Board Of Directors

Yahya Alazrak

Yahya’s experience growing up with one wealthy parent and one poor one has instilled in them a commitment to building a world where all people have three things: enough resources, power over their own lives, and community. They see Bread & Roses as having a key role in nurturing those things in the Philadelphia area, and they couldn’t be more grateful to serve that work. Yahya has been with Resource Generation since 2015 as a National Organizer and Coordinator of POC programs, organizing young people with access to wealth towards the redistribution of wealth, land, and power. They live in West Philadelphia and are a member of the Life Center Association cooperative land trust.

Jill Feldstein

Jill Feldstein is a longtime community organizer with experience leading coalitions to win resources for low-income families, registering and mobilizing tens of thousands of voters, and developing the skills of community members to lead campaigns. She is the director of the Penn Center for Community Health Workers, a growing organization that hires and trains residents of West and Southwest Philadelphia to support high-risk patients of Penn Medicine. Jill believes that Bread & Roses is a unique grassroots institution in the Philadelphia region and is excited to help sustain vital movements and cultivate the next generation of organizing leadership.

Elicia Gonzales

Elicia Gonzales has worked in the social justice field for more than 19 years. She is currently the executive director of Women’s Medical Fund. She holds master’s degrees in social work and human sexuality education and is an adjunct professor for Widener University’s Center for Human Sexuality Studies and co-founder of the SEXx Collective. From 2009 to 2016 she served as executive director for GALAEI, a queer Latinx social justice organization. Elicia sits on the boards of Planned Parenthood of Southeastern PA and Camp Sojourner Girls’ Leadership Camp. She lives in Fishtown with her wife and cat and is originally from Denver.

Jean Hunt

Co-chair

Jean has lived in Philadelphia since 1965 and has been active in a variety of struggles for justice: civil rights, the anti-war movement, the grape boycott, the women’s movement, and neighborhood organizing. Jean’s career has included paid organizing, staff nursing, running a feminist women’s health center, working for Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, foundation work, and running two nonprofits: Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center for Women and the Campaign for Working Families. Jean has always supported the People’s Fund/Bread & Roses because she believes in its mission of strengthening organizing at its base, in neighborhoods, among people most directly impacted by injustice.

Jennifer Jordan

Co-chair

Jennifer Jordan is a policy wonk who’s passionate about health equity, social transformation, and data analysis. She has worked in a variety of settings, including labor unions and state agencies. Jennifer is a consultant to state Medicaid agencies, Medicaid health plans, and safety net providers. While her paid work is currently focused outside the Philadelphia region, she sees serving on the board of Bread & Roses as an opportunity to invest her time, talents, and resources in supporting social change in her community. Jennifer lives in South Philadelphia with her partner, Rose, and their son, Levi.

Trina Middleton

Treasurer

Trina Middleton’s objective in life has always been to serve others. She has worked with alumni volunteers, with high school and college students interested in being educators, and as a civil engineer. She is the director of the University of Pennsylvania alumni board services and also volunteers with organizations that focus on alumni, arts, and health care. Trina appreciates that the mission of Bread & Roses has always been to help sustain organizations that give a voice to those who’ve been ignored — something that may be more crucial now more than ever — and she is grateful for the opportunity to serve.

Farrah Parkes

Farrah Parkes has spent her entire professional career in the non-profit sector working to address societal imbalances in resources and opportunities. She is inspired by Bread & Roses’ commitment to “change, not charity.” Farrah is the executive director of Gender Justice Fund. She previously served on the board of the Women’s Medical Fund and is currently the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Valentine Foundation.

Susan Schewel

When Susan Schewel moved to Philadelphia 30 years ago, Bread & Roses was the first place she volunteered. Her continued support has been motivated by her belief in the power of Philadelphia grassroots organizations to create change. A women’s health activist, she was as an OB/GYN nurse, a women’s health nurse practitioner, and the executive director of the Women’s Medical Fund from 2003 to 2017. Susan has worked in patient care, research, policy, management, and fundraising. She served on the Philadelphia Board of Health, the National Women’s Health Network board, and the Congregation Mishkan Shalom board, and is excited to bring her knowledge and skills to the Bread & Roses board.