Board of Directors
Tiffany Gorman
Spirit. Yogi. Birth Educator.
As a child development specialist with a commitment to supporting families and communities, Tiffany (she/her) believes literacy, and strong family communication are the best ways to achieve positive outcomes for children. Tiffany is a doula at Windy City Doulas and is committed to expanding her professional and personal experiences to the work of Chicago South Side Birth Center. Tiffany holds a certificate in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from USF. She is an alum of Fisk University where she graduated with a BS in Business Administration/Management. Tiffany also holds a MS in Child Development from Erickson Institute. Outside of her doula work, Tiffany is a trained yogi and writer. She is the Founder of Gorman House Publishing and an amazing chef.
Julianna Davis
Caring. Peace Lover. Feisty.
Julianna (she/her) is a community advocate and committed to the life and joy of the Black community. She has numerous years of experience promoting wholeness and all facets of health within the community. Her work includes her current role as a High Risk Community Health Specialist and Maternal Child Health Case Manager at Access Community Health Network.
Her previous experiences include work as Medical Billing Coordinator (Ijegba Community Inc), Field Care Coordinator (Independent Living Systems, LLC), Education Coordinator (Children's Home + Aid), and Adult Educator (Chicago Commons). Julianna is a
University of Illinois Chicago alum and holds both a BA in Psycholgy and African American Studies as well as an M.Ed in Educational Psychology/Youth Development. Julianna spends her extra time tending to her home and community garden, enjoying live music, and loving all things Black.
Cicely Fleming
Opinionated. Funny. Challenged.
Cicely Fleming (she/her) is the State Director for Birth to Five Illinois. She has a successful history within community collaborations and has played a key part in systems design and equity analyses. As a community leader, she has served in various roles including as a Cook County Racial Equity Committee co-chair, City of Evanston Mental Health Board member, nonprofit founder, and Alderwoman for the City of Evanston. Most recently she was an adjunct professor for DePaul University and founder of a nonprofit focused on grassroots initiatives to achieve racial equity through civic engagement, voter education, and local candidate development. Cicely holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Shaw University and a Masters of Public Administration from DePaul University. She also completed the McCormick Foundation Executive Fellowship at Erikson Institute.
Alia E. Hawkins
Dancer. Patient. Persistent.
Alia (she/her) is the founder and director of Beachfront Dance School, a not-for-profit dance school located in Gary, Indiana. She is a health law/healthcare compliance attorney and registered mediator. She is also a former classical ballet dancer. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking for family and friends; gardening; knitting; tennis; Pilates; yoga; swimming and traveling.
Carla M. Kupe
Energy Mover. Strategist. Alchemist.
Carla Madeleine Kupe, Esq. (she/her/sie/elle/ella) is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of CZL P.C. where she leads Legal Consulting services around Corporate Governance and Operations through a diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism/oppression lens. Carla considers herself a strategist, an educator, and a collaborative leader. Her unique personal background has translated into unique and innovative problem-solving approaches throughout her career. Carla is the first-born of five children of Congolese parents, speaks eight languages, was born and has lived in Germany and Luxembourg, and has been calling the U.S. her home since 1997. Carla has a remarkable ability of putting herself into another’s shoes, to see an issue from different vantage points. This refined skill has enabled Carla to consistently render comprehensive advice and lead collaborative projects with people of all lived experiences. Carla loves to be the architect of preventive and proactive strategies but also enjoys devising paths for change to improve existing systems and organizational cultures. Carla is also the founder and CEO of The Impact Alliance LLC, a diversity, equity, inclusion and anti-racism/colonialism consulting enterprise through which she provides advising, consulting, education, and leadership coaching services to organizations in both sectors and across industries. Additionally, she currently serves as the Vice President of Racial Equity and Inclusion for the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago.
In 2018, Carla was one of the architects of the Professional Identity Formation program at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and acted as the program’s director until 2021. Carla created Speak Truth Summit, a platform giving voice and visibility to the particular and unique experiences of women of color in 2018. Carla served as the first Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Compliance Director at the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General. Before that, Carla was an Associate General Counsel and the Title IX Coordinator for Chicago State University. Prior to that, Carla was an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago Law Department in its Federal Civil Rights Litigation Division. She also held the position of Victim Witness Advocate for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office in Boston, Massachusetts. Additionally, Carla was the former Director of Community Relations for the Chicago Metropolitan Chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE).
Most recently, she was selected for inclusion in the Crain’s Chicago Business feature, “Notable Executives in HR and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (August 2022). Carla is a member of the Loyola University Chicago School of Law’s Diversity Mentoring Program and the law school's Dean’s Diversity Council. Additionally, Carla serves as a mentor at the University of Chicago Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Carla served as a member and contributing author of the editorial board for the Illinois chapter of the National Diversity Council.
She received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Psychology from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and her Juris Doctor from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Chicago, Illinois.
Lakeesha Omi Harris
Priestess. Way Maker. Doula.
Lakeesha (she/her) is an unapologetic Black Feminist, Abolitionist, and former Co-Executive Director of Lift Louisiana - where she worked to shift policy needed to improve the lives of Louisiana's women, their families, and their communities.
In 2021 -2022 Lakeesha wrote and hosted Old Pro News - a limited podcast dedicated to educating everyone on current legislation, policy, and activism of Sex Workers globally. A continuation of her work as the former Director of Reproductive Health and Justice at Women With A Vision, Inc, in New Orleans, LA - where she worked with Representative Mandie Landy in spearheading the first comprehensive statewide bills in the nation to decriminalize sex work.
She, along with current and other former sex workers, developed the deep south decrim toolkit, lodging a statewide campaign to educate the community on what it means when sex workers are targeted and criminalized. During the 2021 legislative session, a group of 119 sex workers and allies provided three hours of testimony in the Louisiana House - a first, not only in the deep south, but in any state house!
In 2020, Lakeesha was celebrated by Bitch Media among its Bitch 50 Activists for her work to maintain abortion access in Louisiana and nationwide. Her twenty plus years as a Reproductive Justice leader had produced two RJ Amicus Briefs that were presented to The Supreme Court on behalf abortion access, one currently being considered in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case.
Before moving to the Deep South, Lakeesha was an organizer, Health Educator, and Insemination Coordinator in the midwest providing comprehensive care to sex workers, women, trans people, and GNC folx at one of the last remaining feminist Health centers in the country, Chicago Women’s Health Center.
Lakeesha’s essays, interviews, and critical work has been featured on The Daily by The New York Times, Democracy Now, The Advocate, and Rewire News just to name a few.
More Info on Lakeesha can be accessed here.
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