HD 79
Rachel D’Souza
After spending time volunteering for multiple nonprofit organizations, Courtney realized she wanted to dive deeper into movement work. Her new career goal is to spend every single day bringing people together to have conversations around their shared differences helping them grow. She serves as the Board President for Ujima, an organization dedicated to increasing language and literacy skills for all children, and a Board Member for The GLO Center, Springfield’s LGBTQ+ community center.
Nyla comes from the Greater Kansas City area, where her activist journey spans both the state of Kansas and Missouri. She proudly held titles such as Miss Black Trans International, Miss Missouri State, Miss Black Trans Kansas, Miss Kansas City Pride, and Miss Kansas City Black Pride. As a writer and aspiring filmmaker, she has used her skills to tell powerful stories highlighting the experiences and struggles of marginalized communities including her own advocating for trans Kansans and Missourians. She continues that work as the Executive Director of the Trans Women of Color Collective (TWOCC).
From serving on the Springfield Public Schools Community Collaborative, the City of Springfield Sexual Assault Taskforce, and the Chief Citizen Advisory Group, they wear many hats to serve the community in which they reside. Their life and work is guided by two mottos: “To be for others what they wish they would have had in their journey” and “We have to become comfortable having uncomfortable conversations. The more uncomfortable the conversation, the more important it is to have it.” Dany works closely with our community partners such as the NAACP, PFLAG of Springfield, Planned Parenthood, the GLO Center, and Missouri Jobs with Justice.
They are dedicated to building spaces for people to grow as a community while addressing civic and social challenges, which is why they are deeply rooted in numerous communities. Shira is the founding board member of MaTovu, a Jewish neighborhood center in St. Louis City and sits on the Board of Directors for the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. They are also a founding member of MARSH, a queer bio-culture laboratory and mutual aid hub, and in 2021 they co-founded Camp Indigo Point as a summer camp to celebrate LGBTQ+ youth in the Midwest.
Growing up in rural Missouri gave her the passion to make sure all voices from numerous backgrounds have a seat at the table. The individuals that influenced that passion were some of the same people that fell victim to the gaps in services that come with being queer in rural Missouri. Lacie has focused much of her nonprofit career on building interpersonal connections that push mission-focused values forward. She continues to grow that passion through her work of building a sustainable, relationship-centered, fundraising strategy.
With a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations from the University of Central Missouri, Robert has spent over a decade carving out a niche in fast-paced, high-demanding industries. He utilizes his knowledge from nonprofits, political campaigns, and B2C industries to effectively tell stories and drive action within communities.
Robert’s interest in political and advocacy communications began in high school through the YMCA”s Youth and Government program when he acted as press secretary for the presiding governor. After spending six years in the private sector, he assisted with media efforts for the “Flip the Board” initiative in the City of St. Louis to urge residents to elect progressive leaders while supporting three winning aldermanic campaigns. He, simultaneously, spearheaded media efforts around the return of Festival of Nations, the city’s largest multi-cultural event, drawing over 200,000 people for the two-day event.
Katy is a community-focused advocate and relationship builder whose experience spans nonprofit management, social impact tech startups, community organizing, and public-private partnerships.
Like so many young, queer Missourians, she left the state at 18 in search of a vibrant queer community and then went on to receive a Master in Public Policy from the University of Chicago’s Harris School along with a certificate in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from Boston University.
The folks she supported through her work in El Salvador and Boston, including trans women, commercial sex workers, and unaccompanied homeless youth and adults, taught her about their lived experiences and, together, they centered their voices through policy and advocacy actions. Those experiences continue to drive Katy to seek social and racial justice and to interrogate the root causes of inequity, while embracing a strengths-based approach.
