Catalyzed by the shared experiences of the founding organizers working and advocating in white dominant active transportation spaces, The Untokening was first envisioned as a national convening to take place in Atlanta 2016. As we outlined in Next City: “Many of us justice-oriented advocates have been tokenized — relegated to an all-person of color panel that is likely to be attended mainly by people of color; serving as the lone person of color on a panel and limited in the way we can address topics that impact our communities; or simply being dismissed as a distraction from the more “important” agendas at hand. This tokenism takes a personal toll, as working from a perspective that comes naturally to us also places us in direct line of resistance and stress... The Untokening will be an opportunity for justice-oriented advocates to pool our expertise, speak about the wide spectrum of issues that impinge on mobility in our communities, and articulate principles and frameworks that better fit our own mobility needs, understandings of community and aspirations for our cities.” Read more about the impetus and context for the creation of The Untokening in this piece by Sahra Sulaiman.
Founding Untokening Organizers
zahra alabanza
zahra is a mother, organizer, creative and adventure. A project starting, wandering, overlover and outdoor junkie. Currently, she utilizes outdoor adventure, biking, growing food, yoga(ing), and curating space to bring people together. These community organizing efforts are used to enhance physical and mental wellness, economic vitality and environmental stewardship among Black Folks. She sees biking as a tool for communal and individual transformation as well as a means of building and rebuilding whole communities that are abundantly safe, confident, well(thy) and self determining.
Carolyn Szczepanski
Carolyn is the Communications and Programming Coordinator for the Alliance, a coalition based organization that works to advance racial equity and justice in issues of growth and development in the Twin Cities. She organizes with Root & Restore St. Paul, which advocates for alternatives to policing, serves on the boards of the HOME Line (a tenants’ rights organization) and the Twin Cities Media Alliance, and is deeply invested in efforts to build community power in St. Paul.
Naomi Doerner
Naomi is the Principal and Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Nelson Nygaard. She is a collaborative transportation equity strategist, skilled at bringing diverse communities, organizations, and institutions together on core issues. She has extensive experience working with public sector staff, government agency leaders, and elected officials, as well as the technical experts on aspects of policymaking and planning that enable her to be effective at moving staff, leaders, and stakeholders towards a shared vision. She recently served as Seattle’s—and the nation’s—first ever Transportation Equity Manager.
Sahra Sulaiman
Sahra is an ethnographic researcher by training, a journalist by profession (Communities Editor for Streetsblog Los Angeles, covering South Central and Boyle Heights), and a long-time volunteer with teens in inner-city schools. She explores the obstacles that conspire to keep residents in lower-income communities of color from being able to safely access their streets. And as a Health Journalism fellow, she examined the impact of community violence and insecurity in the public space on the health and well-being of youth in Watts. She also works to introduce readers to the unique grassroots efforts of local residents, community leaders, and local organizations to address some of these issues on their own.
Adonia Lugo
Cultural anthropologist Dr. Adonia E. Lugo has lived most of her life in the traditional and unceded territories of the Acjachemen and Tongva peoples. She's brown like her Mexican dad, was raised by her white mom, is Chicana and a fourth-generation descendant of Northern European settlers in California. Adonia believes that the foundation of a just future lies in building multiracial communities of practice, or "human infrastructure." She chairs the Urban Sustainability department at Antioch University Los Angeles and consults with Pueblo Planning. Adonia's book, Bicycle/Race: Transportation, Culture, & Resistance, was published in 2018.
Anthony Taylor
Anthony Taylor is a founding member of the Major Taylor Bicycling Club of Minnesota, a nonprofit social/recreational club that promotes safe and fun cycling geared towards the African-American communities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. He serves on the Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission, the League of American Bicyclists Equity Advisory Board, and the National Brotherhood of Cyclists.
Current Core Organizers
The core leadership team for The Untokening is comprised of advocates from diverse social and racial backgrounds who work in professional and personal capacities to advance equity in mobility and community development. We are supported in this endeavor by Advisory Committees for specific projects and convenings, including advocates from diverse backgrounds working at a grassroots level across the country. Our project is fiscally sponsored by the Cultural Wellness Center in Minneapolis, MN, which has been working at the intersection of health and culture to “unleash the power of citizens to heal themselves and to build community.”
Naomi Doerner
Naomi is the Principal and Director of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Nelson Nygaard. She is a collaborative transportation equity strategist, skilled at bringing diverse communities, organizations, and institutions together on core issues. She has extensive experience working with public sector staff, government agency leaders, and elected officials, as well as the technical experts on aspects of policymaking and planning that enable her to be effective at moving staff, leaders, and stakeholders towards a shared vision. She recently served as Seattle’s—and the nation’s—first ever Transportation Equity Manager.
Lynda Lopez
Lynda is a writer and transportation advocate in Chicago. Lynda is an Advocacy Manager with the Active Transportation Alliance and recently co-authored a report on fair equity in the Chicagoland region. She has previously written for Streetsblog Chicago focusing on equity issues around housing displacement, biking, and transportation in communities of color. As an avid bike advocate, she is the southwest side representative for the Mayor’s Bike Advisory Council. She also serves on the Metropolitan Planning Council’s transportation committee. On the national level, Lynda is also a member of the Salud America! Innovations in Transportation Equity for Latino Communities workgroup at UT Health San Antonio. Lynda was part of Transit Center’s inaugural Women Changing Transit Mentorship Program this past year.
Adonia Lugo
Cultural anthropologist Dr. Adonia E. Lugo has lived most of her life in the traditional and unceded territories of the Acjachemen and Tongva peoples. She's brown like her Mexican dad, was raised by her white mom, is Chicana and a fourth-generation descendant of Northern European settlers in California. Adonia believes that the foundation of a just future lies in building multiracial communities of practice, or "human infrastructure." She chairs the Urban Sustainability department at Antioch University Los Angeles and consults with Pueblo Planning. Adonia's book, Bicycle/Race: Transportation, Culture, & Resistance, was published in 2018.
Rene Rivera
René Rivera is a leader and bridge-builder, working and learning in all the spaces in-between race, gender, and other perceived binaries, as a queer, mixed-race, trans man. He spent many years leading bicycle advocacy groups as executive director for Bike East Bay and acting executive director for the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Currently he works as a consultant on equitable community engagement. He also teaches heart-centered, trauma-informed meditation and mindfulness practices at the East Bay Meditation Center and in other spaces. He is building his practice as a restorative justice facilitator and circlekeeper through work with the Ahimsa Collective and in the community.
Grace Kyung
Grace is a systems thinker who works to dismantle the root causes of inequities to improve the quality of life for individuals. She works as a catalyst in changing how to plan for communities by applying a health and racial equity lens to equitable development. To do this in a just way, she works alongside community members to recognize historical circumstances and the current conditions necessary to achieve equity. Grace is also a Culture of Health Leader with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Anthony Taylor
Anthony Taylor is a founding member of the Major Taylor Bicycling Club of Minnesota, a nonprofit social/recreational club that promotes safe and fun cycling geared towards the African-American communities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. He serves on the Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission, the League of American Bicyclists Equity Advisory Board, and the National Brotherhood of Cyclists
Carolyn Szczepanski
Carolyn is the Communications and Programming Coordinator for the Alliance, a coalition based organization that works to advance racial equity and justice in issues of growth and development in the Twin Cities. She organizes with Root & Restore St. Paul, which advocates for alternatives to policing, serves on the boards of the HOME Line (a tenants’ rights organization) and the Twin Cities Media Alliance, and is deeply invested in efforts to build community power in St. Paul.