TEAM
Trevor Smith
Co-Founder, Executive Director, Collective Member
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.
Inspirations
bell hooks, Muhammad Ali, Huey Newton
What Does Solidarity Mean to You?
“Solidarity is both an art and a practice we must continuously work on. It is radical love and altruism in action. It entails constantly placing ourselves in the perspectives of others and forming deep connections to push back against forces of domination, ultimately bringing forth that beautiful and just world that awaits us.”
Savannah Romero
Co-Founder, Deputy Director, Collective Member
Savannah Romero (she/her) is the Co-Founder and Deputy Director of the BLIS Collective. She is an enrolled member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and serves as the Director of Communications and Narrative Strategy at Tahoma Peak Solutions. Previously, she served as the Manager of Movement Building and Organizing at IllumiNative, a racial and social justice organization dedicated to building power for Native people by amplifying contemporary Native voices, stories, and issues. She has previously held program and policy positions at the National Indian Education Association, Cause Strategy Partners, and in the U.S. House of Representatives.
She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington, a Master’s in Public Affairs and Policy from New York University, and a Master’s in Fine Arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is also a storyteller, writer, screenwriter, poet, and film producer.
Inspirations
Fred Hampton, John Trudell
What Does Solidarity Mean to You?
“Solidarity calls us to dive deep into the depths of life’s contradictions and complexities, where we can discover our shared humanity and build true connection.”
Antonia Belindo
Operations and Project Manager, Collective Member
Antonia Belindo is the Operations and Project Manager of the BLIS Collective. She is a citizen of the Kiowa Tribe and also carries lineage from the Skidi Band of the Pawnee Nation, the Choctaw Nation, and the Bitter Water Clan of the Diné Nation. Her work is rooted in the responsibility of carrying forward the values, languages, and cultural practices that her people entrusted to her.
She has worked across Tribal Nations, higher education institutions, and non-profits in roles that center representation, justice, and holistic well-being. Most recently, she supported philanthropic efforts to directly serve Native students nationally as Alumni Engagement Manager at Native Forward Scholars Fund, and previously advanced community programs, policy implementation, and legal advocacy at the University of Oklahoma, Cherokee Nation, and Choctaw Nation.
Her leadership extends beyond professional roles: Antonia has served on advisory boards advancing urban behavioral health access and Indigenous Nation building through computer science education. Antonia is also actively engaged in the Kiowa Tribe’s language and culture revitalization efforts through various programs as a linguist and in a women’s leadership role. She earned her undergraduate degree in Fine Arts from the University of Oklahoma.
As an artist and writer, Antonia uses creative expression as a weapon against colonial normativity, choosing instead to amplify generational healing, defiant joy, and liberatory imagination.
Inspirations
[Gûi[bá:gàu Chief Lone Wolf, Dr. Henrietta Mann, Selena
What Does Solidarity Mean to You?
“Solidarity is taking the defiant steps toward the reality where love and justice are at home. It is where we are held in closeness, trust, belonging, and care. It is the place that nurtures and equips us to walk hand in hand as our fullest selves, alongside one another.”
Camilla Griffiths
Director of Applied Narrative Research, Collective Member
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.
Inspirations
Kurt Lewin, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Paolo Freire
What Does Solidarity Mean to You?
“Solidarity means collectively working towards a common goal, drawing strength and persistence from community.”
Emi Aguilar
Director of Membership & Radical Collaboration, Collective Member
Emi Aguilar (Coahuiltecan) (they/she) is a facilitator, researcher, culture-bearer, community organizer, and multidisciplinary artist. Emi is based among the homelands where the Coahuiltecan people have continuously resided for over 14,000 years (or, what is recently known as Central Texas to Northern Mexico).
She is the former Director of Research + Action for IllumiNative, and has led partnerships with Netflix, Apple, Disney, National Geographic, AGBO, NBCU, Warner Media, and Lionsgate, among others. Emi holds an MFA in Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities from The University of Texas at Austin, a certificate in Arts and Cultural Management from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, a certificate in Women's and Gender Studies, and a BFA in Theatre (summa cum laude) from Niagara University. Previously, Emi served as the Assistant Director of Pop Culture + Media at IllumiNative, on faculty at Bowling Green State University, and has guest lectured at The University of Texas at Austin, Dallas College, Vassar College, Brooklyn Public Library, and New Jersey Performing Arts Center, among others. Emi is the creator of @IndigenizingArtsEd, through which she conducts speaking engagements and workshops on decolonization, Indigenizing arts education, the Land Back movement, repatriation, and compulsive settler-colonialism.
Inspirations
my child, tāp tāi/mother earth, James Baldwin, Joy Harjo, bell hooks, Chani Nicholas
What Does Solidarity Mean to You?
“Solidarity means lovingly carrying out everyday actions that benefit our braided communities, little by little moving us towards the liberated futures we imagine for our future ancestors.”
Jane Ama Mantey
Director of Narrative Strategy & Capacity-Building, Collective Member
Jane Ama Mantey (she/they) is the Director of Narrative Strategy & Capacity-Building at the BLIS Collective. She is a writer, a cultural critic, an organizer and educator, who bridges movements, art, culture, and media to realize radical visions of a future where we have won and are thriving.
A biomedical scientist turned narrative and cultural strategist, Jane is a first-generation, queer Ghanaian-American born to working-class immigrant parents. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from University of Maryland Eastern Shore and her PhD in Biomedical Sciences from Meharry Medical College. And, she is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Jane was most recently the Director of Narrative and Cultural Strategies at Race Forward. She lives with her family on the lands of the Piscataway, also known as Prince George’s County, MD.
Inspirations
Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Kwame Ture, Mariame Kaba
What Does Solidarity Mean to You?
"Solidarity is the path to shared liberation."
Thalia Cachimuel
Director of Strategic Partnerships & Philanthropic Solidarity
Thalia Cachimuel (she/her) is the Director of Strategic Partnerships & Philanthropic Solidarity at BLIS Collective. Thalia is a Kichwa-Otavalo organizer, philanthropic strategist, and international climate specialist. She sits on the board of Quipa Collective, The Truth Telling Project, and Sapiyay Collective.
Thalia holds degrees from Northeastern University, NYU Wagner, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Inspirations
Mahtowin Munro, Beverly and Barbara Smith, Holly Cook Macarro, Leo Cerda
What Does Solidarity Mean to You?
“Solidarity is deeply rooted in Randi Randi, a Kichwa principle of reciprocity, where the well-being of one is inseparable from the well-being of all. It is the practice of coming together in mutual support, grounded in the understanding that liberation is only possible when we honor the interconnectedness of our struggles. In this way, solidarity becomes the foundation for healing, acknowledging that true transformation arises not from individual actions but from our shared responsibility and collective commitment.”
Justin Morgan
Applied Narrative Research Analyst, Collective Member
Justin Morgan (he/him) is the Applied Narrative Research Analyst at the BLIS Collective. He is a doctoral candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he researches the convergence of health equity, participatory research, community power, and politics. Justin is a second-generation Jamaican-American and a descendent of enslaved peoples in Mississippi. He believes that solutions to systemic, structural, and intentional health inequities have to be structural and intentional themselves.
Previously, he was a quantitative research analyst in the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute, an independent not-profit research organization committed to equipping changemakers with evidence-based solutions. He received his BS in Public Health from the American University, and currently resides in Washington, DC.
Inspirations
James Baldwin, Frederick Douglass, Muhammad Ali
What Does Solidarity Mean to You?
“Solidarity is the coming together of peoples who recognize that our humanity, our survival, and our prosperity are bound in one another, and that we must strive for each others rights and protections as much as we strive for our own. It is the spaces we find where we can protect and celebrate one another, for our common traits, as much as our wonderful differences.”