01.17.2017

NEW YORK – The Center for Popular Democracy Tuesday announced the appointment of Jennifer Epps-Addison as the new president of its network of 43 state-based partner organizations. She will also serve as the social and economic justice organization’s Co-Executive Director.

She will join current Co-Executive Directors Ana Maria Archila, Andrew Friedman and Brian Kettenring. Jennifer boasts over 15 years of organizing experience and a history of activism for economic and social justice issues. She will lead CPD’s racial justice campaigns as well as work closely with the network of local affiliates.

Epps-Addison, a leader who has deep experience building power in communities from the ground up, joins the Center for Popular Democracy at a time when local community voices matter more than ever in creating a nation-wide movement to fight for dignity and opportunity for all people.

The Center for Popular Democracy’s network of 43 partners in 30 states has a combined membership of 400,000 and a combined annual revenue of $80 million. Epps-Addison will also serve as President and Co-Executive Director of CPD Action.

She brings with her a commitment to supporting and growing black-led organizations, strengthening investments in power-building efforts in communities of color, and deepening  organizing strategies that build power with the white working class by addressing racism head-on and building authentic alliances based on shared interests and shared values. Her hiring also reflects CPD’s commitment to leadership that represents the communities it organizes.

“We are excited to have Jennifer join our team. Her previous experience, both her impressive accomplishments and the challenges she’s overcome, have primed her to excel in this position. Her demonstrated commitment to racial and economic justice issues and multi-racial organizing directly align with CPD’s core principles and we look forward to her leadership moving us forward in innovative and exciting ways,” said Andrew Friedman, Co-Executive Director of Center for Popular Democracy.

Epps-Addison is the former Chief Program Officer for the Liberty Hill Foundation, a social justice foundation in Los Angeles that funds grassroots community organizing campaigns for social change. Prior to joining Liberty Hill, she helped coordinate the Fight for $15 campaign in Wisconsin as the Executive Director of Wisconsin Jobs Now. In 2012, during her time as Economic Justice Director for Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Jennifer led a campaign to pass the Milwaukee Jobs Act, which created entry-level construction opportunities for unemployed city residents. 

"I'm humbled and honored to serve as the first President and Co-Executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy," says Jennifer Epps-Addison, CPD Network President and Co-Executive Director. "The 43 affiliated organizations in our growing national network are on the ground everyday turning discarded neighborhoods into strong and thriving communities. Through our collective action we will transform America into a country where everyone is entitled to dignity, every worker earns a living wage, where #BlackLivesMatter, no human is illegal, and most importantly where everyone has the freedoms our Constitution guarantees them."

Epps-Addison is the recipient of the 2013 Edna Award from the Berger-Marks Foundation, which honors an outstanding young woman each year for her leadership in fueling social change. In the same year she was named an ‘Activist to Watch’ by Bill Moyers. She earned her B.A. in Political Science and Women’s Studies and her Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin. Prior to her return to organizing, Jennifer was a trial attorney in the Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office.

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www.populardemocracy.org

Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.

Contact:

Autumn Dunn, adunn@populardemocracy.org, 216-224-6861

Anita Jain, ajain@populardemocracy.org, 347-636-9761