VAVP has a small staff of driven, skilled workers committed to advocacy, outreach, and casework aimed at freeing marginalized groups from oppressive circumstances.
Staff:
Ebony Clark
(she/her/hers) — Executive Director
Ebony Clark was born and raised in Richmond, VA. She is a parent, wife, and has a long-time commitment to service in the community. Ebony has worked in the Director role for Virginia Anti-Violence Project with a background of 20+ years in administration and coordination and holds a Masters in Nonprofit Studies. She also serves as a national leader for a trailblazing service organization that caters to feminine Queer women of color. Being a survivor of and activist against various forms of violence, Ebony felt that VAVP was an important place to practice advocacy given its unique position within diverse survivor communities.
Tasha Smith
(she/her/hers) — Survivor Community Specialist
Tasha is a Survivor Community Specialist, and her preferred pronouns are she, her, and hers. She is a first-generation American black bisexual woman. She identifies as a survivor of childhood domestic violence and sexual abuse. The communities she belongs to intimately inform her work. Having been marginalized in several areas of her life, she has come to understand how fundamental it is to approach activism from an intersectional, multicultural lens. Her previous experience centered on youth in urban districts and high school retention. This work allowed her to engage with young people on the needs present in their community. Thus far, she has really enjoyed learning and training to be better equipped for the advocacy role, and is looking forward to making a connection with clients and community.
Cat Lamb
(she/her/hers, they/them/theirs) — Survivor Community Specialist
Cat uses both she/her and they/them pronouns. She is non-binary, queer, and a survivor of violence. She has spent most of her life coming to terms with her place in these communities. That journey to herself is what brought her to VAVP. She also carries with her many other intersecting identities — both privileged and marginalized. In this role, she is grateful for the freedom she has to grow and learn in the ways we know are most urgent to us. One way
that shows up for her is through continuously seeking out resources to recognize and unlearn the ways she may participate in systems of oppression. At Virginia Commonwealth University, Cat studied Sociology and Spanish and took classes directly related to this position. Before starting as a Survivor Community Specialist at VAVP, she also worked with multiple non-profit organizations in the Richmond area that offer resources to underserved
populations. In the future, she looks forward to working and learning in the community while contributing to VAVP’s shared mission of an end to violence.
Monica Hunasikatti
(they/them/theirs, she/her/hers) — Survivor Community Specialist
Monica uses they and she pronouns. They have a strong desire to serve the Richmond community. They are a graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. They volunteer with local and national prison abolition groups and Food Not Bombs. Their interests include: pop culture through a BIPOC-centered lens, social justice in information spaces, concept of literacy both in literal and cross-cultural understandings is important when researching information, which means including and comprehending oral, visual, and digital literacy, and accessibility in libraries and classrooms. They hope to continue serving the Richmond population and learning from the VAVP.
Cliff Maske
(he/him/his) — Communications Coordinator
Cliff Maske is Communications Coordinator for VAVP and uses he/him/his pronouns. He is a graduate of North Carolina State University and is excited to bring his skills and knowledge to VAVP and the Greater Richmond Area. While at NC State he studied Communication and Design, focusing on the mediation of spaces and bodies, as well as meaning-making in spaces. He has worked for years at promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in all spaces he is a part of, using his communication skills to create a positive impact in any way he can, and views this position as an opportunity to learn from his coworkers and the community at large.
Jasmine Khatcheressian
(she/her/hers, they/them/theirs) – Sustainability Coordinator Intern
Jasmine is a passionate student at the University of Richmond, as well as a Richmond native. She currently has not declared a major, but is studying primarily in the humanities. Jasmine is a proud and vocal member of the LGBTQ+ community, as both a queer and trans woman. While she was a high school student, she became more invested in her community through protests on Monument Ave, and as a college freshman has a very active role in her student government, advocating for safe queer spaces and an improved system for title IX reports. She hopes to, following graduate school, return to Richmond and continue to work with local groups and make Richmond the best and safest place it can be.
Board:
Jackie Robinson Brock (she/her) – Interim Board Chair
Jackie has volunteered with VAVP since 2016 and is passionate about ending violence against and within LGBTQ communities. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) with a concentration in Social Work Administration, Planning, and Policy Practice (SWAPP). She also obtained a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from VCU’s Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. She is employed at the VCU Partnership for People with Disabilities. At the Partnership, Jackie serves as a Program Specialist in Early Childhood and Health and is a director on a variety of prevention oriented projects. Before working at the Partnership, Jackie worked with children and families in a transitional homeless shelter, and as a lead teacher in childcare settings. Her interest areas include disability justice, domestic violence and sexual assault prevention, early childhood, and the justice of Indigenous people. Jackie primarily engages in advocacy and research to promote environmental systems change.
Nancy Grim Kells (they/them)
Nancy Grim Kells aka Grim serves as both a member of VAVP’s Board and a Facilitator/Manager at Grimalkin Records in Richmond, Virginia, which is a trans and queer led mutual aid-oriented record label and collective created to support and foster connections between queer artists (with priority to QTBIPOC), listeners, and their local communities and grassroots organizations. Grimalkin releases music of all genres by people of all ages and is forging alternative paths for artist development and support, especially for marginalized creatives. They identify as Non-binary, Agender, and fluidly trans. Grim has a BFA from Tyler School of Art and a MS in Special Education and was a public middle school teacher for 14 years in both Los Angeles and Virginia. They also were a Vocational Counselor for 7 years, and they are currently a Certified Workforce Development Practitioner and Work Incentive Specialist Advocate (WISA). As a disabled person, disability advocacy is part of the work they do in and out of Grimalkin. They also make music as Spartan Jet-Plex and have a variety of music and artistic collaborations.
Glynis Boyd Hughes (she/they)
Glynis Boyd Hughes is a liberatory servant leader deeply committed to using her voice, skills, and abilities to serve as an advocate for the LGBTGIA+ community. Glynis received her B.A in English and Gender, Sexuality and Womxn’s Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and her M.Ed.. in Leadership, Policy, and Organizational Management from Merrimack College. She is also a proud graduate of the VA-LEND Program at VCU, with a Post-Graduate Certificate in Disability Leadership. Glynis is currently a grant writer and storyteller for Ahsek Innovation, a solutionist company based in Chicago, Illinois ; she was recently accepted in the third cohort of the Inclusive Fundraising Fellowship, sponsored through the Virginia Association of Fundraising Executives (VAFRE)While Glynis’ professional experience includes social work, health care management, and teaching, she proudly shares her work lives that include caregiver, cashier, and fish cleaner, as she is intentional in dismantling images of what “success” looks like–and comes from. Glynis’ interests are eclectic and equity-centric, including critical race theory, adult education, and trauma focused practice. A lifelong writer, her current quote of the moment comes from Louis L’Amour: “There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. This will be the beginning”