Freedom Rising

Staff & Board

Staff & Board

 
 
 

Board


 

Chairperson

Dominique D. Lee is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Building Resilient Intelligent Creative Kids (BRICK) Education Network. His transformative approach to education has gained attention within the education community. Dominique has been cited in Dale Rusakoff’s New York Times bestselling book The Prize, featured on the front page of The New York Times in 2010 and 2011, and was named to TheGrio’s 100: History Makers in the Making list, which recognizes the next generation of African-American thought leaders and industry disruptors from collective fields like education.

In addition to these accolades, Dominique has received numerous awards for his work, including the Leaders and Legends Award for Outstanding Achievement in Early Childhood Education by Programs for Parents, the Russ Berrie Making a Difference award by The Russell Berrie Foundation, and the Young Changemakers Award by the Community Foundation of New Jersey. He is also a member of the Pahara Aspen-Nextgen fellowship program.

Dominique's personal mission is to transform America's public education system, driven by his belief that education allows children to achieve their dreams, but that too many black and brown children lack the opportunities and resources they need to learn due to historic inequities.

He received his B.A. in political science from the University of Michigan and his M.A. in education leadership from New York University. Dominique currently resides in Jersey City, New Jersey with his partner.

 
 

TreAsurer

Jennifer Wright Cook (she/her) is a nonprofit strategist excelling in planning, resource generation, team building, and organizational resilience. Her extensive career at the award-winning nonprofit art service organization, The Field, resulted in significant growth, fiscal resilience, and newly activated equity and inclusion practices, policies and programs.

Jennifer is a Founding Member of the Board of NY4CA, the go-to arts advocacy organization for New York’s arts and culture sector. Jennifer was a professional dancer in New York, San Francisco, and Madrid, performing in the works of Joe Goode, Neil Greenberg and others.

She has been a member of Middle Church since 2007 and is a dedicated alto in the Jerriese Johnson Gospel Choir. She is a mother via transracial adoption, and an active tennis player, meditator and activist for reproductive rights and indigenous sovereignty.

 
 

Secretary

Katrina T. Monzón is an educator, activist, and pursuer of joy who proclaims, "Books made me." A long-time New Yorker from "Loisada," Katrina has been involved in local community organizing in her neighborhood, working closely with elected officials to make a more just Manhattan. She now serves as the Director of Enrollment and Faculty Support at the Mountain School of Milton Academy in Vershire.

When the Middle Church lost its sanctuary to a fire in December 2020, Katrina was busy with other congregants taking care of the women next door while still mourning. Katrina was quoted in an Associated Press story, stating, "Jacqui always preaches about revolutionary love and activism and social justice. All of these things that brought me into this church, which is: What you say in a sanctuary on a Sunday means very little if we don’t actually show that commitment to that kind of life."

Katrina has served on the board of The Middle Project for three years and is committed to the bold transition we are making to Freedom Rising.

 
 

Angela Ferrell-Zabala is an experienced Strategic Partnership and Organizational Culture expert with a demonstrated history of building, repairing and growing relationships within progressive social justice field. Additionally, she is experienced in organizational culture shift. She is skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Grassroots Engagement Organizing, Program Development and Evaluation, Volunteer Management, and Relationship Building.

Angela has served as Everytown’s Chief Equity, Outreach and Partnerships Officer role for 18 months, working to establish partnerships across gun violence prevention groups and other advocacy organizations while managing Everytown’s public education programs to promote responsible storage and combat gun suicide.

Angela is now head of Everytown's newly created movement-building department, Moms Demand Action, overseeing the organization’s nearly 6 million strong network of supporters in addition to Everytown’s data and analytics, external engagement, partnerships, and public education programs. The department focuses on sustaining the power of the gun violence prevention movement’s largest grassroots network while growing a diverse and representative coalition of advocates and organizations fighting to end gun violence, a national crisis that kills over 100 Americans each day.

 
 

Rev. Karen Jackson has a passion for addressing issues of substance abuse, mental health, homelessness, and poverty. As the Director of Recovery and Community Initiatives at Project Hospitality, she has implemented innovative programs to provide support and resources to individuals and families affected by these issues.

In addition to her work at Project Hospitality, Rev. Jackson is an active member of Middle Collegiate Church in New York City, where she has served as a guest preacher and workshop leader. She is also a member of the Staten Island Interfaith Coalition on Housing, which advocates for affordable housing and homelessness prevention.

Rev. Jackson's commitment to social justice and community building is reflected in her work and her leadership roles. She is a dedicated advocate for the marginalized and underserved, and her efforts have made a positive impact on the lives of many in the Staten Island community.

 
 

Rev. John Janka is an experienced trainer and consultant who specializes in systems intervention, educational design, training models, staff supervision, strategic planning, visioning, coaching, evaluation, and managing change and resistance. He is particularly skilled at coaching and leading teams in culturally diverse settings and across racial/ethnic, generational, gender, sexuality, and socio-economic lines.

John has extensive experience in designing and executing convenings and conferences on dealing with difference, cultural diversity, human relations, and conflict management. He holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree and has written articles and co-authored a book on creating multi-ethnic, multicultural communities.

John is the co-founder of The Middle Project, which has recently been renamed Freedom Rising. The organization prepares ethical leaders for a just society. In his free time, John enjoys spending time at the beach and with his grandchildren with his wife Jacqui Lewis.

 
 

Paul Devlin, an incredible Middle member, is a key leader in our Voter Reform group, a NYC local political operative, smart, savvy, wired for just society. Interested post June term on the board. After two decades building community support for new real estate developments in over 30 states and 3 countries, Paul Devlin is now helping New York City residents realize their dreams of home ownership.

He started his career in political campaign management before honing skills in real estate through government relations and public affairs. Paul is a seasoned professional with proven success in executing customer objectives by using innovative and creative methods to reach the best possible outcome.

A native of the Boston area, Paul came to New York City from Washington, DC after time in Toronto, ON and London, UK. While in Toronto Paul acquired an MBA focused on global issues from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in conjunction with St. Gallen University in Switzerland. His global perspective on real estate offers customers valuable insight into the nuances of home buying because he is very adept at appreciating and understanding various points of view.

Paul recently moved from the Gramercy Park area to make his home in Hell's Kitchen where he serves as a neighborhood representative to Manhattan's Community Board 4.

 

Staff


 

president

The Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis uses her gifts as author, activist, preacher, and public theologian toward creating an antiracist, just, fully welcoming, gender affirming society, free of gun violence, in which everyone has enough. She holds an M.Div from Princeton Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Psychology and Religion from Drew University. Lewis came to lead Middle Church—a multiethnic rainbow coalition of spirituality, justice and the arts—in January 2004. Lewis co-founded The Middle Project and The Revolutionary Love Conference with her spouse, Rev. John Janka, which train leaders to create a more just society. Now in its 17th year, this justice conference has featured thought leaders and change agents like Otis Moss III, Tituss Burgess, Valarie Kaur, William J. Barber II, Melissa Harris-Perry, Wajahat Ali, Linda Sarsour, Sharon Brous, Raphael Warnock, Brian McLaren, angel Kyodo Williams and Ruby Sales. Dr. Lewis and Middle Church have been featured widely in the media, including The Today Show, Good Morning America, Front Line at PBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, CBS, CNN, The New York Times, The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, The Brian Lehrer Show, All Things Considered and The Takeaway, Guy Kowasaki’s Remarkable People.

Recently, Lewis was a speaker and moderator at the Freedom Rising Conference (formerly known as the Revolutionary Love Conference) in New York City, where she shared her insights on intersectional liberation, the fight for bodily autonomy, and the importance of rest and joy in activism. She was joined by other notable speakers and influencers, including Bishop William Barber II, Robert P. Jones, Melissa Harris-Perry, LaTosha Brown, Kaitlin Curtice, Nelba L. Márquez-Greene, Alok Vaid-Menon, and many more.

Lewis most recent book is Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World (Harmony/Penguin Random House, 2021). Her next book is the Just Love Story Bible for Children (Beaming Books, 2025).