Diana Copeland, Executive Director

Lottie Spady, Associate Director, Remedia Program Director

For the past four years, Lottie has been focusing on an immersive community-based transformational environmental justice media program, “Re:Media”. The Re:Media program integrates environmental education, multi-media production, media literacy, green technologies, popular culture, social networking, civic engagement and social consciousness as a means to trigger systemic change on individual and social levels. Participant's tell their own stories and make community educational tools around food justice, air quality, water access and affordability, and land use. Their work is showcased each year at EMEAC's Green Screen environmental film festival. The program has been deployed in SE Michigan to address environmental justice issues and to help make disenfranchised communities visible and vocal.
Lottie also works with the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition and is on the leadership team for the Digital Media Economy Collaborative. Through these relationships, EMEAC works with community members around the belief that communication is a fundamental human right. We believe that by addressing issues around access, common ownership, participation, and healthy communities, we are working toward digital justice for all.
A self proclaimed foodist, Lottie has worked in the Detroit Food Justice movement for the last three years, initially as a volunteer with the D-Town Farm and member of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. As the associate director for East Michigan Environmental Action Council she began to explore issues related to food security through the Re:Media Program as well.. Lottie is most interested in the cultural story of food, cross-pollinating justice movements and shaping an accurate narritive of Detroit through citizens journalism and community media production. Lottie was instrumental in the formation of the Detroit Food Justice Task Force. Her favorite foods in the spring are arugula, sunflower sprouts, and fresh vegetable omelets eaten outside.

Ahmina S. Maxey, Associate Director, Stand Up Speak Out Program Director

Lizzy Baskerville, Greener Schools Program Director

Lizzy is EMEAC's Greener Schools Director. She grew up in Seattle, Washington where the city's interconnectedness with green space made her the urban nature girl she continues to be today in Detroit. She studied environmental science at the University of Michigan where she received a bachelor of  science. In addition to being passionate about public education, environmental justice, and youth leadership, she is really into bugs, plants, theater, and dancing. She is also a volunteer for the Prison Creative Arts Project and Detroit Asian Youth Project.


William Copeland, Stand Up Speak Out Youth Program Coordinator

William is an organizer and cultural worker from Detroit. He works as EMEAC's Stand Up Speak Out Youth Coordinator. SUSO works with the Detroit Institute of Technology (Cody HS), Nsoroma Institute, and the city-wide Youth Leadership Team. He is working with a group of Detroit activists to create the Whole Note Healing Collective, breathing this process one step at a time. He served as one of the local coordinators for the 2010 US Social Forum and participated in the 2011 Detroit 2 Dakar Delegation to the World Social Forum held in Dakar, Senegal. If there is an exodus from imperialistic institutions and Western philosophies, he hopes he does not miss the caravan while he is engrossed in video games.



Patrick Geans-Ali, Remedia/Communications Coordinator


Patrick is a two-time award winning journalist with over seven years of experience working in the profession both domestically and internationally. He is recipient of both the National Defense Medal and Navy Achievement Medal with seven years of combined service in the Arkansas Army National Guard and the U.S. Navy as a chaplains assistant. 

After completing his service obligation in 1993, Patrick worked as a program coordinator for the Project READ literacy program out of the Redwood City Public Library in Redwood City, California. He went on to work as an software instructor for one of the world's top software companies before returning to his hometown of Stuttgart, Arkansas to formally begin his career in his chosen profession as a journalist in 1999.

After working in several small newspapers in Southeast Arkansas for the better part of the next decade and gaining experience on all levels of media production such as digital photography, copy editing, web technology, graphics and page design, Patrick traveled to the small Caribbean island of Saba in the Dutch Caribbean. There he worked as a teacher at the local Adult Education Center, and as a community reporter for the St. Maartin Daily Herald before relocating to Detroit to work for EMEAC.

Susana Adame, Digital Media Economy Collaborative Communications Coordinator


Alia Harvey-Quinn, Digital Media Economy Collaborative Youth Media Program Coordinator

Alia is one of two Youth Media Network Coordinators for the Digital Media  Economy Collaborative. Alia brings eight years of community organizing and program development to the position. She believes that all youth have the ability to overcome challenges and become self-sufficient by developing their potential and participating in activities that empower them to positively shape their lives.
While Alia has over five years of experience in grant writing, financial management, personnel management, volunteer coordination and community engagement, what Alia enjoys most is working with the youth. For example, she managed the production of an innovative youth spoken word compact disc where teen artist used poetry and hip hop to explore social injustice and inequality. Overall, Alia loves to implement and manage culturally relevant positive youth development programs and workshops which emphasize social consciousness, self discovery and artistic expression. 



Alisha Deen, Stand Up Speak Out Policy Coordinator
Alisha received a B.A. from Florida International University in Miami, FL and a M.S. in Environmental Studies, from the University of Oregon in Eugene, OR with attention to Environmental Justice and Ethnography. She lobbied and advocated for low-income and people of color communities on water policy issues with the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water in Oakland, CA for three-plus years. More recently, she was the Eastern Pennsylvania Director at Clean Water Fund/Clean Water Action’s Philadelphia and Allentown offices. She has been playing the flute since age 9 and is the mother of two precious girls, Lucy & Asha.



Kim Sherobbi, Community Partners Coordinator
Ms. Sherobbi is a retired school teacher and community activist. For 26 years, she taught physical education for the Detroit Public Schools. Her involvement in metro Detroit neighborhoods has span for over 20 years. Kim has volunteered for numerous non-profit and government agencies such as Adams Butzel Recreation Center, Reggie Mckenzie Foundation, Money Matters for Youth, Detroit Parent Network, Birwood Block Association and Detroit Impact. She is excited about helping EMEAC build stronger relationships with the community.





Sonya, spiritually known as Sanaa Nia-Joy, is an informal educator with the EMEAC Greener Schools program. Prior to returning to Detroit and beginning her role at EMEAC, she worked with youth groups in Washington, DC. She is a graduate of Howard University and a Ecopsychology Masters degree candidate in Naropa University's Transpersonal Psychology department. She is also a Reiki practitioner, Belly Dance instructor and nature lover. All of her work enhances the goal of helping people express their brightest self and have a closer relationship to the earth both of which will be healing for the earth and humanity.

Charity Hicks, Food Justice Task Force Program Co-Coordinator



Charity is part of the coordination team for the Detroit Food Justice Taskforce (2010). She is a writer, researcher, healer, artist, grower, organizer, and cross-pollinator. She is secretary of one the members of the Detroit Food Justice Taskforce, the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (2006) and one of its founding members. She is point person on the coordination of the D-Town Farm Annual Harvest Festival every fall started in 2007. She studies and works on spirituality, medicinal herbs, and Afrikan traditional rituals/society/culture. Charity currently is serving with several groups in Detroit which include: Detroit Public Schools Health Council, Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, Detroit Grocery Store Coalition Steering Committee, Detroit Food Policy Council, People’s Water Board Detroit, Future’s Taskforce of the Community Development Advocates of Detroit, Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit, the Green Taskforce Water Sub-committee, Detroit Peoples Movement Assembly group, and others. She is a Master Gardener via MSU Wayne County Extension and a member of the Sierra Club and several national environmental groups.



Adrienne Brown, Food Justice Task Force Program Co-Coordinator

Adrienne is an organizational healer, pleasure activist, facilitator, singer, doula-in-training and artist living in Detroit. She is a facilitator for the Detroit Food Justice Task Force and the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition.

Gregg is a yoga instructor, massage therapist, writer, and web/media designer dedicated to the evolution of equitable community-driven hyper-local networks and the dismantling of unsustainable and oppressive large-scale systems. Through Detroit Evolution http://detroitevolution.com and their collaborative partnerships and affiliations, Gregg and his wife Angela strive to be mindful allies in the co-creation of resilient, autonomous neighborhoods where diverse, sustainable and soulful communities thrive. Gregg serves as the Communications Coordinator for the Detroit Food Justice Task Force, a consortium of People of Color led organizations and supporters that share a commitment to creating a food security plan for Detroit.

Ilana Weaver, Digital Media Economy Collaborative Youth Media Assistant Coordinator





































Siwatu Salaama Ra, Stand Up Speak Out, Youth Leadership Team Coordinator

Nukomus Armstrong, Director of Finance

Nukomus is a native Detroiter and graduate of Cody high school. He has spent time in South Korea and South Africa building relationships with educational leaders and business owners helping implement strong policies and procedures geared towards increased efficiencies. While living abroad, Nukomus learned multiple organizational and development methodologies rarely seen or implemented in the western world. Since returning, he has not only implemented those methodologies within his corporation www.renaissancefinancialsolutions.com, but helped multiple small to medium sized organizations do the same.

Nukomus received a B.A. from Davenport University and M.B.A from renowned Baker College Center for Graduate Studies, in Flint, Michigan.  In addition, he is an Enrolled Agent (EA) with the IRS.

He has contracted with various large and medium sized companies working extensively with budgeting, profit planning and projection, operations analysis, government compliance, and taxes of all types. He worked as a corporate controller and has extensive experience with computers and system design. He has worked with and advised small and start-up businesses, as well as medium to large businesses in the areas of organization, monthly accounting, taxes, business opportunity analysis, marketing and planning.

In addition, he maintains a clientele of individual clients whom he advises on taxes as well as preparing their personal and business income tax returns.

Nukomus enjoys traveling, reading, playing basketball, and spending time with his wife and son, in addition to participating in various programs/events that contribute to the betterment of youth.

Nukomus is a member of the following associations: Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants, National Association of Black Accountants, National Association of Enrolled Agents and various local area Chambers of Commerce.

http://www.renaissancefinancialsolutions.com/What-is-an-Enrolled-Agent-.html

Deraina Stinson, Remedia Program Environmental Justice Media Fellow 
Deraina is a mortuary sciences student at Wayne State University and published poet under the name of "Mother Raina." Deraina is proficient in a range of video and digital media programs and is a member of the original group of fellows to go through the Remedia program. 
Deraina enjoys mentoring young people in the Detroit community and enjoys sharing the knowledge and experience she is learning as a Remedia fellow and has already produced several community based film projects for EMEAC and its partner organizations. 
 

  






2011 Board of Directors

• Hugh McDiarmid Jr. - President. Environmental Journalist
• Victor Arbulu - Treasurer
• London Bell - Affirmations, Health and Human Services Coordinator
• Talitha Johnson - Freelance Writer and PR Specialist
• Adele Nieves - Liquid Words Productions, Noble Snow Natural Healers
• Dr. Mike Spencer - University of Michigan, School of Social Work, Associate Dean