STAFF

M. PAULY JACKSON - President and Executive Director

Pauly Jackson is Chicago-based community leader. He’s lived in seven different states and is the father of two joyous boys. With prior experience as both a sales & marketing manager and as an early childcare professional, Pauly quit his job and locked in on community amid the uprisings of 2020. After marching with his son for Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, Pauly felt galvanized; while lifting the family up for his brother Jake, managing an international crisis and handling media during the #JusticeForJacobBlake movement, he knew he was ALL IN for reparative justice. Pauly launched Edifye with his family and friends, working toward a future where no family experiences what his did. He’s spoken on panels for Northwestern University, the Campaign to End Qualified Immunity and the Abolish Slavery National Network. He is a die-hard Bulls and Bears fan, and played basketball at Santa Barbara City College.

STEVEN LOUIS - Director of Development

Steven is a writer and community organizer born in New York. Upon graduating from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, Steven covered sports for The Chicago Tribune and managed rising hip-hop artists in Chicago. Steven moved to Los Angeles in 2017, and has since worked with various mutual aid organizations and electoral campaigns across California and in other places like Nevada and Alabama. He held prior positions with the National Writers’ Union and the L.A. branch of the Democratic Socialists of America, and his work has also been published in The Fader, Bleacher Report, XXL, Complex, Yahoo Sports and The Ringer. He still can’t stop cheesin’ over David Tyree and Super Bowl 42.

CARLOS SOSA - Program Manager

Carlos is a customer success and operations professional in the third year of his farming journey. Seeking to live more holistically, Carlos spent 2021 learning how to work with nature through farming. He began the year apprenticing with Woodland Valley Farms in Jackson, SC before moving onto Living Roots Farm in French Lick, IN, and then finally ending the growing season with the renowned Urban Growers Collective in Chicago, IL. Carlos is now working towards growing healthy organic food for the people who need it most, while continuing his farming education.

BOARD

JACOB S. BLAKE - board of directors, Affected Families

Jacob Blake is a father, graphic designer, entrepreneur, man of faith and a contemporary civil rights icon. He was born and raised in Evanston, IL. After surviving the brazen police attack on his life, in front of his children, Jake became a symbol of strength and solidarity for People of Color across the planet. He has met with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, consulted with luminaries like Fred Hampton Jr., and his family spoke at the 2020 March on Washington. Furthermore, the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks started a wildcat professional sports labor strike in Jacob’s honor, refusing to play basketball and instead calling the Wisconsin attorney general and lieutenant governor to demand justice. Jake is interested in providing moral and intellectual instruction, with the People for the Power of God. His grandfather, the Rev. Jacob Blake, was a lead organizer in Evanston’s fair housing and desegregation campaign in the 1970s.

DANIEL PONEMAN - board of directors, Athlete Relations

Daniel is a certified NBA and NFL agent based in Chicago. Prior to becoming an agent, Daniel spent a decade as a scout and consultant for more than 300 Division I colleges, NBA teams and international franchises around the world. Quickly profiled in the New York Times and Sports Illustrated, Daniel rose from teenage scout to Chicago basketball mainstay. Since then, Daniel has helped hundreds of young men from Chicago’s most underserved neighborhoods receive college scholarships through the “Undiscovered” basketball showcase, which he founded in 2009. Recently, Daniel partnered with Dwyane Wade and Chance the Rapper to produce Shot in the Dark, a Chicago basketball documentary that premiered on Fox in 2018. He is the founder of the eponymous Shot in the Dark Foundation.

RANDY PASCHAL, ESQ. - board of directors, Legal & Regulatory

Randy is a Houston-bred licensed attorney in the states of Texas & New York. He is the founder of More Than a Lawyer. He works in sports/entertainment law & assists some of the country’s top talent in sports, television, film, and music. He currently serves as the Treasurer in the Sports, Entertainment and Arts Law section for the National Bar Association. Attorney Paschal makes good use of more than six years of professional experience with the National Basketball Association to counsel, build community, educate & build brands for athletes and their families.

JAMILIA LAND - board of directors, Reparative Justice

Jamilia is a wife, mother, criminal & restorative justice activist, public speaker and co-founder of A.S.A.P (Anti-Violence, Safety and Accountability Project), a 501(c)(3) organization centered on the wellbeing of families impacted by the carceral cycle. A Bay Area native, this outspoken, focus-driven and sometimes controversial activist devotes the majority of her time fighting for the rights of incarcerated individuals and families of victims of police brutality. Her life work has taken her into the juvenile detention centers, the state prisons, and various levels of social work specialized in adolescent development. Jamilia is a member of several legislative coalitions including serving as chair for ACA3 The California Abolition Act, which will remove involuntary servitude from California's constitution.