My interests include African and Hellenic cultures, video games, as well as studying and making teas, juices and smoothies.

JaNoah Daley is the Fund Administrator for Boston Ujima Project. He studied Finance at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where he received his B.S. degree from the Charlton College of Business. Previously, he was an Accountant at the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation. He currently resides in Cambridge, MA, and enjoys working out in his free time.

Natasha (she/her) joins the Boston Ujima Project as our new Communications Associate. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in 2020 with a degree in Marketing. Her hobbies include reading, sleeping and playing tennis.

Mona (she/her) joins the Boston Ujima Project as our new Communications Associate. She is an artist. Her primary mediums are photography, video and sound. Her arts practice borrows from many visual traditions ranging from portraiture, new media, traditional and airbrush painting, intimate family portraiture, and more. Her recent work has been commissioned by The North Face, Reebok, Arcteryx, Stussy, Office Magazine, NTS Radio, and many more. In her spare time, she likes to read and ride her bike around town.

Yusuf is a graduate from Umass Lowell with a bachelor's degree in Finance and Marketing. Yusuf has always been a hard worker and will continue to be. He is a true believer that you can do anything you set your mind to with hard work and consistency.

Shantel Miller’s figurative paintings create visual language to transcend the lived and imagined experiences of her inner world. While exploring constructs of race, gender, and religion, she pulls from personal narrative as a departure point for understanding broader social realities--and uses a syntax of metaphors to represent complex emotions, themes and experiences relevant to spirituality and faith. Since receiving a BFA from OCADU in 2013, Shantel has exhibited in group shows and art fairs across North America and has placed work in numerous private collections around the world. She has participated in the Cuttyhunk Island Artists Residency(2018), the Nia Centre for the Arts Artists-in-Residence Program (2018) and more recently the Converging Liberations Residency at Mass MoCA (2021). She is the recipient of the Dedalus Foundation MFA Painting and Sculpture Fellowship, the Elizabeth Greenshields Grant and the Esther B. and Albert S. Kahn Career Entry Award. Shantel currently lives and works in Boston, MA where she recently completed an MFA in Painting at Boston University in 2021.

Dave Madan is a small-scale housing developer and a founder of several racial justice and urban land organizations. He is currently a partner at Boston Investments, founder and chair of the Builders of Color Coalition, co-founder and president of Boston Farms Community Land Trust, and a board member of NAIOP-MA. He previously served as a founding board member of the Urban Farming Institute, vice president of the board of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, and founder and director of theMOVE. He lives in Lower Roxbury, grew up in Cambridge, and studied urban planning and business at UC Berkeley. During the course of his fellowship, Dave will accompany Ujima on an exploration of our next community wealth-building vehicle with the purpose of providing opportunities for direct community ownership of local estate. Ujima is conducting this exploration in partnership with local CDCs, land trusts, cooperative developers, and researchers. Ujima began this exploration in October 2020 with Fenway CDC and Somerville CDC.

Aaron Tanaka is a Boston-based community organizer, grant maker, and impact investor. He directs the Center for Economic Democracy, is co-founder of the Boston Ujima Project, and was startup manager for the Boston Impact Initiative. He has been a fellow with Common Future, Echoing Green and Tufts Univ., and is the current Treasurer for the Neighborhood Funders Group.