Search within SCSJ Staff only:
Staff Role
Focus Area
Kareem Crayton
Kareem Crayton is a widely cited and internationally respected scholar, expert and consultant whose work centers on the intersection of law, politics, and race. He is the only academic in the United States with formal training in law and political science whose primary work explores the relationship between race and politics in representative institutions. The insights and analyses from his research have distinguished him as a leading voice in the academy and key player in public policy debates. Full bio.
Danielle Carman
Danielle Carman joined the Southern Coalition for Social Justice as its Deputy Director in September 2016. Prior to joining SCSJ, she served for more than 15 years as the founding Assistant Director and General Counsel of the North Carolina Office of Indigent Defense Services (IDS), a statewide agency charged with overseeing the provision of legal services to indigent persons. Full bio.
Allison Riggs
Allison Riggs leads the voting rights program at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice based in Durham, NC, an organization she joined in 2009. Her voting rights work has been focused on fighting for fair redistricting plans, fighting against voter suppression, and advocating for electoral reforms that would expand access to voting. Full bio.
Dustin Chicurel-Bayard
Dustin Chicurel-Bayard serves as the communications director for SCSJ. For the five years prior to joining the organization, Dustin held the same position at the North Carolina Sierra Club. He has developed relationships with journalists, editors, and advocates across the country. Dustin works to identify communications opportunities to advance all of SCSJ’s core issues. Full bio.
Ian Mance
Ian A. Mance is a staff attorney with Southern Coalition’s criminal justice team. He joined SCSJ in 2013 by way of a Soros Justice Fellowship, during which he focused on utilizing traffic stop data to challenge racial profiling practices by law enforcement. His efforts working with community organizers in Durham helped lead to a formal finding of “racial bias and racial profiling” by the Durham Police Department and a series of policy reforms aimed at deterring abusive stop-and-search practices. Full bio.
Whitley Carpenter
Whitley Carpenter is a Staff Attorney currently focusing on criminal justice issues related to SCSJ’s Clean Slate Project, which provides direct legal reentry services to persons with criminal records. In her time with SCSJ, she has also explored issues related to racial profiling and police misconduct. Whitley received her J.D. from UNC School of Law in 2015. She began working with SCSJ during the summer of 2014 as a Certified Law Student. Full bio.
Angaza Laughinghouse
Angaza Laughinghouse is Staff Attorney working with SCSJ’s Clean Slate Project, which provides direct legal reentry services to persons with criminal records. He received his B.A. in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and his J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law. Full bio.
Ivy Johnson
Ivy Johnson is an attorney at SCSJ and works primarily in the Criminal Justice section but does some work for Voting Rights as well. She grew up in Brooklyn and earned her B.A. in Government and French from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, but has been moving further and further south since. Before law school she worked at an energy and environmental lobbying firm in D.C. She then went on to earn her J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Full bio.
Sala Abdallah
Sala Abdallah is a formerly incarcerated man dedicated to righting his wrong through outreach to the youth, and bringing consciousness to the community by making them aware their voices are heard and opinions matter. Full bio.
Peggy D. Nicholson
Peggy D. Nicholson is Director of the Youth Justice Project, which works to ensure equity, fairness, and justice for North Carolina youth in high-quality education, juvenile, and criminal systems. She graduated from the University of North Carolina with a B.A. in Political Science and African Studies, and earned her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2011. Full bio.
Jaclyn Maffetore
Jaclyn Maffetore is a staff attorney in SCSJ’s voting rights section, where she engages in litigation and policy advocacy promoting fair districts and voter enfranchisement for marginalized communities. Growing up in Southeastern North Carolina and witnessing discrimination first hand, Jaclyn developed a strong sense of justice and fairness that guided her toward the legal profession at a young age. Full bio.
John Carella
John Carella is a staff attorney in SCSJ’s voting rights team and engages in litigation regarding redistricting, voter registration, and other issues surrounding the right to vote in free and fair elections. Full bio.
Jeff Loperfido
Jeff Loperfido is a Staff Attorney with SCSJ’s Voting Rights group. His practice focuses on litigation and policy advocacy that ensures the fair and full participation of all voters. Full bio.
Gregory Moss
Gregory K. Moss Jr. is a staff attorney and project manager on the voting rights team. He works to educate voters on various issues related to voting. Gregory also assists the team with preparing for voting rights litigation. Gregory attended North Carolina Central University for college. At school he became involved in community organizing and fell in love with the work. This ultimately led to his decision to attend law school. Full bio.
Laura Wright
Laura Wright is an Equal Justice Works Fellow at SCSJ facilitating the work of SOLVE (Southern Leadership for Voter Engagement). Her fellowship project is aimed at developing and spreading best practices for combating discriminatory administrative barriers to voting to communities of color throughout the south. Full bio.
Chris Ketchie
Christopher Ketchie serves as the Southern Coalition's in-house demographer and data analyst, where he specializes in research, analysis, and spatial visualization of demographic and electoral data to provide an evidence base for advocacy, community organizing, and litigation. Full bio.
Kristen Powers
Kristen Powers serves as SCSJ’s Advocacy Coordinator. She works across project teams to organize the most impactful and equitable policy and educational efforts possible. Full bio.
Jackie Gonzalez
Jackie Gonzalez joined the Southern Coalition for Social Justice in December 2018. As Development Director, she will be working to cultivate and expand relationships with donors and members of the community. Full bio.
Stacy Hamilton
Stacy Hamilton has served as SCSJ’s Office Manager since November 2015. In that capacity, she manages SCSJ’s finances, oversees office administration, and provides human resource services. Full bio.
Alan Lee, CPA
Alan Lee’s CPA practice specializes in providing CFO services. He has guided the finance affairs of many non-profit clients for more than 25 years and has been SCSJ’s CFO since 2010. He is dedicated to supporting SCSJ’s management and board with financial forecasting, advice, and reporting. Full bio.