Steering Committee

The NOA Steering Committee / Board of Trustees

Feel free to contact the board member nearest you with questions and ideas.

Idida Perez directs the West Town Leadership Project, an organizing project that engages parents in community-based school reform in Chicago, IL. In 1999, Idida began a monthly discussion/support group for women organizers in Chicago. She was involved with the Gathering V & VI planning committees and thinks one of NOA's strengths is its ability to attract a diversity of social justice workers.

Sarah McKenzie is the Executive Director of the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute based in Washington, DC. Sarah is a native New Yorker and graduate of St John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. After graduation she worked with the Urban League of Central NY on several political campaigns. Through her political work she was introduced to the labor movement where she's been working for 11 years. First as an organizer with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) on campaigns in NY, California and Las Vegas. She left SEIU to work with the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) as the National Organizer Recruiter. She spent 3 years as the Director of Recruitment for the AFL-CIO Organizing Institute.

Michael Jacoby Brown,Director/Lead Organizer with MICAH in Framingham, MA, has over 30 years of experience building community organizations. He has trained hundreds of people in religious, health, labor, government, political, housing, and other organizations who have gone on to successfully build groups to improve the world. Michael is the author of Building Powerful Community Organizations: A Personal Guide to Creating Groups that can Solve Problems and Change the World. (See www.BuildingPowerfulCommunity Organizations.com ) He has a BA from Columbia University and an MPA from The Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is the author of Building Powerful Community Organizations: A Personal Guide to Solving Problems and Changing the World. Most recently, Michael served as the Executive Director of the Jewish Organizing Initiative (JOI). He currently serves on the Board of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods and the Board of Champions of Dunk the Vote. Michael is the NOA Treasurer.

Adriann Barboa is a native New Mexican, born and raised in Albuquerque. She is a single mom with two kids, and is the Director of Young Women United (YWU). YWU is a social justice organization focused on changing the relations of power in Albuquerque by amplifying the voice and needs of young women of color. Adriann brings skills in fundraising, administration and organizing. Previously she worked in the youth development field as a Case Manager for Juvenile Community Corrections at Youth Development Inc. She has also worked at a transitional living center for homeless youth. Adriann holds a BA in Sociology from the University of New Mexico. Adriann is the Chair of NOA's Steering Committee.

Attica Scott is Coordinator of Kentucky Jobs With Justice and Adjunct Faculty at Bellarmine University. She provides leadership to a number of non-profit Boards including NOA, Hispanic-Latino Coalition and the Center for Labor Education and Research at the University of Kentucky. Attica holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science from historically Black Knoxville College and a graduate degree in Communications from the University of Tennessee. She is a certified anti-racism trainer through Crossroads Ministry and the Commission on Religion in Appalachia and is the mother of Advocate and Ashanti. Attica is NOA board secretary.

Cathy Howell directs the Leadership Development Program in the Field Mobilization Department at the AFL-CIO. Prior to joining the Southern Regional Field staff of the AFL-CIO in 1997, she worked as a community organizer and trainer at Western States Center in Oregon, at Grassroots Leadership in North Carolina, and at South Carolina United Action. She has also worked at Oregon NARAL, Oregon Fair Share, and ACORN in Arkansas. She is a founding member of NOA and served on the Steering Committee for 3 terms in the mid 90's. Cathy is the editor of NOAs Ark magazine.

Roger Newell is currently a Senior Campaign Communications Specialist on the national staff of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. He has been involved in the labor movement for over 25 years, and has worked with many community-based organizations helping their members better understand the impact of the policies of globalization and structural adjustment on U.S. neighborhoods. He has served as the Director of the Washington, D.C. office of the National Jobs With Peace campaign and Chair of the Jobs With Justice DC chapter. Roger is an award-winning labor journalist, has served as an instructor at the National Labor College in Silver Spring (MD), and is a member of the Office and Professional Employees International Union and the National Writers Union.

Walter Davis, NOA Executive Director

*Organizations listed for identification purposes only.

All content © 2010 National Organizers Alliance;
P. O. Box 60708 Washington, DC 20039;
(301) 270-0640 phone
(301) 270-0642 fax