Mikelina BelainehMember of the Board of Directors.
Job. Community Builder & Consultant at Campaign Zero Home. Brooklyn, NY. What “Brave” means to you. To be your most authentic self when the world tells you to be something or someone else. |
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Biography.
Mikelina has spent their career exploring how to facilitate community regeneration and empowerment in marginalized communities. Their work has focused on examining the disparate impact of the criminal legal system on black and brown communities and working with various stakeholders (impacted community, advocates, government decision makers, and experts) to explore innovative solutions. Currently, they do nonprofit consulting at Transformation Collective. Mikelina was formerly the Director of Criminal Law and Policy at the Last Prisoner Project, a Program Associate at the Vera Institute, and an Adjunct Professor at Hofstra University teaching on race, gender, and mass incarceration. They were also the Chief Program Officer for the non-profit InnerCity Weightlifting, a street violence reduction program serving street and gang-involved young adults by connecting them with new resources, networks, and opportunities.
Mikelina became interested in social justice issues in college, where they spent their four years organizing around LGBTQ+ issues in rural parts of Texas. In law school, they narrowed their focus to issues around criminal justice, recognizing it as a system that has implications for all areas of social justice, and therefore, an opportunity to facilitate great impact. Mikelina holds a JD from Harvard Law School, where they served as co-president on the board of Lambda and co-founded the Queer and Trans People of Color student organization. Mikelina also has a BA with honors from Texas A&M University. Mikelina was born and raised in Arlington, TX, where their family and community settled after immigrating from Ethiopia.
Mikelina has spent their career exploring how to facilitate community regeneration and empowerment in marginalized communities. Their work has focused on examining the disparate impact of the criminal legal system on black and brown communities and working with various stakeholders (impacted community, advocates, government decision makers, and experts) to explore innovative solutions. Currently, they do nonprofit consulting at Transformation Collective. Mikelina was formerly the Director of Criminal Law and Policy at the Last Prisoner Project, a Program Associate at the Vera Institute, and an Adjunct Professor at Hofstra University teaching on race, gender, and mass incarceration. They were also the Chief Program Officer for the non-profit InnerCity Weightlifting, a street violence reduction program serving street and gang-involved young adults by connecting them with new resources, networks, and opportunities.
Mikelina became interested in social justice issues in college, where they spent their four years organizing around LGBTQ+ issues in rural parts of Texas. In law school, they narrowed their focus to issues around criminal justice, recognizing it as a system that has implications for all areas of social justice, and therefore, an opportunity to facilitate great impact. Mikelina holds a JD from Harvard Law School, where they served as co-president on the board of Lambda and co-founded the Queer and Trans People of Color student organization. Mikelina also has a BA with honors from Texas A&M University. Mikelina was born and raised in Arlington, TX, where their family and community settled after immigrating from Ethiopia.
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What song is energizing you today?
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Where did you/your family immigrate from?
Ethiopia and Eritrea |
