Advocacy

Ahniwake Rose is the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Policy Institute. Ahniwake brings 19 years of experience in public policy and nonprofits. She is committed to working with communities to develop policy solutions that are grounded in credible data. Prior to her joining OK Policy, Rose served as the Deputy Director of the National Congress of American Indians a national organization that serves the broad interests of tribal governments and communities, where she worked with a broad coalition of civil and human rights organizations to address economic inequality and racial injustice. A Native to Oklahoma, Rose serves on several education and youth related boards and is a Rockwood Leadership Institute Leading from the Inside Out Fellow, Class of 2017. She is a mother of two daughters, Waleah and Tahna and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and also of Muscogee (Creek) descent.

Sarah Gray is the Director of Movement Building and Organizing at IllumiNative, a nonprofit created and led by Native peoples, to increase the visibility of – and challenge the negative narrative about – Native Nations and peoples in American society. She is also the Managing Partner at ST Comms Shop, LLC, and works as an Indigenous Affairs and public relations consultant. Sarah’s experience ranges from working as a publicist for the FX production “Reservation Dogs,” to being a campaign manager and political consultant. She has led communications workshops for a presidential race, wrangled 200+ local and international media attendees for Tulsa’s 2020 Juneteenth celebration, worked and volunteered for numerous non-profits, led communications for statewide coordinated campaign efforts and tribal campaigns, and taken on many other projects. Sarah is a proud citizen and advocate of the Cherokee Nation and descendant of the Mvskoke Nation and Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma.

Linda Allegro Marenco is the Executive Director of El Centro: New Sanctuary Empowerment Center, a grassroots activist organization. Linda earned a PhD in Political Science at the New School for Social Research in New York City in 2002. She has taught courses in Transnational Migration, Central American Politics and Immigration and Film. Alarmed by the politics of mass deportation, she organized with other activists to launch the New Sanctuary Network in 2017. The focus was to shine a light on the criminalization of immigrants through contracts, like 287g, that bind ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to our county jail. This year, the organization became a 501c3 nonprofit to build community power by opening a community center in East Tulsa.

Adam Soltani is the Executive Director of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Oklahoma Chapter. He has served the Muslim community in various capacities as a professional including promoting and managing American Muslim artists for a London based record label Meem Music, serving as an assistant director for outreach at the Islamic Society of Greater Oklahoma City, coordinating youth development programs at the Islamic Society of Edmond, and being one of the founding members of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.Adam Soltani is a recipient of the 2014 Oklahoma Human Rights Award presented by the Oklahoma Universal Human Rights Alliance, the 2015 Interfaith Leadership Award presented by the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, and the 2015 Civil Libertarian of the Year Award presented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma. Adam Soltani also serves as an Adjunct Instructor of Islamic Studies at Oklahoma State University teaching courses such as Introduction to World Religions, Islam Cultural Perspectives, Religions of the Middle East, and Race, Religion, and Social Justice.

Tamya Cox-Touré is the Executive Director of American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma (ACLU). Tamya served as the first Legislative Counsel for the affiliate. She graduated with an undergrad degree from Oklahoma State University and went on to continue her education at Oklahoma City University School of Law. She joins us from Planned Parenthood Great Plains where she served as Regional Director of Public Policy and Organizing, overseeing the Public Affairs departments in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Tamya is committed to civil rights and civil liberties. She has traveled across the state and country speaking directly to communities on issues that impact their daily lives, as well as presenting on numerous panels covering a variety of topics, including race equity. Her dedication to the work is best summarized through her favorite Alice Walker quote, “Activism is my rent to live on this planet.”

Advocacy

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