Our Board of Directors
2024 Board of Directors
Micha Kurz
Co Chair
Micha goes by him/his+we/us pronouns, born and raised in Jerusalem- he has spent years in military uniform, and many more years protesting militarized policies, organizing to deconstruct colonial politics, practicing centering marginalized folx and taking leadership from impacted communities. He is a rabble-rouser, a founder of many organizations, and an operative behind political movements. He's been a youth counselor, a community organizer, he's worked with U.N. agencies, International NGOs, academia and social movements. He's advocated- sometimes even successfully- for policy change around the world, his projects have received funding from the likes of The EU Commission, World Vision, The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Finnish and Danish Church Aid, The European Endowment for Democracy, and a number of other dubious parties. As a cis-straight presenting man active in solidarity, learning when to show up and when to get out of the way.
Michael Martin
Co Chair
Software Engineer, Racial Justice Trainer/Community Organizer
Originally from Springfield, MA, Michael Martin is a Software Engineer by profession who has continually worked for software companies in Boston, MA .
Michael is a community organizer, focused on examining and combating racism through political education, conversation, and building the relationships that he believes are the foundation of social justice. He has worked with youth; sat on panels; developed, delivered and led anti-racism and community building workshops for young people and adults for different organizations and community groups across Boston.
Michael is a former Advisor and Counselor for the Youth Leadership Initiative program for the YWBoston. He was also a long-time organizer with The Boston Knapsack Anti-Racism Group as well as a founding organizer of SURJ Boston–both of which found some of their roots in CCI. He returns to serve his second term as a board member for CCI after serving his first between 2017 and 2020.
Though Michael has a knack for organizational strategy, experiential education, and capacity building, he believes that all talents and tactics are needed to get free. To this end he is a constant work in progress.
Ashley Ray
Director
Ashley Ray is an educator, currently working in the Chicago suburbs where she provides academic and behavioral support to public high school students. She has spent the last twenty years learning and educating others about Whiteness, anti-racism and social justice, including corporate DEI strategy, workplace organizing, peer group education and community-based activism. Ashley has worked as a professional social justice educator offering workshops, consultation, course lectures and student affairs leadership to universities, nonprofits and community groups in the Chicago area. She was formally introduced to organizing and activism through her work with Showing Up for Racial Justice Chicago, and it was at this point she recognized that she had been organizing for much of her life.
Family is the reason Ashley came to this work – she is in an interracial marriage and has biracial children – and her family continues to be a source of motivation and inspiration for her work. Understanding and unlearning Whiteness has been a core focus of Ashley’s life in adulthood and this endeavor influences her relationships, professional work and goals for the future. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Non-Profit Management and Diversity Education from DePaul University and has spent most of her professional life in the industries of mental health and education. Ashley is excited to join the board of Community Change, Inc. and to be a part of the legacy of urgent social change in the world.
Liz Amaya
Director
Liz is an educator/trainer on social justice, sexuality and gender, global health, community engagement and advocacy, and other public health issues. They are the Executive Director of the Association of Accredited Public Health Programs, as well as a Senior Public Health Diversity Advisor at the Larson Institute for Health Impact and Equity at the University of Nevada, Reno. They are currently an adjunct professor at Rutgers and Monmouth Universities. Liz is also a full-spectrum doula providing birthing, post-partum, and transition support to people of all genders. Prior to joining the University of Nevada, Reno, Liz worked as a health educator at Rutgers University and William Paterson University. They have also worked as Director of Education at the National Latina Health Network. Liz has a master’s in public health from Tulane University and a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University. They live in New Jersey with their two children and partner where they write poetry, cheer on their teenagers’ dreams, and engage friends in discussions on intuition and love.
Stephen Perreira
Director
Stephen Pereira was born in Boston and currently lives in Brockton. After 32 years as an Arlington Public Schools administrator, he was also the President of Massachusetts Partnership for Diversity in Education and an adjunct faculty member of Empowering Multi-cultural Initiatives (EMI). He formerly served as President of the METCO Directors Association and is one of the longest-standing members of the Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) Board of Directors.
Steve has also sat on the Board of Directors for Community Change, Inc. (CCI) and is rejoining the Board for a second time in 2024. Steve formerly sat on the Board of Directors of the National Black Doll Museum of History & Culture in Mansfield. He holds a B.A. from Boston College and an M.Ed. from Antioch University. He is active in many local cultural, civic, political and professional organizations and in his time off, he enjoys traveling the world and relaxing on the nearest beach. He also loves music, is an avid automobile enthusiast, and bowls on a professional league. He took White People Challenging Racism in Winter 2012 and is now part of the co-facilitator group and the Leadership Circle. He identifies as a person of color (Black) and as second-generation Cape Verdean American