Power to Win Series 5/18 Session - Speaker Bios

Fahd Ahmed | Executive Director, Desis Rising Up and Moving (DRUM)

Fahd Ahmed - (all pronouns) came to the United States as an undocumented immigrant from Pakistan in 1991. Fahd  has been a grassroots organizer on the issues of racial profiling, immigrant justice, police accountability, and national security over the last 23 years. Fahd has been involved with DRUM in various capacities since 2000, when they had family members facing deportation, and entrapment as part of the War on Drugs. Within DRUM, Fahd co-led the work with Muslim, Arab, and South Asian immigrant detainees before, and immediately after 9/11, by coordinating the detainee visitation program.  In recent years, as executive director, Fahd has taken on the work of helping DRUM respond to the COVID-19 crisis, including the fight for an excluded workers fund, and state and city level fights for housing, educational, racial, and worker justice.

Mónica Córdova | Executive Director, Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing

Mónica Córdova - (she/her) is the Executive Director of the Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing, a US-based philanthropic intermediary dedicated to building the leadership and capacity of BlPOC youth, working-class young people, young women, and queer and trans youth in transforming social and economic conditions. She honed her vision and practice for nearly a decade as the youth organizer and then Co-Director of the SouthWest Organizing Project, a local grassroots organization in New Mexico where she focused on building power among people from low-income communities of color. Today, Mónica uses her grounded experience to bring philanthropic leaders and youth organizers together to ensure young people have the resources and tools they need to fight for a more just and democratic society. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Climate Equity Policy Center and is the Board President of the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center. She’s a proud mama, Chicana, and certified professional coach.

Phoebe Dolan | Co-Director, Maine Youth Power

Phoebe Dolan - (she/her) is a rural youth organizer. She founded Maine Youth Power in 2020 along with 6 other young Mainers. Her passion is to build a movement that is accessible to all rural people and channel rural youth power into tangible changes in the state of Maine. Phoebe lives in a small town 10 minutes from the Maine coast, near Acadia National Park. 

Kalia Harris |  Executive Director, Virginia Student Power Network  

Kalia Harris - (she/her) is the Executive Director of Virginia Student Power Network, a statewide organization supporting young people + youth organizations organizing on and off college campuses throughout the state. After graduating from George Mason University, she moved back to her hometown of so-called Richmond, VA, where she is also involved with a local mutual aid collective that operates a community free store and mini grants program. Kalia deeply enjoys the work she does building power with young folks all across the state as well as playing with her sweet pomeranian puppies and cooking (and eating) delicious food.

Viri Hernandez | Executive Director, Poder In Action 

Viri Hernandez - (she/her) has first-hand experience about the challenges undocumented residents, youth and women of color face in Arizona. Viri’s story is intertwined with Arizona’s story- Viri lived in fear for 23 years during infamous Sheriff Arpaios’ raids and anti-immigrant laws becoming the norm in the state. In 2010, Viri was moved into action after the passage of the “show me your papers” law SB1070. Since then, she has led efforts against state violence, focused on the crimmigration system and policing. Viridiana is now the Executive Director of Poder in Action, a grassroots organization focused on building community power to disrupt and dismantle systems of oppression and determine a liberated future for people of color and working families in Arizona. 

Rapheal Randall | Senior Fellow, Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing 

Rapheal Randall - (he/him) is the Senior Fellow at FCYO and the former Executive Director at Youth United of Change (YUC), whose formal training in product design and urban planning informs his approach to left political work.

Christopher June Zizzamia | Program Director, Funders’ Collaborative On Youth Organizing 

Christopher June - (they/she), is the Program Director of FCYO and an experienced organizer, trainer, and strategist who believes that building the multi-racial working class’s power is the key to transforming the world towards justice. They came to the FCYO team after a decade spanning different parts of the movement eco-system, from educational justice in a base-building organization to statewide community-labor coalition work, and are excited to be alongside brilliant organizers trying to build real power. 

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