In a time when youth are having to deal with a lot but are expected to stay silent about it, Critical Exposure’s role is to help us take back our voice by giving us opportunities to exercise our...
Who We Are
Board of Directors
Aimee Peoples, Vice President of DEIA, National Partnership for Women & Families (Board Chair)
Jasmine Hicks, Director of Youth Leadership Development in Communiity and Youth Engagement, Truth Initiative (Vice-Chair)
Alorie Clark, Executive Director, DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative (Secretary)
Betty Feng, CEO, Be Consulting Group (Treasurer)
Carina Gervacio, DC Metro Program Director, FoodCorps
Tyler Grigsby, Senior Program Facilitator, One Common Unity
Jenny Jourdain, Chief of Staff, US Department of State
Lauren Matthews, Principal Consultant, MMC– Mercer
Joseph Pate, Director of Media Communications, Hip Hop Caucus
Talia Brock, Program Director
Talia (she/her) was born in Washington, DC, raised in Silver Spring, MD and has been a resident of DC since 2014. Her interest in social justice work began to take shape while she was studying abroad and volunteering at an after-school program in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Following this experience, Talia channeled her deep frustration with systemic oppression into her work in education and community organizing. Talia loves reading fiction, creating art, speaking Spanish and advocating for self-care. She is excited to work alongside the amazing young people CE engages.
Aaron Howe, Development Manager
Aaron Howe (they/them) is an artist, organizer, and development specialist from Michigan who loves plants, books, and dogs. They moved to DC in 2016 to attend graduate school at American University, where they focused on homelessness and housing. In 2020, Aaron co-founded Remora House to get supplies to and advocate for people living in encampments across the city. Through a commitment to the community Aaron worked with, they grew Remora House’s individual donor base and social media presence while highlighting the reality of homelessness in DC. Aaron’s passion for history, social justice, and horizontal organizing is illuminated in their approach to fundraising and development, which centers the young people Critical Exposure works with.
Nicole Newman, Executive Director
A writer, passionate advocate, and nonprofit professional, Nicole (she/her) learned how to organize from her aunt and grandparents who, at an early age, exposed her to collective action by those most impacted demanding equity. She was taught by her mother to ask as many questions as satisfied her curiosity. A fourth-generation Washingtonian, she graduated from Trinity University with a Bachelor's in Political Science and her Master's in Organizational Development from American University, both in Washington, DC. She has spent her career focused on creating more equitable, people-focused organizations through training and conversation around racial equity and inclusion; community organizing and client engagement; advocacy; strategic growth and planning; and navigating change and conflict. Most recently, she was the Senior Director of Community Relations at the DC Public Charter School Board, where she managed public engagement on behalf of the board. She likes traveling, sunflowers, unicorns, the enneagram, and being in nature.
Kimmi Ramnine, Operations Director
A queer, first-generation immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago, Kimmi (she/her) spent her high school and undergrad years in NYC and has called Washington, DC home since 2013. She started at CE as a Youth Organizer and has held many roles in the years since then, including Program Manager and Interim Program Director supporting CE during our founder transition. Most recently, Kimmi completed a Masters in Library and Information Science at the University of Maryland. She deepened her understanding of our city as the Research Services Librarian at the DC History Center. She is thrilled to be back at CE in this role. Her love for community and storytelling shows up in her passion for community archives, popular education, youth organizing, urban farming, and Caribbean literature of all kinds.
Felicia Ramos, Managing Director
Felicia (she/they) hails from Chicago with an extensive background in advocacy, youth development, and program design. Felicia’s experience working within Chicago’s school and housing systems, as well as for non-profit agencies here in DC has expanded her capacity to support and empower marginalized young people. Through her work in Chicago’s nonprofit field, Felicia revamped and facilitated teen dating violence prevention workshops and forums for over 1,000 high school students. As the Program Director for the Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) Groundbreakers, she had the unique opportunity to partner with 30 high school students to plan and build over 30 new playgrounds each year. During her most recent tenure as the Academy Director for a hip-hop and arts education non-profit here in DC, Felicia developed a visual arts apprenticeship program, systems for outreach and enrollment of young artists, and established effective working relationships with local professional artists, educators and school-based staff.
Nancy Salazar, Program Coordinator
Nancy B. Salazar (she/her) is a Salvadoran American artist and educator from Washington DC. Her love for supporting and empowering youth in DC has been the center of her career for a decade and her passion for organizing has stemmed from the women in her family, who have always been known to take action and make change. She began her career in DCPS, where she was an educator for five years with a concentration in supporting immigrant students and their families and teaching English as a second language. She transitioned from that role into the nonprofit sector, where she deepened her knowledge of systemic oppression and strengthened her community organizing. At Critical Exposure, she is a Program Coordinator where she leads an introductory program called Stories For Action and supports programming at our partner schools. She is currently working towards her B.A degree in Human Relations from Trinity Washington University and in her free time she loves to dance with her salsa performing team, write bilingual poetry, collage, swim in the ocean, play sports, and daydream.
