Carmen Perez-Jordan

President & Chief Executive officer

Carmen Perez-Jordan (she/her/hers/ella) is something of a Renaissance woman in modern-day activism. She has dedicated 20 years to advocating for many of today's important civil rights issues, including mass incarceration, gender equity, violence prevention, racial healing and community policing. As the President/Chief Executive Officer of The Gathering for Justice, a nonprofit founded by legendary artist and activist Harry Belafonte, Carmen has crossed the globe promoting peace through civil and human rights, building alternatives to incarceration and violence, and providing commentary and guidance for state and federal policy creation.

In 2002, Carmen went to work for Barrios Unidos in Santa Cruz – an organization dedicated to providing non-violence training and re-entry services for the incarcerated, and establishing an Institute for peace and community development in Santa Cruz and across the country. In 2011, Carmen helped develop Purple Gold, a young worker’ s program that engages and cultivates the membership of 1199SEIU’s 35-and-under members, while setting the future for the Labor Movement. Her work providing cultural, spiritual and educational events as well as individual support to incarcerated youth inside of juvenile detention centers and prisons in California and New York has led Carmen to prisons in El Salvador and Venezuela.

Dannese Mapanda

Chief Operating and Strategy Officer

As the Chief Operating and Strategy Officer at The Gathering for Justice, Dannese Mapanda (she/her/hers.) is committed to promoting justice in her life and work. With over 15 years experience, Dannese joined The Gathering in 2019 with an extensive background in nonprofit program management, philanthropic strategy, grant and financial administration and partnership development throughout the US and the Global South. As a proven strategist and leader, Dannese served as the Director of Finance and Operations for the Executives’ Alliance for BMOC. In this role, she helped raise $1.6 million over one year for the National Youth Alliance for BMOC, launch the “Ban the Box Philanthropy Challenge”, securing participation from 42 foundations eliminating employment barriers for people with arrest and conviction records and provided strategic direction for grantmaking, partnerships, management and program design.
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Amanda Lefer

Director of Operations

Amanda Lefer joins The Gathering for Justice as the Director of Operations bringing with her seven years of experience in philanthropy. Most recently, she served as the Finance and Administration Manager at the Jewish Foundation for Education of Women (JFEW), a funder in the higher education sector focusing on undergraduate scholarship programs for women in New York City. Amanda oversaw all financial and operational aspects of the foundation, supporting over 400 scholarship recipients annually through tuition assistance and career development programs. Prior to joining JFEW, Amanda held roles as a Program Officer and Grants Manager at a private family foundation, where she developed and monitored grantee programs in their K-12 public education portfolio. Before her career in philanthropy, Amanda worked for an education-based advocacy nonprofit, where she cultivated a passion for community organizing to affect policy and legislative reforms. In addition to her professional work, Amanda volunteers with SURJ-NYC (Showing Up for Racial Justice), an organization dedicated to mobilizing white people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice. She provides technical and administrative support for the SURJ-NYC “Calling In” team. Amanda holds a B.A. in Art History from Bard College and is a Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional (CNAP). She and her family live in Queens, New York.

Jessica Persaud

Director of Policy and Advocacy

Jessica (she/her) joins The Gathering as a New York-based attorney who has dedicated her career to public service and criminal justice reform. For the past several years, she has focused her work on decarceration efforts, violence reduction and measures that promote the strength and health of Black and Brown communities.

Prior to joining The Gathering for Justice, Jessica served as Director of Policy at Common Justice, where she developed and managed the Fair Access to Victim Compensation Campaign. Jessica also previously served as Floor Counsel to the New York State Senate Democratic Majority Conference, as well as, Counsel for the Crime Victims, Crime & Correction Committee, and the Consumer Protection Committee. As Crime Victims, Crime & Correction Counsel, Jessica assisted with the passage of the HALT Solitary Confinement Act, Automatic Restoration of Voting Rights for Formerly Incarcerated Persons, and the Community Violence Intervention Act.

Jessica earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Philosophy at Florida Atlantic University and her Juris Doctor from Albany Law School. Post-graduation, Jessica accepted the Excelsior Service Fellowship, where she served as Assistant Counsel to the New York State Board of Parole within the Appeals Unit, where she reviewed parole denials and assisted with the implementation of expanded parole eligibility standards. Jessica is a first-generation, Indo-Caribbean Guyanese-American, originally from Queens, New York.

Jules Hoffenberg

Events Consultant

Julianne Hoffenberg (she/her) is the Events Consultant for The Gathering for Justice and has been integral in building Justice League NYC since its founding in 2014. Julianne began her producing career in 1987 as a Producer and eventually Producing Director of Naked Angels, a NY theater company where she helped found and subsequently produced over 30 plays and events. She is the co-founder of and current Board Member at Project A.L.S., a non-profit organization that raises awareness and funds for research into the fatal neurological disease. She served as Director of Operations and Executive Producer of Project A.L.S. for six years, raising tens of millions of research dollars and producing three films which generated considerable attention for the misunderstood disease. Julianne began fusing her passion for theater and politics in 2006 with noted political theater company Culture Project. Her notable work over three plus decades on numerous critically-acclaimed and award-winning projects led her to begin working with Harry Belafonte as a production consultant in 2012, through whom she met Carmen Perez and soon began her career with The Gathering for Justice. Julianne also proudly sits on the Advisory Board of SAY, an artistic home for children who stutter.

Kevin Hunte

Digital Strategist

Kevin (he/him/his) is an experienced brand builder, product manager and skilled strategic marketer. Driven by his love for music, sports and philanthropy, he’s been a key contributor to The David Ortiz Children’s Fund previously serving as the Digital Marketing Manager. In addition, Kevin has proven success in branding and positioning product lines for Converse, Coca Cola, Warner Records as Marketing Manager at Cornerstone agency/ The FADER. He has also worked closely with FADER Label artists like Saul Williams, Matt & Kim, The Bots and Yuna. After relocating to Raleigh, NC Kevin established The Hunte Agency, a grassroots marketing and management company that has developed creative marketing campaigns for The Gorillaz, Chance The Rapper, ill Camille, Damani Nkosi, IDK along with brands like Genius, Red Bull, and J Cole’s Dreamville Festival.

Michaela Perez

Field Organizer, Oxnard, CA

Michaela (she/her), an Oxnard native, is a Policy Advisor and Community Organizer and joined The Gathering for Justice in March 2023. She has a Masters of Public Health and a Bachelor's in Psychology from San Francisco State University. Perez has a 10-year track record in policy advocacy and community organizing. Previously, she managed a $17M budget program to increase BIPOC representation in STEM fields, she coordinated the Opportunities for All Workforce Development initiative, and implemented campaign strategies for elected officials during critical elections. She established a Legislative Committee which successfully passed over 10+ pieces of legislation within the last two years. She has worked with national organizations to develop policy frameworks to address the Digital Divide. Michaela's work is built on the concept that we can find and establish long-term solutions when our community and underinvested populations are included in the policy and program development process.