YEO NATIONAL CONVENING 2016
JAMIRA BURLEY Amnesty International
Jamira Burley has been recognized by the White House as a Champion of Change and is a model of perseverance . Coming from a family where both of her parents and 12 of her 13 brothers have been incarcerated , Burley ’ s advocacy is very personal . As the first of 16 children to graduate from high school and pursue higher education , Burley is a Temple University graduate with a bachelor ’ s degree in international business and legal studies . Burley was recruited by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter to lead the City of Philadelphia Youth Commission . As executive director for the Youth Commission , she represented the interests of over 600,000 Philadelphia young people and worked at the intersection of youth engagement and policy . Presently , Burley works as the senior campaigner for Amnesty International USA , where she oversees collaboration with partners and Amnesty ’ s national and international membership base , and develops and implements human rights driven campaigns on gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform . Burley was appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell to the Pennsylvania Commission on Children and Families , the Mayor Michael Nutter Police Advisory Commission , and the Fund For Philadelphia board . She was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Kimmoon to the United Nations Global Education First Initiative ’ s Youth Advocacy Group . For the last three years , she has traveled to over 15 countries advocating for the rights of every child to have access to quality education . She has shared the stage with world leaders including World Bank president Jim Young Kim , United Nations Secretary- General Ban Kim-moon , global education advocate Malala Yousafzai , and social rights leader Desmond Mpilo Tutu . Burley has been featured in Forbes , Glamour Magazine , The New York Times , The Huffington Post , and USA Today .
BYRON HOBBS Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation
Byron Hobbs is a union and community organizer / leader with over 15 years of expertise in the areas of organizing low-wage workers and residents in underserved communities , staff and leadership development , collective bargaining , workplace advocacy , and social and economic justice issues . He got his start in organizing with ACORN in Washington , D . C . where he successfully led campaigns to demolish vacant and poorly maintained properties in low-income communities in D . C . as well as a campaign to address insurance redlining in low-income neighborhoods of color . After working with ACORN , he became a union organizer with SEIU for 15 years . During his time with SEIU , Hobbs served as union organizer , director , and eventually president of a local SEIU hospital union . He also implemented and led campaign strategies resulting in organizing victories covering over 1,000 new members into the organization . He led successful organizing campaigns at several Chicago hospitals as well as campaigned to organize the first ever group of physicians ( Oak Forest Hospital ) to unionize in the history of Illinois .
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