Afua Atta-Mensah is Executive Director of Community Voices Heard, a multi-racial nonprofit led by women of color and low-income families in New York City who are building power to secure racial, social and economic justice for all New Yorkers. Throughout her career, Atta-Mensah has demonstrated a willingness to fight for what she believes in, dating back to her time as a Fulbright Scholar in Ghana where she advocated on behalf of indigent women.

Bernell Grier is Executive Director of IMPACCT Brooklyn, a non-profit fighting against tenant displacement and advocating for affordable housing. A proven leader with 30 years of experience in community development and nonprofit management, Grier previously served as CEO and COO for Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City (NHS), providing resources to stabilize neighborhoods.

Chantal Hinds is an advocate for students in the foster care system, working to ensure they have the educational support they need to succeed. As a policy entrepreneur at Next100, she focuses on improving academic outcomes and narrowing the opportunity gap between students in the foster system and their peers. 

Kei Williams (they/them) is a queer transmasculine organizer, artist, and historian. Williams is a founding member of the Black Lives Matter Global Network and Movement Netlab — a decentralized training network. Through their organizing, Williams is not only shaping powerful campaigns and movements, but also developing accessible, practical tools that grow the capacity, scale, and impact of the most dynamic, emerging social movements of our time.

Leslie-Bernard Joseph (educator, attorney and social impact leader) is the CEO of Coney Island Prep, a K-12 charter school that serves over 1,100 scholars across four campuses, aiming to train the next generation of leaders on tools to reset the vision of our country as a just racial democracy by centering the voices of marginalized communities.

"That’s why it is so important to us to invest in the Black leaders combating racial injustice from every angle right here in Brooklyn,” said Wu Tsai. “They are on the ground day in and day out --- working to eliminate racial disparities in our healthcare system, advocating for environmental justice, amplifying the untold stories of Black Americans, mentoring young people of color, and fighting on the front lines of the most pressing social justice issues of our time. We are honored to support their anti-racist work and to invest in creating a more just and inclusive Brooklyn through scalable, proven initiatives.”

The Brooklyn awardees’ work will be amplified via The Black Voices for Black Justice Fund to support Black leaders addressing systemic racism at the national and community level. The Tsai Foundation’s Social Justice Fund will focus on programs for BIPOC and women-owned small businesses; skills training to improve job mobility; mentorship of young women and men of color; and immediate needs of the Brooklyn community created by the COVID-19 pandemic.