We’re bringing more voices to Editorial Board conversations
We talk a lot on these pages about how diversity enriches us and challenges us. That’s true from our schools to our boardrooms, and it’s also true for the content you read here. It’s why we have a roster of contributing columnists that vary in age, gender, race, ethnicity and political ideology. Today, we’re taking another step.
The editorial board is excited to announce our first Community Advisory Board — four North Carolinians who are contributing to their communities in distinct, meaningful ways. Members of the Advisory Board will meet regularly with editorial board members to talk about editorials we’re pursuing and issues important to their communities.
Advisory Board members will bring diverse perspectives to our board. We want them to broaden our thinking, to add their experiences to our conversations and, in turn, to the editorials and columns we write. We’re excited about the possibilities.
We’ll be choosing a new Community Advisory Board every six months. We welcome recommendations. Here are the members of our first group:
Hannah Hasan is an award-winning, highly acclaimed spoken word poet and storyteller who believes that our stories can set us free. With themes that center home, social justice, racial justice, women’s rights and more, Hannah is often commissioned to write and perform customized powerful poetry and provide speeches and workshops for events, conferences and meetings.
Hannah, who is active in the Charlotte community, has interviewed hundreds of people from throughout the United States, written their stories, and recruited and managed storytellers — with the purpose of shedding light on some of the most important social issues of our time.
“I am active in my community because I believe we owe it to each other to take care of the spaces around us that have grown us, nurtured us, and provided us with resources for our sustenance and development,” Hannah says. “I get involved because I have a responsibility to replenish.”
Jill Swain believes in the power of connections and the power of public service. A former town commissioner and four-term Republican mayor of Huntersville, Swain now brings businesses and community together in her role as executive director of the Huntersville Regional Chamber.
Involvement in her community has given Swain the opportunity to meet countless people and bring them together. She’s been a rec league girl’s volleyball coach, an advertising executive, a co-chair of a Charlotte transportation initiative, a substitute teacher and a founder of two unique companies.
“I’ve gotten to be a witness to some extraordinary interactions,” she says, “and watched how people come together to make their community a better place.”
Leonardo Williams is an education advocate who believes small businesses are the curators of community culture across North Carolina.
Leonardo, a former Teacher Of the Year in Durham Public Schools, is co-owner of Zweli’s Kitchen, the first and one of only two Zimbabwean restaurants in the United States. In addition to serving as a board member at the Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, Williams co-founded Bank Black Durham as a means to address minority economic inequalities and the Durham Small Business Coalition to give voice in policy for small businesses during COVID 19.
“I have joined two uncommon journeys together — that of an educator and the other, an entrepreneur,” he says. “My most valuable lesson learned at this intersection of life is that people are the most vital ingredient to a common good and a well-social being.”
Murali Bashyam believes that good immigration policy allows us to give people the opportunity for a better life. It can change not only their lives but the lives of the generations that follow.
Murali is the managing partner of Bashyam Shah Immigration Law Group in Raleigh. He specializes in employment-based immigration and provides ongoing information to both his clients and those affected by changes in immigration law.
Murali is a sought-after writer and speaker on immigration issues and an educator to executive teams and human resource professionals. “I wanted to practice in an area of law where I felt I was contributing, where I could feel I was dedicating my efforts toward making life better for the people we serve,” he says.