Who We Are

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I am a person who engages in strategic techniques for community organizing, project

management, brokering of resources; a conduit for building healthy communities. 

I have two amazing sons, Christian and Justin, and am a resident in the Bush Hills community of Birmingham, Alabama. I work for Alabama Arise as the Hunger Advocacy Coordinator, and have participated in movements related to economic injustice, women’s rights, food sovereignty, public safety, and criminal justice reform 

I truly believe that we can use hard skills and soft skills to develop radical ways of thriving. I have often translated my long and diverse

work experience related to jobs from child and family welfare to mortgage lending to

growing up as Jersey girl speaking Spanish first, to contribute to the popular education

needed as we grow, connect, and build in Alabama in any language that speaks to

connectivity.

Born and raised in Birmingham, Marian Mwenja (they/them) has always had deep love for the natural world and deep rage for the blatant unfairness (systems of oppression) they saw. Environmental justice

spoke to both this love and this rage. Through their major in environmental and Black studies, they really began to understand the scope, severity, and danger of the interconnected crises of climate chaos

and anti-Black racism and the exciting role that environmental justice can play in moving through both of these crises with dignity and healing. They are grateful to be a part of an organization that through both visionary and tangible action embodies right relationship with ourselves, others, and this planet.

Originally from Wisconsin, I grew up moving all over the Midwest. In 2010 I relocated from Chicago to my husband's home state, and found my permanent home here in Alabama.
In 2018 I ran for Alabama's Public Service Commission on the platform of lower bills and cleaner energy. Alabama is one of the most poverty-stricken states in the US, but Alabamians pay the highest monthly energy bills. One of our coal-burning power plants (Alabama Power's Miller Steam Plant) has been ranked the #1 greenhouse gas emitter in the US. Our unjust energy regulation system perpetuates (and even creates) poverty in Alabama. I lost the race in 2018, but will continue to fight for energy justice in Alabama.I am honored to be a member of the board of SWEET Alabama, which is addressing the heart of the issue, beginning with those experiencing poverty, who are most impacted by high bills and the effects of climate change. I look forward to seeing how SWEET Alabama changes our state for the better.

Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, I witnessed and experienced the impact of marginalization throughout most of my younger years. Living through constant scarcity fueled my desire to advocate for those who were in the position I was in as a child. I received a certificate and license in Emergency Medical Services to be able to assist people in ways I couldn’t when I was younger, but felt as though I needed to do more. I started protesting during the unrest in 2020, and have been striving to stand for everything I can since then. I believe that regardless of the marks left by a capitalistic and white supremacist system, all people are not only worthy, but entitled to fair access to food, water, and shelter. In my spare time, I enjoy making music and gardening. 

 My Name is La’Tanya Scott; you can call me LT for short. I am from Temple a small city in Carroll county Georgia. However, I now live in Birmingham Alabama with my dog Max and bearded dragon Lola. I am a graduate of Miles College with a degree in Environmental Science and now work as the Environmental Science Educator for the Cahaba River society.

From childhood, between basketball and being a student-athlete to exploring the backyard or even fishing with my family, I knew that I wanted to work in nature and to inspire people to love the outdoors as much as I do. I have always had a passion for being outdoors and helping people, and I credit my family for strengthening my passion.

Through the years, I have become a skilled outdoor educator and role model who helps strengthen CRS’s outreach and service to urban schools and youth of color. I now deliver hands-on environmental science education programs to students in the classroom and in the field through the Shane Hulsey CLEAN Program. My intense interest in nature, skills, and knowledge, and especially my boundless enthusiasm will help many additional area students understand the importance, and the wonders, of one of our major waterways the Cahaba River, water equity, and the outdoors. 

As Co-Chair of our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee of Board and staff, I will always be open and honest in my experiences and lead us forward to support us to anti-racism and water- equity work. Right now we are in the midst of planning community conversations around barriers to nature access for people of color, such as the legacy of Jim Crow and racial terror as well as racism today, and how education/recreation organizations can better promote nature as a safe and welcoming space. I am also building educational and grassroots partnerships to increase opportunities for rural Black Belt residents and students to benefit from environmental education and better recreation access, to open career and advocacy paths to steward their own natural resources.

Founder and Community Visionary, Dynamite Hill-Smithfield Community Land Trust

I was born in the nation's capital on Groundhog's Day in the year 1967 during a blizzard. The ability to foresee, forecast, and creatively adapt to change has been with me always. The space and place of my birth as well as growing up in the Bay Area of Northern California gave me a rich sense of history--or herstory-- as a living breathing process, that life unfolds around us all the time, and we are all endowed with natural genius and creativity to transform and create our reality.  I got involved in regenerative community visioning early in my life by writing stories and making creative sacred spaces for plants and animals in my grandmother's beautiful and magical garden. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is one of the most profound books I read as a child, and I wanted to stay in that secret abundant place of imagination forever. Yet, I am also a child of the city, and improving the quality of life for urban dwellers is a long passion of mine. Growing up with ecological awareness as part of my education also informs and inspires me now. I combine a visionary and spiritual artist's lens to regenerative community building , with storytelling as a living art form as one of my favorite mediums. I have lived in the South since I was 18, and fully embrace my Southern roots. As the mother of nine, I am an Earth protector, human nurturer, community educator, and strong advocate for the seven generations that will follow my lived experience here on Earth.

I am a longtime Activist/Organizer, organizing or engaging systems of oppression for 30+ years of my life. I hail from Chicago and have engaged dynamics of social justice, and human rights work as diverse as anti-domestic violence work and the call for African American Reparations . I have experienced the precarity of housing and the struggle of hunger, as such I have a unique insight into what all communities need to thrive. I sincerely believe in the power of the people to define their own destinies.  I believe in the power of cooperative work, in sharing and Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)

 I am currently a Stand As One Community Organizer with Greater Birmingham Ministries and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. I serve along side the brilliant Susan Diane Mitchell as Community Engagement Director for Dynamite HIll-Smithfield Community Land Trust and on the Advisory Board of SWEET. 

My passion for people and the planet began here in Alabama, where I grew up. As achild, I ran in the woods and enjoyed fresh food grown in my own back yard. I campedoutside, watching the stars and contemplating my own place in the universe. I learned to love the natural world with a wide-eyed wonder that compels me to action, to fight to preserve the goodness of our home. My own children were born in this state, and I want to leave a legacy that allows them to enjoy abundance and fulfillment without worry or harm. When I attended Alabama’s only public liberal arts’ college, the University of Montevallo, I was seeking a well-rounded understanding of the world that would give me the ability to continue to learn and grow throughout my life. By the time I graduated Cum Laude with degrees in English and History, I was beginning to integrate my own personalethics into a worldview that challenged the status quo. I envisioned a world of possibilities and interdependence rather than fear and exploitation. Today, I’m a freelance writer who works from my home in Irondale. I’m still in awe of the beauty of the world we share. I’m critically aware of the challenges and adaptation that are necessary to survive the damage we humans have inflicted on one another and on our beautiful planet. My passion has driven me to seek out the work required to be a part of that change. That’s why I’m proud to be a part of the inception of SWEET Alabama.

I am an Alabama based civil rights attorney, policy analyst, social worker, racial justice activist, community organizer, and relational strategist with nearly a decade of experience working at the intersection of racial equity, critical race & feminist theory, poverty, criminal justice reform, mental health, and reproductive justice. As a community organizer that wears many hats, I have a passion for finding ways that policy and legal mechanisms can support and enhance the work of people with ideas about how to transition to a more just world. All of our work intersects.

Hello, my name is Molly, and I am a D.C. metro native. Ten years ago, I moved to

Birmingham, AL. I attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham and earned my

Bachelor of Science of Accounting. While at UAB, I played an active role in the Collat

School of Business as the president of National Association of Black Accountants chapter and the administrative vice president of Alpha Kappa Psi, Omega Tau the professional business fraternity. As well, I worked with UnitedWay’s VITA Program (Volunteer Income Tax Assistant) for several years preparing taxes for families.

In the beginning of my senior year I was in a horrific car accident. I was in a coma for a

couple of weeks. I suffered a severe traumatic brain injury, along with a multitude of fractures all over my body. While most of that summer was fuzzy, I was concerned about the loss of my skills. I remember coming home and reading my business law and principles of accounting textbooks when I got home. My processing time had slowed

down, but I was still able to learn and progress. I went back to school, only half time, so as not to overload my mind. In addition, I had surgery for my clavicle, physical therapy for my body, vocational therapy, then more physical therapy for my vertigo. Rehabilitation is consistently a part of my life. Graduation was one of my biggest accomplishments, and I am so happy that my financial abilities came back. From my personal experience, I believe in service to others. If it had not been for the kindness and support I was given several times over, I would not be where I am today.

My name is Peninnah Morgan – Nina for short. I’m from Sipsey, AL, a small rural townin Walker County that emerged in the early 1920s as a mining community. Mybackground is broad and varied, but generally the work I do is related to strengthening and building communities that are just and sustainable. I am also engaged in lots of youth organizing work in Birmingham, the place where I currently live! I know what it’s like to live in an energy efficient home; I know what it’s like to live in a place where the utility bills are high and it’s super hot in the summer and/or cold in the winter. My lifeexperiences ground the work I do and inspire visions for a better Alabama, one whereeveryone has access to a good quality of life! Sustainable water, energy, and economicsystems are the goal! I am a part of SWEET Alabama because I am committed tobuilding a just and beautiful future alongside extraordinary folks throughout this state.