Christopher (any pronouns) is a community-rooted changemaker whose journey spans coastlines and causes. Raised with a foundation oriented towards service in a family of leaders within the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Christopher’s early commitment to service began as a teen volunteer with The DIVA Foundation. While earning a BA in English Literature at Morehouse College, Christopher organized against institutional policies targeting transgender and gender nonconforming students and joined mass mobilizations in response to the state-sanctioned execution of Troy Davis. These formative experiences cemented a dedication to justice, advocacy, and cultural transformation.

In 2016, Christopher co-founded BankBlackUSA in response to ongoing violence and economic injustice in Black communities. Powered by the COWRIE Initiative (Co-Operative Wealth, Re-Investment, & Empowerment), BankBlackUSA has grown into a nationally recognized resource hub featuring databases of 20+ Black-owned financial institutions and culturally responsive financial literacy tools. During this time, Christopher also worked as an Agile Project Manager in Financial Technologies employing systems and change management thinking to the needs of the private sector.

Christopher currently serves on the advisory board of Beyond Trenches, an abolitionist mutual-aid organization in Atlanta supporting those most impacted by carceral injustice as well as the Culture Keeper’s Circle advisory board preserving at-risk cultural communities within the United States. They previously advised TransTech Social Enterprises, which supports career development within Tech for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals.

As a thought leader, Christopher speaks on topics including community wealth, anti-Black policing, queer justice, and mental health, engaging audiences from grassroots collectives to corporate boardrooms. Outside of their professional work, they are a hobbyist genealogist researching Louisiana Creole families, a recurring guest on a London-based X-Men podcast, and the “tell it like it is” friend and family member everyone needs.

During college, Iman majored in Women Gender Studies with a focus in African-American Studies where she studied hegemonic power, intersectional power, and theory and praxis of transformative justice. Following undergrad, she worked alongside fellow AAPI organizers as the Development and Events Coordinator at an AAPI nonprofit in Georgia. Building on her experience within the immigrant-justice space, Iman joined Sur Legal Collaborative in 2023 and is currently leading our Development Program within her role as our Development & Growth Strategist.