SPACEs is guided by an incredible mix of staff, consultants and advisors. They are:
Brittney Nicole Washington is a Queer Black Artist + Mama + Doula + Strategist + Troublemaker. Known for her work dismantling power arrangements that maintain structural racism and othering, Brittney’s multidisciplinary approach applies an understanding that everyone enters into politicization and social justice movement differently.
Brittney facilitates nationwide to illuminate historical events that shape current experiences of racialized poverty, trauma, and disconnection. She consults and curates spaces where folks can be brave, vulnerable, and imaginative about how to bend organizations and policies toward justice.
Brittney uses painting, illustration, and filmmaking to broaden our spectrum of human experiences in media. Her work decolonizes ideas of normality and invites radical empathy across difference.
A mama-healer, Brittney invests in families. She encourages us to reconceptualize how we care for each other, how we combat the seduction of individualism, and how to create renewing ecosystems for our spiritual gifts and the world we share.
Brittney gives thanks to the independent authors, local artists, community leaders, families, organizations like Teaching for Change, Black Lives Matter DC, Cop Watch, Many Languages One Voice, The DC Initiative on Racial Equity in Governments, Service to Justice, Miriam’s Kitchen, the Interagency Council on Homelessness, SPACES, and more with whom she has worked.
Brittney Nicole Washington currently lives in Washington, DC.
Dushaw Hockett is the founder and Executive Director of Safe Places for the Advancement of Community and Equity (SPACEs), a Washington, DC-based leadership development and community building organization dedicated to bridging the gap between what people imagine and what they achieve.
A native New Yorker who now resides in Maryland, Dushaw has over 20 years of experience in community building and organizational development.
He’s the former Director of Special Initiatives for the Center for Community Change (CCC), a 40-plus year old national social justice organization founded in the memory of the late Robert F. Kennedy. During is 12-year tenure at CCC, Dushaw led projects focused on affordable housing, immigration and race.
He’s also a former aide to Representative Nydia M. Velazquez (NY), the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the U.S. Congress.
Dushaw has written several publications focused on citizen engagement and conflict transformation. They include Not Part of the Plan, Crossing Borders and A Hope Unseen.
He has served on the boards of numerous local and national organizations including the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) and the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). He currently serves as an advisor to the Perception Institute.
Dushaw’s current work includes Allies for Inclusion, a multi-year project with the National Park Service (NPS). The project equips park service employees with the skills needed to create environments that support inclusion and belonging.
Through the Beyond Bias program, he’s working with labor unions and school districts across the country to train leaders and managers in the science of implicit bias and de-biasing strategies.
Finally, as an outgrowth of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation Initiative (TRHT), Dushaw serves as healing facilitator/practitioner. In this capacity, he has facilitated healing circles for numerous organizations including but not limited to the Independent Sector, the American Library Association (ALA), the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) and the Michigan Council on Foundations.
Dushaw’s Ted Talk on Implicit Bias
Dushaw on trust building
Michael R. Wenger is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Sociology at The George Washington University, where he teaches classes on race relations and institutional racism, a Senior Fellow, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success, at the Association of American Colleges & Universities, and a Senior Consultant for the Ntianu Garden Center for Healing and Nature. For much of the past decade he also served as a senior consultant on race relations with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, providing guidance on the America Healing and Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) efforts of the Foundation. He has made numerous presentations on TRHT and facilitated racial healing circles for such organizations as Independent Sector, the Association of American Colleges & Universities, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Library Association, and the University of Maryland School of Social Work.
From October, 1998 to August, 2014 Mr. Wenger served at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the nation’s pre-eminent research and public policy analysis institution focused on issues of race. At the Joint Center he was the founder and Director of NABRE (Network of Alliances Bridging Race and Ethnicity), which linked community-based race relations/racial justice organizations across the country in order to facilitate communication and collaboration. Also, during his tenure at the Joint Center Mr. Wenger was a Senior Fellow, Acting VP for Governance and Economic Analysis, Acting VP for Communications, and an Editorial Consultant.
From September, 1997 to October, 1998, Mr. Wenger was Deputy Director for Outreach and Program Development for President Clinton’s Initiative on Race. He was responsible for the development and implementation of programs designed to broaden public support for President Clinton’s vision of One America in the 21st Century–a more just, inclusive and unified America that offers opportunity and fairness for all Americans. Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, Mr. Wenger was States’ Washington Representative for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for 16+ years. In that capacity he represented the Governors of the 13 Appalachian states on policy matters related to the economic development work of the ARC.
Before coming to Washington, D.C. in 1981, Mr. Wenger held several policy-making positions in the administration of West Virginia Governor John D. Rockefeller IV, including Director of the Governor’s Office of Federal/State Programs and the Governor’s Office of Community Development, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Welfare, and Commissioner of the Department of Employment Security. Prior to that he served as Director of Federal/State Relations for the City of Charleston, WV and before that, as Executive Director of the Raleigh County (WV) Community Action Association.
Mr. Wenger began his career as a journalist and public school teacher in the New York City area. His memoir, My Black Family, My White Privilege: A White Man’s Journey Through the Nation’s Racial Minefield, was published in November, 2012. It describes his experiences as a white man from New York City married to an African American woman from rural North Carolina, integrates his personal experiences with his professional insights, and shares the lessons he has learned about race as a result of his journey.
He also is the co-author of Window Pane Stories: Vignettes to Help You Look At and Beyond Your Experiences, a frequent speaker on race relations, and the author of numerous articles on race relations and on rural economic development.
He currently is a member of the National Advisory Committee for the National Collaborative for Health Equity and of the Board of Directors for the League of Black Women. He is a winner of the Bender Teaching Award for Adjunct Faculty at The George Washington University,
Mr. Wenger was born in New York City and educated at Queens College of the City University of New York, where he was a leader in the civil rights struggles of the early 1960s. He is married and has three grown children, four grandchildren, and a great grandchild.
Contact: wengerjm@verizon.net
Reverend Dr. Stacey Cole Wilson is the Executive Minister of Justice and Service for The Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church. She is a worshiper, wife, mother, Prayer Warrior, Pastor, Professional Leadership Coach, youth-advocate, and Visionary Leader. During her tenure in ministry, Dr. Wilson has served as the Lead Pastor of Good Hope Union UMC in Silver Spring, MD, the Pastor of Mount Winans United Methodist Church in Baltimore, and as the Associate Pastor of Linthicum Heights United Methodist Church in Linthicum, Maryland.
She has received national acclaim as a lectionary writer for the General Board of Global Ministries and for her prayers and litanies published in the award-winning Africana Worship Book. She has traveled from street corners to national pulpits to share God’s powerful message of redemptive love. Most recently, she was selected as Wesley Theological Seminary’s 2016 Commencement Preacher/Speaker at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Princeton University Chapel’s 2017 Guest Preacher for their Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Service of Recommitment, and United Theological Seminary’s 2017 Distinguished Doctoral Alum of the Year.
As an ardent believer in education, justice and community service, Dr. Wilson serves on the Board of Governors for Wesley Theological Seminary, the Northeastern Jurisdiction Board of the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission, has served on The Executive Committee of the Board of Ordained Ministry (Provisional Member Registrar for the Board of Ordained Ministry, 2008-2016); and, is a Board member of The Boys of Girls Club in Metropolitan Baltimore. She is also a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and a founding member and Chaplain of the Female Clergy Support Group of Maryland.
Pastor Stacey earned her undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Morgan State University and has worked professionally as a Senior Analytical Chemist specializing in Petroleum and Materials Characterization via Mass Spectrometry, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD).
She has earned a Master of Divinity degree from Wesley Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the United Theological Seminary with an emphasis on Collaborative Community-Church Partnerships. She is a distinguished Lewis Fellow, Lewis Community Leaders Fellow, Transition in Ministry (TiM) Excellence Fellow, Duke Divinity Foundations in Church Leadership Fellow; and, was a participant in The Joseph Engle Preaching Roundtable (3 Yr. Program) at Princeton Theological Seminary in NJ.
She is the proud daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gary Cole, the sister of two, the auntie of six nephews, the wife of International Music Producer and Pastor Wayne Wilson, and the mother of two great joys in her life, Ava and Christian Wilson. Furthermore, she is your sister in Christ who is here to celebrate the goodness of God with you and to witness of God wonders at work even now!
Cheryl Aguilar, LICSW, LCSW-C, a licensed independent clinical social worker, is founding director and lead therapist at Hope Center for Wellness, a Washington, DC based multicultural behavioral health practice focused on holistic healing of individuals and communities. In her clinical practice, she addresses issues related to depression, anxiety, trauma, stress, grief and loss, adjustments, addictions, family separations/reunification, among others.
While Cheryl works with people from all walks of life, she specializes in working with immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees and has designed, and implemented several culturally competent groups including Emociones y Política, a support group and workshop for immigrants facing anxiety due to the political climate. She co-launched the first TeleMental Health program for Spanish speaking Latinos in Washington, DC.
She is a speaker and trainer on culturally competent work with Latinos, immigrants and refugees, Trauma Informed Care, TeleMental Health, Self-Care, Mindfulness, among other topics. Cheryl has trained hundreds of social workers, behavioral health professionals, teachers, organizers, other professionals, and community members.Cheryl combines her passion for micro, mezzo and macro work advocating for the communities she serves. She founded and co-leads Social Workers United for Immigration, a network of social workers committed to the wellbeing of immigrants and advancement of immigrant rights. Because of this work, in 2019, Cheryl was selected by Social Work Today magazine as 1 of 10 dedicated and deserving social workers making extraordinary impact across the country.
Cheryl serves as committee member of the National Association of Social Workers’ mental health specialty practice, as board member of the Congressional Research Institute for Social Work Policy and as advisory board member for WETA’s Well Beings/Mental Health project.
In her spare time, Cheryl enjoys practicing self-care activities including yoga, walking, meditation, candle-making, playing African drums, and spending time with family and friends. Raised in New Jersey, Cheryl migrated from Honduras as a teen. Her immigration experience has shaped her mission to uplift communities, give back and empower others to reach their full potential.
Marvin Randolph is a nationally recognized expert in voter registration, voter contact and GOTV operations, and one of the country’s leading experts on Black voter mobilization. Marvin is President of ONYX Communications – a full service political management firm; with decades of experience leading and winning national campaigns, designing high-level strategies, developing pinpoint messaging, and creating compelling content on all platforms.
Marvin has recently run several large independent expenditure campaigns (IEs) with cumulative budgets totaling over 16 million, including for Stacey Abrams (primary and general), Ben Jealous, Lucy McBath, and Mike Espy. Each of these had large voter engagement operations, with programs that focused on mobilizing infrequent voters and included field, phones, digital, mail, television, radio, opposition research and polling.
Specializing in phones, digital advocacy, and voter engagement, Marvin is uniquely experienced at creating impactful conversations with voters, particularly members of the New American Majority and Rising American Electorate. His company, ONYX, designs custom communications solutions that put clients on the path to achieve their goals. With political roots that run deep and success in every corner of the country, his experiences offers clients a unique perspective on how best to design and execute winning campaign strategies.
Marvin also serves as President and CEO of 501(c)(4) and (c)(3) sister organizations, the Southern Elections Fund (SEF), founded by Julian Bond, and the Southern Engagement Foundation, co-founded by Bond and Ben Jealous. He leads the organization’s efforts to combat voter suppression and accelerate the impact of the South’s rapidly changing demographics; fulfilling its mission of expanding the electorate, developing new leaders of color, and building long-term power and capacity around their issues to enhance political power and bring progressive change.
Marvin served as Senior Vice President for Campaigns at the NAACP providing strategic direction to advance the organization’s priorities through a comprehensive strategy at both a national and local level. He envisioned and developed the NAACP’s historic 2012 non-partisan civic engagement plan, and served as the Association’s primary liaison to subsidiaries and partner organizations. He provided direct supervision to multiple teams within the NAACP while also leading multi-departmental teams for rapid response campaigns.
In the 2012 Presidential cycle, Marvin led the NAACP’s This Is My Vote! Campaign, building the largest voter registration and mobilization campaign in the Association’s history. The 2012 campaign registered 366,828 voters (3 times greater than in 2008), and mobilized 1.2 million; producing results that eclipsed the NAACP’s high watermark set in 2008. By the conclusion of the program, Marvin and his team had built a database of 929,570 registered NAACP voters, the largest in the organization’s history. The success of this effort was further evidenced by the 2012 census report that Black turnout surpassed the turnout of White voters for the first time in history.
Working over three decades on more than 120 campaigns in 31 states across the nation, Marvin is highly skilled as a trainer, coach, activist, and advocate. A veteran of political campaigns and a nationally recognized expert in civic engagement and voter contact strategy, Marvin possesses a unique set of campaign skills. As a senior campaign strategist, he has earned a reputation for winning tough initiatives — electoral, referendum and issue.
Marvin has served on the staff of the Democratic National Committee and Service Employees International Union (SEIU); directed primary operations in three states for Clinton/Gore (MS, AL, VA); served as the Founding Executive Director of Virginia Citizen Action, and as National Executive Director of Project Vote. He has also served as Organizing Director and Political Director for the Center for Community Change and later as Deputy Executive Director of the Center’s 501(c)(4) Campaign for Community Change Action.
As a former Managing Partner in Urbanomics Consulting Group, Marvin oversaw the Washington, DC operations while directing legislative, political and grassroots strategies for client engagements. He also served as Senior Account Executive for a direct-mail firm, The Baughman Company, managing accounts for clients ranging from presidential to municipal.
Marvin resides in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
Rachel D. Godsil is the Co-Director and Co-Founder of Perception Institute and Professor of Law and Chancellor’s Scholar at Rutgers Law School. Professor Godsil collaborates with social scientists on empirical research to assess the efficacy of interventions to reduce the impact of our unconscious brains on our decision-making and interpersonal relationships. She regularly conducts workshops on the role of implicit bias, racial anxiety, and stereotype threat in everyday dynamics and in key fields, such as education, criminal justice, and healthcare.
Professor Godsil has co-authored numerous reports, including the first two volumes of Perception Institute’s Science of Equality series: The Science of Equality, Volume 1: Addressing Implicit Bias, Racial Anxiety, and Stereotype Threat in Education and Healthcare (2014) and The Science of Equality, Volume 2: The Effects of Gender Roles, Implicit Bias, and Stereotype Threat on the Lives of Women and Girls (2016), as well as articles and book chapters such as Promoting Fairness? Examining the Efficacy of Implicit Bias Training in the Criminal Justice System, Bias in the Law (2020); What Are We Up Against? An Intersectional Examination of Stereotypes Associated with Gender, Story at Scale (2020); Educating All of Our Children: Understanding and Addressing Implicit Bias (2020).
Previously, Professor Godsil was the Eleanor Bontecou Professor of Law at Seton Hall University Law School, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, an Associate Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, as well as an associate with Berle, Kass & Case and Arnold & Porter in New York City. She earned her law degree from the University of Michigan.
Suzanne Feinspan (she/her/hers) is the Chief Program Officer for Keshet, an organization that works for LGBTQ inclusion and equality in the Jewish community. Suzanne is also an independent consultant supporting organizations in envisioning and moving towards what it would mean to be the most effective, strategic and inclusive versions of themselves. She does this primarily through equity and inclusion training and organizational development, as well as coaching and strategic planning. Suzanne’s approach to inclusion work seeks to address inclusion of multiple forms of identity (gender identity, race, disability, sexual orientation, etc.) simultaneously and to do so in ways that are aligned with what we know from the mind sciences about how we best learn and change behavior.
Prior to consulting, Suzanne worked for over eight years at Avodah — a Jewish organization that supports young adults to become leaders in the social justice field — where she served within all levels and functions of the organization, including as the Acting Executive Director for eight months during the organization’s executive transition in 2014.
Suzanne has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Wesleyan University and a Master’s degree in Jewish Studies from the University of Maryland – College Park and a graduate certificate in facilitation from Georgetown University. She lives with her partner and two children in Silver Spring, MD.
Tomika Adamson serves as Program Coordinator with Safe Places for the Advancement of Community and Equity (SPACEs). She’s been with the organization since 2014.
Tomika manages the back-office support that makes the public-facing work possible. Hailing from Guyana, her passions include baking, construction and family. Tomika’s long-term plans are to one day open up a Guyanese restaurant in DC.
One of Tomika’s most significant contributions to SPACEs was serving as program coordinator for the Highland Dwellings Summer Youth Program (HDSYP) during a time that the Highland Dwellings public housing community was experiencing major transition. HDSYP engaged youth and families in a series of high impact programs that included:
Explore DMV – a program that included horseback riding and exploring nature.
Beats – a six-week program that introduced the art and practice of drumming.