Community Change is excited to welcome Afua Atta-Mensah as the organization’s first Chief of Programs. Afua is an organizer, strategist and movement lawyer whose commitment to building power and winning tangible change in the lives of low income people of color aligns perfectly with the organization’s mission. As Chief of Programs, Afua will work closely with leadership, directors and program leads to develop and drive a cohesive strategy between our organizing, policy advocacy and electoral work. She will also play an integral role in advancing our Path to Power in this new chapter for Community Change.
“I am thrilled to welcome Afua to Community Change, and to work with her to advance our vision of a society where all communities can thrive, ” said Community Change Co-President Lorella Praeli. “With her experience and expertise, I am confident that Afua can help ensure that we’re bringing the full breadth of our power to win lasting change for Black, brown, immigrant, and low-income communities.”
“As Community Change continues to make advances in building electoral and governing power among low-income communities of color, Afua is the perfect addition to take our strategy to the next level,” said Community Change Co-President Dorian Warren. “We are so excited to bring on someone with an established track record at gaining real wins for our people.”
Afua’s commitment to advocating for the communities most directly impacted by injustice is evidenced in her long career advocating for Black, Latinx, AAPI, Indigenous and other people of color in the U.S. and internationally. Before joining Community Change, she served as the executive director of Community Voices Heard and Community Voices Heard Power in New York City where she oversaw grassroots organizing, leadership development, policy changes, and creating new models of direct democracy.
While the Urban Justice Center’s Director of Litigation and Policy for the Safety Net Project, she led a lawsuit that pressured former Mayor Bloomberg to abandon a proposal to demolish public housing playgrounds and community centers to make way for highrise condos. During her tenure, Afua successfully challenged mayoral candidates to host families in public housing to shine a spotlight on residents’ plight.
Afua was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 2008 in support of her work at the International Federation of Women Attorneys, advocating on behalf of indigent women in Ghana. While in Ghana, she helped draft proposed legislation to criminalize marital rape and taught a course on women’s rights in the context of Ashanti tribal law at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Techonology.
Afua has worked to improve the quality and quantity of fair and equitable housing, defend women’s rights, galvanize support for programs benefiting low-income families, and fight to dismantle systemic racism. She holds a law degree from Fordham Univ. School of Law, and a BA in Sociology and African American History from Trinity College. She and her husband Cephas are proud parents of two daughters and reside in the village of Harlem.
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