Advancing Racial Equity

Dennis Chin serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives at the new Race Forward. The new Race Forward is the union of two leading racial justice non-profit organizations: Race Forward and Center for Social Inclusion (CSI).

In addition, Dennis serves as an organizational trainer/presenter, specializing in 1) the basics of structural racial inequity and 2) communicating effectively about structural racial inequity. Some of the organizations that he has trained/worked with include Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP), Arcus Foundation, Kresge Foundation, The California Endowment, the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Detroit Equity Action Lab (DEAL), National College Access Network, Council of Michigan Foundations, Grantmakers in the Arts, and the United States Breastfeeding Committee.

Dennis is a member and former Co-Chair of the Gay Asian Pacific Islander Men of New York (GAPIMNY). At GAPIMNY, Dennis grew the organization's leadership, helped launch the Asian Pride Project, and deepened volunteer engagement on issues of race, gender and sexuality. As a result of his work, he was awarded the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance's (NQAPIA) Community Catalyst Award in 2015.

Dennis also serves on the Board of Directors of CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, an organization that builds grassroots community power across working-class Asian immigrants and youth in New York City. A five-year member of the Board, he currently serves as its Co-Chair.

Gordon brings significant experience to Race Forward working with senior leadership teams to help nonprofit organizations achieve mission and program alignment. His specialties include organizational strategy development, program delivery and impact, and governance and leadership. Gordon has worked for 30 years with and for foundations, community development organizations and public : private sector consortia in metropolitan and rural settings. He has worked extensively with organizations that have formed collaborative efforts to advance their advocacy and public policy objectives—specifically, designing and facilitating working group meetings, trainings, governance discussions and organizational strategic alliances. Gordon has contributed to poverty reduction and racial equity public policy efforts with PolicyLink, Northwest Area Foundation, WK Kellogg Foundation, Foundation for the Mid South, CFED and The Aspen Institute.

He is based in Saint Paul, MN. He is married, a proud parent of two adult children, a caretaker for two small dogs, and repairs and rides motorcycles in his spare time.

Sarah is a librarian and organizer dedicated to building strong community-driven networks that advance racial equity. As Director of Online Community for the Government Alliance on Race & Equity, Sarah provides strategic leadership to the GARE Network Portal - a space for racial equity practitioners working in government to make connections and share resources, tools and practices that center racial justice. Prior to joining Race Forward in 2020, Sarah managed public libraries in three states and participated as a founding member of the GARE network.

Julie Nelson is the Founding Director of the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, Senior Vice President at the new Race Forward, and a Senior Fellow with the Haas Institute for and Fair and Inclusive Society (HIFIS) at the University of California, Berkeley. Nelson is the former Director of the Seattle Office for Civil Rights where she served eight years, providing both vision and hands-on work to Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative. She also served in other government positions including the City of Seattle Human Services Department, Administrative Services and Public Utilities, Housing and Urban Development, and Pima County Community Services in Tucson, Arizona.

She has a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Washington and has served on the boards of multiple nonprofits. She is actively involved with community groups working for racial and social justice. Nelson is driven by her passion to realize equity and social justice.

Lenore is an advocate, a prevention specialist and transformative leader with a desire to challenge and inspire systems to think strategically, engage collaboratively and plan creatively when tackling the work of becoming anti-racist.  She is a skilled problem solver with an unwavering dedication to race equity, fairness and racial healing.

With over 20 years of leadership and management experience built on a foundation of hands-on, community-based prevention and intervention work with youth and families, her most recent experience was as Pennsylvania’s Racial and Ethnic Disparities Coordinator.  This role was for the Office of Justice Programs at the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Lenore is a 2018 Youth Justice Leadership Institute fellow of the National Juvenile Justice Network.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work and a Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice both from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

For over 10 years she served as a volunteer on her local planning and zoning commission working toward equity in new development.  In her free time Lenore enjoys painting, stitching, knitting, drawing and graphic design.  She is a daughter, little sis, wife and mother to a teenage daughter and a dog, Logan.  Her family enjoying laughing, road trips, camping, board games and meals together.

Leslie started out working for GARE in 2017 as a California Regional Manager and is now stepping into the role of GARE Director of Learning Strategies.  As Director of Learning Strategies for the Government Alliance on Race & Equity, Leslie provides strategic leadership for the GARE network with respect to developing and refining learning strategies, tools, and approaches that support people at various phases of their racial equity journeys who are stepping into institutional change work for racial equity in the government sector.  Leslie is a social worker by training with a background in child welfare direct services as well as training and workforce development, with an eye to racial equity throughout her career.