TWM | STAFF


		THENMOZHI SOUNDARARAJAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Thenmozhi Soundararajan is a filmmaker, singer, and grassroots media organizer. As a second generation Tamil Untouchable Dalit woman, she strives to connect grassroots organizers with media resources that can widen their base of resistance. In that context she has worked with over 300 community organizations across the United States. Thenmozhi was featured in 2003 in both Utne Magazine as one of Ò30 visionaries under 30Ó and in Source Magazine as one of the top ten political forces in hip hop. Further, she was in residence at the MIT Center for Reflective Community Practice writing about her experiences with community based digital storytelling from 2001-2003. She was also a 2001-2002 Eureka foundation fellow. Finally she has been awarded the Jewel Ryan-White Award for Cultural Diversity from the Alliance for Community Media for TWMÕs work in Media Justice. She is currently working on her first Speculative Fiction Novel: The Distance Between You and Me Is the Empire.

		TARANA BURKE, MEDIA JUSTICE ANTHOLOGY AND CURRICULUM DIRECTOR I am officially "Thirty-Thorough" (33) this year and in the prime of my life. I am the proud (gross understatement) mother of the world's flyest fourth grader, my beautiful daughter Kaia, who is my absolute papaya! And, I live in the deep, deep south (far away from home - shout out to N.Y.) in the heart of the Voting Rights Movement from the '60s - Selma, AL. I began doing Social Justice work as a teenager in the Bronx at 15 years old organizing around the Central Park Jogger Case of 1989. It was also my introduction to what would later be coined "Media Justice" because we were protesting the depiction of the African American and Latino youth in the newspapers and on the news. I recieved my leadership, organizing and life training from the 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement, a national organization based in Selma that I have been a part of since 1988. I have joined TWM staff as a writer working on a report about last year's WSIS (World Summit on Information Society) and this year's WSF (World Social Forum) delegations and their experieces. I am also coordinating TWM's Media Justice Curriculum and Anthology. In the other part of my life my best friend and I have started an organization called Just Be Inc. stay tuned for more information! In the meantime if you have anything to contribute to WSIS, WSF or the MJ Anthology...OR if you just need to reach me. Holla at ya girl!! tarana@cultureisaweapon.org

		DIANNE QUE, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Dianne Que is constantly (re)discovering who she is at any given moment and, therefore, finds it very difficult to write bios. She just recently returned from a year-long journey in the Philippines where she helped to establish and develop the Kamay at Puso Community/Therapy center for survivors of toxic waste contamination in the Madapdap Resettlement Center in Pampanga, Philippines. Dianne has always been actively involved in the community from her days as a student leader, diversity peer educator, and activist at UCSD to her more recent efforts to bridge communities through art, technology, spirituality, grassroots organizing, and cross-cultural dialogue. Presently, Dianne serves as TWM’s Operations Director and is responsible for making sure that things always operate…smoothly. In fact, she wants to change her title to “smooth operator.” In her free time, Dianne likes to make stuff. It’s her secret dream to slang handmade beanies, jewelry, stationery, and her writings and photographs on the streets of some metropolis (Okay, maybe not “slang,” but have my own tent in somebody’s vendor fair or farmer’s market). Currently, Dianne is working on learning…everything. period.
		BARNI QAASIM, PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Barni Axmed Qaasim is a filmmaker and writer focused on sharing the stories and experiences of people who are left out of dominant Western media. Her work spans from documentary to music videos and is dedicated to documenting resistance from the refugee camp to the streets. Barni works closely with the Somali community in the States and won a Somali Association of Arizona award of recognition for 'Giving Somali Refugees a Voice.' She has been working with Third World Majority since 2004 on post production: video editing, dvd authoring and has assisted in media trainings.

		AMARA PEREZ, COMMUNITY EDUCATION TRAINING DIRECTOR Amara Perez has been a community organizer for over 10 years. Co Founder and former Executive Director of Sisters in Action for Power, Amara organized young women of color ages 11-18 to take collective action in Portland, Oregon on pressing community issues. Her work to develop an innovative leadership model for youth has received national recognition including the Gloria Steinem Visionary Women Award. In addition she co-founded and leads a volunteer-run community group Happy Ours Production, dedicated to creating social, educational and political activities and events for lesbians of color. Over the last year she has begun to use video making as an organizing tool—producing two documentaries; GenderHer and DesiHer Expressions and Femme Is, Femme Ain’t.

		THEEBA SOUNDARARAJAN, MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY JUSTICE COORDINATOR Theeba Soundararajan is a web developer and Media Justice organizer. A Tamil Dalit, she has worked with young people and adults on website production in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Working with WITNESS New York City, Theeba has helped to develop security and video production curriculums for human rights activists. She is currently a Zero Divide Fellow of the Community Technology Foundation and is TWM's Technology Justice Coordinator. She is currently working on COINTELNOW, a security training curriculum for activists. She speaks Spanish, Tamil, and Portuguese.