BLIS stands for Black Liberation-Indigenous Sovereignty. We are a cross-movement Solidarity & Action Hub that braids narratives and grows movements to win policy and shift culture.
About Us
We bring together our member organizations and individuals to strengthen solidarity across movements, shift culture, and win transformative policy.
We are organizers, strategists, researchers, storytellers, artists, and writers, drawn from different disciplines by the same belief: that the story of this country is not finished, and that we can rewrite it.
Our Team
We are organizers, strategists, researchers, storytellers, artists, and writers, drawn from different disciplines by the same belief: that the story of this country is not finished, and that we can rewrite it.
Trevor Smith
Co-Founder, Executive Director
Trevor Smith (he/him) is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the BLIS Collective. He is a writer, researcher, and strategist focused on racial inequality, wealth inequality, reparations, and narrative change. Previously, he was the Director of Narrative Change at Liberation Ventures, a field-builder accelerating the Black-led movement for reparations, where he launched the Reparations Narrative Lab, a creative and research space designed to build narrative power across the movement for reparations.
He previously held program and communications positions at the Surdna Foundation, New York Civil Liberties Union, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and M+R Strategic Services. He received his BA in Journalism from American University.
Jessa Rae Growing Thunder, Ph.D.
Deputy Director
Dr. Jessa Rae Growing Thunder, Ph.D., is the Deputy Director for the BLIS Collective and a third-generation beadworker, quillwork artist, educator, and historian carrying forward generations of Dakota/Nakoda traditions from the Fort Peck Assiniboine/Sioux Tribes of northeastern Montana. Equal parts culture-bearer and change-maker, she moves fluidly between the beading table and the boardroom, stitching together tradition, advocacy, and impact.
As the former Director of Tribal Nations Initiatives at Native Americans in Philanthropy, Jessa Rae led the organization’s Tribal Leader Advisory Committee and stewarded high-stakes funder relationships across the philanthropic landscape, channeling real dollars, and real resources directly into the hands of Tribal Nations and Native-led organizations doing the vital work of climate action and conservation. She is a builder of networks, a translator between worlds, and a relentless advocate for getting resources where they really belong.
At the same time, she’s been quietly shaping the future of Native land justice by advising on landback initiatives that put Tribal sovereignty back where it belongs: in Tribal hands.
Camilla Griffiths
Director of Applied Narrative Research
Camilla Griffiths (she/her) is the Director of Applied Narrative Research of the BLIS Collective. She is a Rwandan-American behavioral science researcher and writer. Previously, she was a research scientist at Stanford SPARQ, a behavioral science ‘do-tank’ that partners with industry leaders to combat bias, reduce disparities, and drive culture change. Her expertise is in the psychology of racial bias and social inequality in American institutions.
She has studied the racialized experiences of Students and Teachers of Color in schools and the impact of media racial representation on viewer racial attitudes, among other topics. Her work has been published and featured in top scientific outlets, including Scientific American and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. She earned a bachelor’s in Political & Social Thought at the University of Virginia and a PhD in Social Psychology from Stanford University.
Antonia Belindo
Operations & Project Manager
Antonia Belindo (she/her) is the Operations and Project Manager of the BLIS Collective. She is a citizen of the Kiowa Tribe and also carries lineage from the Skidi Band of the Pawnee Nation, the Choctaw Nation, and the Bitter Water Clan of the Diné Nation. Her work is rooted in the responsibility of carrying forward the values, languages, and cultural practices that her people entrusted to her.
She has worked across Tribal Nations, higher education institutions, and non-profits in roles that center representation, justice, and holistic well-being. Most recently, she supported philanthropic efforts to directly serve Native students nationally as Alumni Engagement Manager at Native Forward Scholars Fund, and previously advanced community programs, policy implementation, and legal advocacy at the University of Oklahoma, Cherokee Nation, and Choctaw Nation.
Her leadership extends beyond professional roles: Antonia has served on advisory boards advancing urban behavioral health access and Indigenous Nation building through computer science education. Antonia is also actively engaged in the Kiowa Tribe’s language and culture revitalization efforts through various programs as a linguist and in a women’s leadership role. She earned her undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from the University of Oklahoma.
As an artist and writer, Antonia uses creative expression as a weapon against colonial normativity, choosing instead to amplify generational healing, defiant joy, and liberatory imagination.
Emi Aguilar
Director of Membership & Radical Collaboration
Emi Aguilar (Coahuiltecan) (they/she) is a facilitator, researcher, culture-bearer, community organizer, and multidisciplinary artist. Emi is based among the homelands where the Coahuiltecan people have continuously resided for over 14,000 years (or, what is recently known as Central Texas to Northern Mexico).
She is the former Director of Research + Action for IllumiNative, and has led partnerships with Netflix, Apple, Disney, National Geographic, AGBO, NBCU, Warner Media, and Lionsgate, among others. Emi holds an MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities from The University of Texas at Austin, a certificate in Arts and Cultural Management from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, a certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies, and a BFA in Theatre (summa cum laude) from Niagara University. Previously, Emi served as the Assistant Director of Pop Culture + Media at IllumiNative, on faculty at Bowling Green State University, and has guest lectured at The University of Texas at Austin, Dallas College, Vassar College, Brooklyn Public Library, and New Jersey Performing Arts Center, among others. Emi is the creator of @IndigenizingArtsEd, through which she conducts speaking engagements and workshops on decolonization, Indigenizing arts education, the Land Back movement, repatriation, and compulsive settler-colonialism.
Jane Ama Mantey
Director of Narrative Strategy & Capacity-Building
Jane Ama Mantey (she/they) is the Director of Narrative Strategy & Capacity-Building at the BLIS Collective. She is a writer, a cultural critic, an organizer and educator, who bridges movements, art, culture, and media to realize radical visions of a future where we have won and are thriving.
A biomedical scientist turned narrative and cultural strategist, Jane is a first-generation, queer Ghanaian-American born to working-class immigrant parents. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from University of Maryland Eastern Shore and her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Meharry Medical College. And, she is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Jane was most recently the Director of Narrative and Cultural Strategies at Race Forward. She lives with her family on the lands of the Piscataway, also known as Prince George’s County, MD.
Justin W. Morgan
Applied Narrative Research Analyst
Justin W. Morgan (he/him) is the Applied Narrative Research Analyst at the BLIS Collective. He is a doctoral candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he researches the convergence of health equity, participatory research, community power, and politics. Justin is a second-generation Jamaican-American and a descendent of enslaved peoples in Mississippi. He believes that solutions to systemic, structural, and intentional health inequities have to be structural and intentional themselves.
Previously, he was a quantitative research analyst in the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute, an independent not-for-profit research organization committed to equipping changemakers with evidence-based solutions. He received his BS in Public Health from the American University, and currently resides in Washington, DC.
Thalia Cachimuel
Director of Strategic Partnerships & Philanthropic Solidarity
Thalia Cachimuel (she/her) is the Director of Strategic Partnerships & Philanthropic Solidarity at BLIS Collective. Thalia is a Kichwa-Otavalo organizer, philanthropic strategist, and international climate specialist. She sits on the board of Quipa Collective, The Truth Telling Project, and Sapiyay Collective.
Thalia holds degrees from Northeastern University, NYU Wagner, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Kendra Becenti
Cultural Program Manager
Kendra Becenti (she/her) is the Cultural Program Manager of the BLIS Collective. She is a citizen of the Diné Nation and comes from the strong matrilineal lines of the Black Streaked Wood People Clan. Previously, she served as Advocacy and Evaluation Manager at the Indigenous Health Equity Institute, an Oregon-based nonprofit focused on building and mobilizing a state-wide movement to decolonize public health for equity. She also held a program manager position at the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute.
Kendra earned a BA in Psychology and Native American Studies from Stanford University where she was a community caretaker, student organizer and young researcher. She offered personal and research writings on topics of racial bias and Indigenous identity in outlets ranging from Stanford’s student newspaper to the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology.
Andi Soli
Creative Design Manager
Andi Soli (she/her) is the Creative Design Manager at the BLIS Collective. She’s a Colombian-American creative director, designer, illustrator, and storyteller whose work lives at the intersection of art, culture, and narrative change. With over six years of experience, Andi uses visual storytelling and creative strategy to amplify voices, spark connection, and reimagine possibilities for collective liberation.
Her work centers BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, weaving care, playfulness, and purpose into designs that feel both alive and intentional. Before joining BLIS, Andi worked as a Graphic Designer for IllumiNative and collaborated with mission-driven organizations, grassroots movements, and creative teams to craft visual identities, campaigns, and narratives rooted in community and culture.
Yewande O. Addie, Ph.D.
Narrative Capacity Building Manager
Yewande (she/her) is the Narrative Capacity Building Manager at the BLIS Collective. She is a Nigerian American communications scholar and narrative strategist. Her work sits at the intersection of public health, cultural storytelling, and movement communications — grounded in the belief that the stories we tell about communities shape the conditions they live in. A two-time Fulbright Scholar with research experience in Nigeria and the United States, Yewande has worked with organizations including FrameWorks Institute, me too. International, RTI International, the de Beaumont Foundation, and the CDC to build narrative capacity, conduct audience research, and develop equity-rooted communications strategy across nonprofit and federal contexts. She is also a cultural producer and multimedia storyteller whose work spans documentary film, public scholarship, and media criticism. Yewande holds a PhD in Mass Communications, an MPH in Social and Behavioral Sciences, and a MA in History. She is a proud HBCU alumna of Florida A&M University and is based in Gainesville, on the ancestral lands of the Seminole and Miccosukee peoples.
Jamal Taylor
Membership Insights and Collaboration Strategist
Jamal Taylor (he/him) is the Membership Insights and Collaboration Strategist at the BLIS Collective. He is an organizer, data strategist, evaluator, and movement researcher whose work centers building collective power through evidence-informed, values-aligned analysis and action.
Grounded in his experience as a community organizer, Jamal approaches data as a tool for strengthening movements, supporting shared strategy, and advancing solidarity across issues and communities.
He brings over a decade of experience partnering with grassroots organizations, coalitions, and philanthropic institutions to design research, analytics, and learning systems that support accountability, long-term movement strategy, and systems change. Prior to and alongside his technical work, Jamal organizes with grassroots, community-based groups to increase base-building initiatives with the specific intent of building self-determination within historically oppressed communities. This experience continues to shape how he designs participatory research processes and translates data into practice.
Prior to joining the BLIS Collective, Jamal has led and supported data and evaluation efforts across roles in several organizations including Pathway Healthcare, Black Voters Matter, and ProGeorgia. His work at these organizations consisted of data analytics, network analysis, participatory evaluation, narrative-adjacent research, and strategic learning — always centering the needs of community members, organizers, and movement leaders. He is also, currently, a lead organizer with Strike Black, an organizing collective in Atlanta, Georgia.
Jamal holds a master’s degree from MIT and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Across roles, he approaches data not as an end in of itself, but as a tool — one that strengthens trust, surfaces emergent outcomes, and supports decision-making within movements.
Sennuwy Johnson
Executive Assistant
Sennuwy Johnson (she/her) is the Executive Assistant at BLIS Collective, where she supports the Executive Director and leadership team in advancing the organization’s work at the intersection of Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty. She keeps the engine of BLIS running — managing scheduling, communications, and operations across a fast-moving team — and serves as a key point of connection between leadership, staff, and partners.
Originally from Los Angeles, California, she comes to BLIS from the world of film and television production in New York, most recently at Kaufman Astoria Studios. Her background spans creative production, media, and communications.
Advisory Board
Our Advisory Board brings together organizers, scholars, artists, and movement leaders who guide the Collective’s strategy and hold us accountable to the movements we serve.
Tracy Rector
Advisory Board Member
Tracy Rector is a mixed-heritage artist whose work is rooted in the lands of Turtle Island and centers Indigenous, Black, Communities of Color, and Queer voices. Over nearly four decades, she has woven paths as a community organizer, educator, curator, filmmaker, and student of plant medicine, collaborating on more than 500 projects that honor resilience and transformation. Her films have been featured on Independent Lens, PBS, National Geographic, and ImagineNative, and screened at Sundance, Cannes, and Toronto. A co-director of 4th World Media, she supports intersectional storytellers worldwide while nurturing cultural sovereignty, justice, and collective creativity across global communities.
Dr. Tiffany Crutcher
Advisory Board Member
Dr. Tiffany T. Crutcher is a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was thrust into the international spotlight following the death of her twin brother, Terence Crutcher, who was shot by a police officer in Tulsa while holding his hands in the air. The murder of her brother compelled Tiffany to speak out against police brutality, particularly the killing of unarmed Black men. She has chosen to turn her personal tragedy into an opportunity to bridge fear and mistrust, and to help transform a justice system that has long perpetuated injustice dating back to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Dr. Crutcher is the Founder and Executive Director of the Terence Crutcher Foundation, Demanding A Just Tulsa Coalition, and The Tulsa Black Mental Health Alliance.
Diana Cournoyer
Advisory Board Member
Diana Cournoyer (Oglala Lakota) is a transformational leader with more than 25 years of experience advancing Indigenous education, tribal sovereignty, and community-led change. As a former leader of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA), she expanded the organization’s reach nationwide, secured millions in grant funding, and strengthened partnerships supporting Native students and communities. A Pahara Fellow, Diana has testified before Congress and serves on boards including South Dakota Education Equity (SDEEC), Black Liberation Indigenous Solidarity (BLIS), and the Green Schools National Network (GSNN). She is also a dedicated mentor to emerging Indigenous leaders working to create lasting change across education, government, and philanthropy.
