Shari Davis, Co-Executive Director
Oakland | shari@participatorybudgeting.org | @shari_davis1
Shari joined PBP staff after nearly 15 years of service and leadership in local government. As Director of Youth Engagement and Employment for the City of Boston she launched Youth Lead the Change, the first youth participatory budgeting process in the US, which won the US Conference of Mayors’ City Livability Award. Shari first got involved in city government in high school, serving as the Citywide Neighborhood Safety Coordinator on the Boston Mayor’s Youth Council and working at the Mayor’s Youthline. Shari is a graduate of Boston University’s Sargent College for Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and holds a master’s degree in anatomy and physiology.
Kristina Banks, Co-Executive Director
Brooklyn | kristina@participatorybudgeting.org
Kristina ensures the smooth running and continuous improvement of PBP's operational and financial activities, providing the infrastructure necessary to make our programmatic work successful. Prior to joining PBP, Kristina worked for an environmentally focused nonprofit in Washington, DC where she managed the organization's separation from a fiscal sponsor to become its own 501c3 entity. During this experience, she gained valuable insight on how to create systems and processes that work not only for the organization, but for the team members as well. Kristina is looking forward to creating new—and enhancing current—internal controls to steward PBP to the next level organizationally.
Kristania De Leon, Co-Executive Director
Oakland | kristania@participatorybudgeting.org
Kristania oversees PBP's Program's teams, including Campaigns and Advocacy, Technical Assistance, and the Participation Lab. With the team, she works to increase the demand, visibility and impact of PB efforts across North America. Kristania brings over a decade of non-profit experience having worked with domestic and international teams committed to improving human rights, social determinants of health, justice, equity and diversity. Her work has focused on public policy and advocacy, community-driven programming and engagement, cross-sector capacity building, networked movement building, and social justice. She obtained her BA in International Relations from the University of British Columbia and her MA in Social Innovation from the University of San Diego’s Kroc Institute of Peace and Justice.
Elizabeth Crews, Director of Strategic Initiatives
Brooklyn | elizabeth@participatorybudgeting.org
Elizabeth leads strategic development at PBP, with a focus on expanding participatory democracy. Elizabeth brings over 10 years in nonprofit management, research, and fundraising. She started her own consulting firm, Mockingbird Strategies, where she has consulted political parties, candidates, nonprofits, and foundations on political organizing, advocacy campaigns, and community outreach strategies. Most recently, she founded and led UnifiEd, a public education advocacy organization in Chattanooga, TN focused on improving public education by expanding public participation in the school system, from the classroom to the board of education.
Ingrid Haftel, Director of Community Education
Brooklyn | ingrid@participatorybudgeting.org
Ingrid manages Democracy Beyond Elections, PBP's collaborative campaign to win structural democracy reforms that deepen participatory democracy and civic engagement, beyond and between elections. She is especially excited to work with the PBP team and partners to explore and expand participatory democracy as a tool for equity, inclusion, and justice. Ingrid has been working at the intersection of civic engagement, popular education, and design for nearly ten years. Before joining the Democracy Beyond Elections Team, she oversaw Community Education programs at the Center for Urban Pedagogy and directed cultural organizing campaigns at Peoples Climate Movement. Her other past lives include being a curator at an architecture foundation, a mender and shelver of library books, and a pizza slinger. Ingrid earned her B.A. in English and Comparative History of Ideas at the University of Washington, and her M.A. in Humanities at the University of Chicago.
Isabel Luciano, The People's Fellowship Director
isabel@participatorybudgeting.org
Isabel started her participatory democracy career at PBP in 2014 where she helped city staff and residents in North America implement participatory budgeting processes. She left the organization in 2017 and spent some time designing engagement processes that gathered community input for urban planning projects. Having seen first hand how much innovation can take place when we bring decision-making processes to those that are typically left out of them, Isabel has focused her career on designing PB and community engagement processes alongside young people. Isabel is excited to grow this effort by working with the People's Fellows to actualize their vision of community-led decision-making through the People's Fellowship - a new partnership between Pipeline to Power, PBP and the Civic Engagement Commission that immerses young people across New York City in the best practices of participatory democracy.
Rahel Mekdim Teka, Director of Strategic Communications
rahel@participatorybudgeting.org
Rahel is an organizer, facilitator, and writer based in Oakland, CA. She is passionate about building power, storytelling, and Ethiopian food. A member of BYP100 (Black Youth Project 100), Rahel strives to bring a Black Queer Feminist lens to all aspects of her life. She leads the communications team at the Participatory Budgeting Project, a national organization that provides education, advocacy, and implementation support for community-led decision making across the U.S. In her spare time you can find Rahel watching movies, reading, and exploring new cities. If you ever need to buy her favor, books by Black women authors and tequila based cocktails are the way - don't worry, she'll drop hints.
Kayla Knight, Technical Assistance Project Manager
kayla@participatorybudgeting.org
Kayla serves as a project manager on PBP’s technical assistance team. She is responsible for supporting the delivery of training, consulting, and capacity building services for government and schools. As a high school student, Kayla helped implement the first youth-led participatory budgeting process in Boston. Since then, Kayla has been dedicated to improving economic development in Black and Brown communities and making government more accessible to immigrants and refugees. Prior to joining PBP, she spent time at nonprofit organizations Bowdoin Geneva Main Streets and Yellow House Kuala Lumpur. Outside of work, you can find Kayla reading, hiking, and learning Spanish.
Michael Cusack, Technical Assistance Project Manager michaelcusack@participatorybudgeting.org
Michael provides support and guidance for local governments, community organizations, and educational institutions implementing models of participatory budgeting as a project manager on PBP’s technical assistance team. Michael’s participatory and learner-centered approach to facilitation and capacity building is informed by his background as a labor organizer and adult educator. He earned his EdM in Adult Learning and Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University. Off the clock you are likely to find Michael with a book, on his bike, or at a picket line.
Jane DeRonne, Development Manager
jane@participatorybudgeting.org
Jane manages institutional and individual giving for PBP. She brings more than ten years of experience in grant writing and management, tracking and evaluation, and communicating impacts for a range of government and non-profit organizations. She is a graduate of Swarthmore College and holds masters degrees in communication studies and urban planning and policy. Jane lives in St. Louis, MO, where she is a leader in STL Mutual Aid. She likes to be outside in all seasons, and after work you can usually find her on her front porch with a glass of wine and a couple of kids.
Alexis Gudding, Operations Coordinator (they/them)
alexis@participatorybudgeting.org
Alexis works to support the holistic internal and external operations of PBP. Originally hailing from the Midwest, they began their professional life in Chicago’s storefront theater scene and for the last several years have been working happily and diligently at the intersection of operations, art, and community building. They specialize in systems infrastructure, building organizational capacity, and prioritizing people power and wellbeing. You can catch them dashing around Brooklyn on their trusty single-speed, coaxing life from any available patch of dirt in their community garden, or working on issue areas related to food justice and TGNCNB+ rights.
Petula Jarvis-Hanley, Democracy Beyond Elections Coalition Manager (she/her)
petula@participatorybudgeting.org
Petula is responsible for supporting the coordination and management of the Democracy Beyond Elections coalition. This includes building relationships with national, state and local partners to build the coalition and foster engagement of member organizations in order to increase the visibility and impact of participatory democracy across the United States. Petula has over a decade of experience in building strategic relationships with advocacy groups, community partners and elected officials. Petula has managed political campaigns and organized communities in Central Brooklyn around affordable senior housing, quality education and social justice initiatives. Prior to joining PBP she served as Chief of Staff for the 56th District NYS Assembly.
She volunteers her time and expertise by taking leadership roles in organizations such local Community Councils, East Brooklyn Congregations, and Repair the World (Brooklyn) - Crown Heights Leadership Cohort.
Robbie Barton, Communications Associate (he/his)
robbie@participatorybudgeting.org
Robbie is an educator, facilitator, and eco-social justice organizer based in Oakland, CA. As the Communications Associate on the Participatory Budgeting Project team, he weaves and bridges stories of participatory democracy in action, advances equitable public decision-making that shifts health, wealth, and power to communities, and connects with folks from across geographies and neighborhoods about the issues that impact their lives. He brings to this practice a wealth of experience as a youth educator, local government public servant, and climate justice advocate. In his spare time, you will find him relaxing in nature, nose deep in a good book, engaged in good conversation, or dancing like nobody's watching.
Telitha Floyd, Seattle Community Engagement Director
telitha@participatorybudgeting.org
Telitha Floyd has been a champion for change in the black community for the last 20 years. Beginning in the Bay Area at 18 with her work around gun violence prevention and youth services, she then moved to Sacramento to work on community issues from a grassroots community level up to national legislative levels, training and equipping community leaders to speak their concerns on a legislative level. Telitha is an experienced Live Free gun violence prevention organizer and Peacekeeper trained, street certified advocate. She graduated from University of Phoenix in 2020 with her Bachelors of Science in Human Services Management and a Masters in Business Administration in 2022. She owns her own consulting business that focuses on providing infrastructure to small nonprofit and for profit black owned businesses, and first joined PBP during the Sacramento PB Process as a Community Engagement Manager and trusted messenger organization. She is also a licensed non-denominational clergy.
Fundisha Tibebe, Seattle Community Engagement Manager
fundisha@participatorybudgeting.org
Fundisha Tibebe was born and raised in the Rainier Beach neighborhood in South Seattle. After high school, Fundisha moved cross country to attend the illustrious Howard University in Washington, DC. In her third year of college, Fundisha left Howard and later moved to Houston, Texas. Fundisha moved back to Seattle in 2018 for a role at the Ethiopian Community in Seattle (ECS), working with youth as their Program Coordinator. After a year back in Seattle, she joined the RVC Community Impact Fellowship program, which landed her at
a local grassroots organization, Supporting Partnerships in Education and Beyond (SPEB), as their Development and Fundraising Lead. At SPEB, she led fundraising efforts and focused on the development and sustainability of the organization. When Fundisha is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, going to concerts, hiking, and trying out new restaurants. She grew up always being involved in her community and having the privilege of growing up with parents, mentors, and friends who led by example. She has seen amazing things happen when people come together and has a deep appreciation for community. She is excited to step into the Seattle PB process as the Community Engagement Manager.