Lead Organizer:  Ari Lipman
email
614-557-5650

Ari Lipman is the Executive Director of the Ohio Industrial Areas Foundation and the founding lead organizer of Greater Cleveland Congregations. He was the founding Lead Organizer of Faith Vote Columbus, a non-partisan voter mobilization organization affiliated with the Ohio IAF, which ran the largest independent non-partisan voter mobilization effort in Ohio in 2008. Ari worked previously for the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, where he was part of a team of religious leaders that created a historic health care reform law that has since provided health insurance coverage for over 500,000 Massachusetts residents. As a senior organizer with Action In Montgomery, the IAF affiliate in Montgomery County, MD, Ari worked on successful campaigns to increase affordable housing development, expand health care clinics, improve college access programs, and protect services for immigrants.

Ari graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College with an undergraduate degree in Social Studies, and he received a Masters of Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School. While completing his studies, he directed a small homeless shelter for 23 men and women in Cambridge, MA. Ari is the recipient of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, the Stride Rite Post Graduate Fellowship, and the "Unsung Progressive Hero" award from the Institute for America's Future. He studied clarinet with Sidney Forrest, and has performed in the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra, The Brahms Society Orchestra, the Newton Symphony Orchestra, and the Lowell House Opera Orchestra.

Organizer: Khalilah Worley

Email
773-269-1736
Khalilah Worley is an organizer for the Industrial Areas Foundation and will serve as a full-time organizer with Greater Cleveland Congregations. She previously served as a director of Community Building  for Bethel New Life, Inc. partnering with community organizations to re-open schools, create city based programs, and provide resources to neighborhood residents in Chicago, IL. Khalilah also served as a Programs Director for Holy Family Ministries’ pre-K through 8th grade school creating and directing external programs for the youth and community in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago. She is the creator and former director of the Young Empowered Sisters program for at-risk teens and co-director of the Sisters for Higher Education program for first-generation college students. As a leader with Public Action for Change Today (PACT) an IAF affiliate, Khalilah help register more than 13,000 young adult voters and lead the campaign to increase diversity to Illinois State Board and Commission seats in.  She received several awards for leadership and service from the Illinois Humane Society, Ceasefire Violence Prevention Program, West Side Ministers Coalition, Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy, and Al Raby High School.

Khalilah graduated magna cum laude from Fisk University with an undergraduate degree in Political Science/Public Administration, and received a Masters of Science in Public Service and Non-Profit Management from DePaul University. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated and Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society.

Organizer: Monique Williams

Email
216-854-6590

Monique Williams is an Organizer with Greater Cleveland Congregations. Monique was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. After graduation, Monique attended Kent State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a concentration in Film/Television production. During her time at Kent she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a mentor for Upward Bound and Kent State University Multicultural Center and held several leadership positions. Upon receiving her Bachelor’s degree, Monique worked for a television production company and started a videography company, Royalty Studios, to encourage and inspire youth through media and the arts.  In 2004, Monique co-founded Shades, a faith-based organization created to empower tween and teen girls ages 11-18. Shades has published a quarterly newsletter highly circulated throughout Northeast, Ohio, has worked with the YWCA of Greater Cleveland to provide after-school programs, held numerous speaking engagements, and is currently implementing an in-school program at Life Skills Akron. Monique has also worked in the social service field with children who have been diagnosed with mental health issues and/or behavior problems for the past five years, assisted on the strategic planning team of the Defending Childhood Initiative, presented at the NASW of Ohio Conference, and worked with Burten, Bell, Carr Development Corporation spearheading community engagement efforts. She is a recent graduate of Case Western Reserve University where she earned a Master of Science in Social Administration with a concentration in Community and Social Development and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management.