Our Team

Camilla Griffiths

Director of Applied Narrative Research

Camilla Griffiths (she/her) is the Director of Applied Narrative Research of the BLIS Collective. She is a Rwandan-American behavioral science researcher and writer. Previously, she was a research scientist at Stanford SPARQ, a behavioral science ‘do-tank’ that partners with industry leaders to combat bias, reduce disparities, and drive culture change. Her expertise is in the psychology of racial bias and social inequality in American institutions. She has studied the racialized experiences of Students and Teachers of Color in schools and the impact of media racial representation on viewer racial attitudes, among other topics. Her work has been published and featured in top scientific outlets, including Scientific American and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. She earned a bachelor’s in Political & Social Thought at the University of Virginia and a PhD in Social Psychology from Stanford University.

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Jessa Rae Growing Thunder, Ph.D.

Deputy Director

Dr. Jessa Rae Growing Thunder, Ph.D., is the Deputy Director for the BLIS Collective and a third-generation beadworker, quillwork artist, educator, and historian carrying forward generations of Dakota/Nakoda traditions from the Fort Peck Assiniboine/Sioux Tribes of northeastern Montana. Equal parts culture-bearer and change-maker, she moves fluidly between the beading table and the boardroom, stitching together tradition, advocacy, and impact. As the former Director of Tribal Nations Initiatives at Native Americans in Philanthropy, Jessa Rae led the organization’s Tribal Leader Advisory Committee and stewarded high-stakes funder relationships across the philanthropic landscape, channeling real dollars, and real resources directly into the hands of Tribal Nations and Native-led organizations doing the vital work of climate action and conservation. She is a builder of networks, a translator between worlds, and a relentless advocate for getting resources where they really belong. At the same time, she’s been quietly shaping the future of Native land justice by advising on landback initiatives that put Tribal sovereignty back where it belongs: in Tribal hands.

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Trevor Smith

Co-Founder, Executive Director

Trevor Smith (he/him) is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the BLIS Collective. He is a writer, researcher, and strategist focused on racial inequality, wealth inequality, reparations, and narrative change. Previously, he was the Director of Narrative Change at Liberation Ventures, a field-builder accelerating the Black-led movement for reparations, where he launched the Reparations Narrative Lab, a creative and research space designed to build narrative power across the movement for reparations. He previously held program and communications positions at the Surdna Foundation, New York Civil Liberties Union, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and M+R Strategic Services. He received his BA in Journalism from American University.

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Dr. Kyle Mays

Advisory Board Member

Kyle T. Mays (he/him) is an Afro-Indigenous (Saginaw Chippewa) writer and scholar. He is a Professor of African American Studies, American Indian Studies, and History at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the author of four books, including An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States (2021) and City of Dispossessions: Indigenous Peoples, African Americans, and the Creation of Modern Detroit (2022).

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Tracy Rector

Advisory Board Member

Tracy Rector is a mixed-heritage artist whose work is rooted in the lands of Turtle Island and centers Indigenous, Black, Communities of Color, and Queer voices. Over nearly four decades, she has woven paths as a community organizer, educator, curator, filmmaker, and student of plant medicine, collaborating on more than 500 projects that honor resilience and transformation. Her films have been featured on Independent Lens, PBS, National Geographic, and ImagineNative, and screened at Sundance, Cannes, and Toronto. A co-director of 4th World Media, she supports intersectional storytellers worldwide while nurturing cultural sovereignty, justice, and collective creativity across global communities.

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Robin Rue Simmons

Advisory Board Member

Robin Rue Simmons is the Founder and Executive Director of First Repair, a not-for-profit organization that informs local reparations, nationally. Previously, Robin was the 5th Ward Alderman for the City of Evanston, IL, when she led, in collaboration with others, the passage of the nation’s first government-funded Black reparations legislation. Robin is a 2023 University of Chicago Institute of Politics Pritzker Fellow and a commissioner of the National African-American Reparations Commission (NAARC), a board member of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), and a board member of Evanston’s Connections for the Homeless.

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Dr. Tiffany Crutcher

Advisory Board Member

Dr. Tiffany T. Crutcher is a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was thrust into the international spotlight following the death of her twin brother, Terence Crutcher, who was shot by a police officer in Tulsa while holding his hands in the air. The murder of her brother compelled Tiffany to speak out against police brutality, particularly the killing of unarmed Black men. She has chosen to turn her personal tragedy into an opportunity to bridge fear and mistrust, and to help transform a justice system that has long perpetuated injustice dating back to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Dr. Crutcher is the Founder and Executive Director of the Terence Crutcher Foundation, Demanding A Just Tulsa Coalition, and The Tulsa Black Mental Health Alliance.

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Kailea Frederick

Advisory Board Member

Kailea Frederick is a mother and First Nations woman dedicated to supporting individuals of all cultures in remembering their ties to the earth. Growing up off the grid in Maui, Hawai‘i forever imprinted in her the importance of reciprocity through an Indigenous worldview. She feels raised by wild spaces and intimately tied to Honua, our island earth. A graduate of the International Youth Initiative Program, she has in-depth training in interpersonal communication, community building across cultural and linguistic boundaries, and large group facilitation. She is a Spiritual Ecology Fellow and has served as a youth delegate twice to the United Nations Climate Change conferences (COP). Kailea currently offers facilitation and project consultation through her project Earth Is ‘Ohana and is a Climate Commissioner for the city of Petaluma.

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Diana Cournoyer

Advisory Board Member

Diana Cournoyer (Oglala Lakota) is a transformational leader with more than 25 years of experience advancing Indigenous education, tribal sovereignty, and community-led change. As a former leader of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA), she expanded the organization’s reach nationwide, secured millions in grant funding, and strengthened partnerships supporting Native students and communities. A Pahara Fellow, Diana has testified before Congress and serves on boards including South Dakota Education Equity (SDEEC), Black Liberation Indigenous Solidarity (BLIS), and the Green Schools National Network (GSNN). She is also a dedicated mentor to emerging Indigenous leaders working to create lasting change across education, government, and philanthropy.

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Big Wind Carpenter

Advisory Board Member

Big Wind is a Two Spirit member of the Northern Arapaho tribe from the Wind River Reservation. At a young age, Big Wind recognized many injustices and degrees of oppression within their community. They became involved in youth and climate leadership at the age of 13 when they learned of environmental racism happening near their home. Since then, they have worked on numerous campaigns throughout “Indian Country” and currently are the Tribal Advocacy Associate for the Indigenous Land Alliance of Wyoming.

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