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STAFF
Wanda Salaman,
Co-Director
Born in Puerto Rico, Wanda has lived in New York City for almost 30 years.
She was a youth leader at the North West Bronx Community & Clergy
Coalition before becoming their office manager for two years and a staff
organizer for eight years. As a Senior Organizer at NWBCCC, Wanda supervised
and trained organizers through the TICO program and staffed the Safe Streets
Committee. She is currently serving her third term as a NOA Steering Committee
member. Wanda supervises MOM’s Housing and Truck Safety organizers
and campaigns.
James Mumm,
Co-Director
After twelve and a half years organizing in Chicago, James joined the
MOM staff in July 1, 2002 as a Co-Director. He completed two internships
in the summer of 1989, with both the Chicago Electric Options Campaign
and the National Training and Information Center. In January of 1990 he
began 4 years at NTIC, then 3 1/2 years with the Metropolitan Tenants
Organization and 5 years with the institutionally-based Organization of
the NorthEast. James left the NOA Steering Committee after three terms
at Gathering V in the summer of 2001. James supervises MOM’s Education
and Environmental Justice organizers and campaigns.
Flor Bermudez,
Attorney
In the fall of 2001, Flor began a two-year Skadden Fellowship representing
Mothers on the Move tenants associations through her placement at the
Urban Justice Center. She graduated from Rutgers Law at Newark in May
of 2002 and spent a year as a clerk for Gary S. Stein at the New Jersey
Supreme Court. During law school, she worked with a law firm representing
Local 1199 workers and with the Immigrant’s Rights Project of the
American Friends Service Committee. Prior to school, Flor worked as an
organizer for the United Farm Workers and the Latino Workers’ Center.
Lisa Ortega,
Community Organizer
Lisa is the parent of three children in local public schools, and joined
Mothers on the Move in 1995 to fight for higher quality education. In
1996, she began working full time as an organizer through the VISTA volunteer
program and became part of the staff in 1998. Since she began working
with MOM, Lisa has recruited hundreds of parents for local and citywide
actions. She coordinated the successful campaign to rehabilitate the broken-down
tennis courts on Hoe Avenue, resulting in an investment of $900,000 from
city and state government. She is currently responsible for staffing the
Housing Committee for MOM.
Czarina Thelen,
Community Organizer
Czarina completed a Training Institute for Careers in Organizing internship
in the summer of 2001, where she trained with the North West Bronx Community
& Clergy Coalition. She worked for the Service Employees International
Union before joining MOM’s staff in January 2002. Czarina is responsible
for staffing the Education Committee for MOM.
John Rodriguez,
Community Organizer
John is a second generation Dominican immigrant who became active with
MOM as a talented translator at the age of 14. He graduated high school
in the spring of 2002 and was a New York Foundation Summer Intern for
MOM during the summer. John is currently balancing school at CUNY with
a part-time tenant organizing job with MOM.
Katie Falgoust,
Community Organizer
Katie is in her second year of volunteer service through the Jesuit Volunteer
Corps (JVC). Originally from Louisiana, she spent last year in Yakima,
WA, as a social service coordinator. She will be working with MOM until
August 2003 on Education organizing.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lucretia Jones
was born and raised in the Longwood section of the South Bronx, in the
same house where she now resides. She graduated with a BA from Brandeis
University in 1977. After a stint as an Emergency Medical Technician,
she joined the New York City Department of Health, where she has risen
through the ranks to become the Surveillance Coordinator in the HIV/AIDS
Surveillance Program. She was recently awarded a Public Health Scholarship
to attend Columbia University, and received a Masters of Public Health
in 2001. Lucretia joined Mothers on the Move in 1992 out of concern for
the poor quality of South Bronx public schools and was a founding Board
Chair. She is a member of the New York State Board of Regents' Committee
on Low-Performing Schools and has received several awards for her public
school advocacy, including one for her involvement with the school based
management team at PS 130. She is the mother of two children, Sati (22)
and Jeunesse (14).
Diane Lowman
is a lifelong resident of the Bronx. She has been a community activist
for over twenty-five years. Her involvement began when the city took over
management of her building and tenants organized to win control of their
homes. The struggle at the building level led to the policy arena, where
Diane and other tenants fought for and won a new city program to transfer
ownership to building residents. As a parent of four, Diane was active
in local parents' associations during their school years. She joined Mothers
on the Move in 1995 because of her concerns about the local public schools.
Since 1997, she has served on the MOM Board of Directors. In addition
to her volunteer community efforts, Diane has worked for a number of New
York City nonprofits as an advocate and trainer. She was a Senior Victim
Service Specialist at the Victim Services Agency and a coordinator at
Literacy, Inc. She has also consulted on parent outreach strategies for
New Visions for Public Schools and been a trainer the Resolving Conflict
Creatively Program.
Jessie McDonald
was born in Alabama and moved to the South Bronx in 1964. Her early experience
attending Birmingham's segregated schools is one reason why she has dedicated
herself to fighting for equal education. After moving, she attended public
schools in New York City, graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School
in 1969. Immediately afterwards, she began working in the Dietary Department
of Bronx Psychiatric Center, where she was employed until her retirement
in 1992. Jessie joined Mothers on the Move in 1994 after attending a workshop
on the structure of the Board of Education and since then has been an
active member of the Education and Fundraising Committees. She was a founding
board member of MOM's Community Action Alliance, formed to increase turnout
and elect South Bronx representatives in the 1996 Community School Board
elections. Jessie was elected to MOM's Board of Directors in 1999. In
addition to her neighborhood activism, she is a volunteer at Thessalonia
Baptist Church, where she cooks for youth and senior citizens' groups
twice a week. She also serves on Thessalonia's Civic Committee, which
focuses on outreach to the community.
Tanya Sands
was born and raised in Manhattan and moved to the Bronx in 1977. She worked
as a corrections officer and raised three children, now ranging in age
from 15 to 29. After retiring from the Department of Corrections, she
became a foster parent, and eventually adopted three more children. It
was the experience of fighting with the school system for textbooks for
her foster children that turned Tanya into an education activist. She
has been one ever since, and is joining the MOM Board of Directors in
2002. In addition to her experience as a parent, Tanya has worked as an
aide at a local elementary school for the past six years and knows the
school system from the inside. She is also an active member of St. Athanasius
Church.
Alane Sosa
was born and raised in the Bronx, and has lived in the Hunts Point area
for over ten years. She is the mother of three children: Carlos (20);
Matthew (13) and Christopher (11). She is an outreach worker for a social
service agency and is currently attending John Jay College full time.
Alane joined Mothers on the Move in 1995 because of her concerns about
the quality of the local junior high school. As a member of MOM, Alane
met with the principal of that school and later Chancellor Rudy Crew to
push for policy changes to improve the quality of education for neighborhood
children. Alane has also been active with the Environmental Justice Committee,
formed to address the astronomical rate of asthma in the community by
fighting the siting of new polluting facilities. In 1998, after 6-year-old
Crystal Vargas was tragically killed by a truck while playing near her
home, Alane was a founding member of the MOM Truck Safety Committee. Alane
has served on the Mothers on the Move Board of Directors since 1998 and
has been chairwoman since February of 2000.
Rita Veras
was born in the Dominican Republic and emigrated to New York City when
she was ten years old. She has lived in the Bronx for 12 years, and is
mother of five children, ages 15 through 2 1/2. She has been an active
parent volunteer at her children's Head Start programs and schools. She
first got involved with Mothers on the Move Education Committee after
meeting an organizer at her children's school, P.S. 75. She joined the
Board in 1999. She likes being involved with her community and making
a difference.
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