The Board

Robert Alegre's work has followed two tracks: the history of social movements during the Cold War, and the history of gender and sexuality. His book, Railroad Radicals in Cold War Mexico: Gender, Class, and Memory, chronicles how working-class men and women organized the largest strikes since the Mexican Revolution. Many of Rob's close family members became exiled during the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990), and it is that experience that informs his commitment to human rights scholarship and activism.

Leo Hylton is a recent Master’s graduate of George Mason University’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. He graduated from the University of Maine at Augusta in 2016 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Studies. His education and work are now focused on Social Justice Advocacy and Activism, with a vision toward an abolitionist future. Toward that end, he is working as a Visiting Instructor at Colby College’s Anthropology Department, co-teaching AY346 – Carcerality and Abolition.

He is also a columnist for the publication Mainer, where he writes a monthly column to raise public consciousness around the existence and power of humanity in carceral spaces. His research interests include: trauma, trauma-healing, restorative justice, transformative justice, American criminal justice, transitional justice, carceral punishment, and prison abolition. Leo’s education, work, and research interests are informed by his experience as a currently incarcerated citizen in Maine State Prison.

For more, read his scholarly article, “Trauma, Spirituality, and Healing: A Journey through the Lens of an Incarcerated Person”

Elizabeth is an experienced public health professional with global and domestic health experience. She is currently the Executive Director of The Institute for Quantitative Social Science (IQSS) at Harvard University. Prior to joining IQSS, Elizabeth served as the Chief Operating Officer at Greater Portland Health which provides high-quality, patient-centered healthcare that is accessible, affordable, and culturally sensitive. In several academic, community, public sector, and health settings, Elizabeth has provided health system and community strengthening efforts, led trauma-informed resilience trainings, and worked with partners to translate proven research into the implementation of effective programs in the U.S., Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Elizabeth received her Masters in Public Health from Yale University and her Bachelors from Bates College. Bringing experience from serving on other Boards, Elizabeth is honored to be part of Mindbridge and is committed to contributing to bridging psychological and neurobiological science to applied human rights work. You can find Elizabeth personally recharging through physical activity in the beautiful outdoors with her family and friends.

Dr. Linda Silka is a social and community psychologist by training, with much of her work focusing on building community-university research partnerships. She has several decades of experience in leading community-university research partnerships on environmental, economic development, and environmental health issues.

Dr. Silka was the former Director of the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and is now Senior Fellow at the University of Maine’s George Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions. Prior to moving to the University of Maine, Dr. Silka was a faculty member for three decades at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, where she directed the Center for Family, Work, Community, served as the Special Assistant to the Provost for Community Outreach and Partnerships, and was Professor of Regional Economic and Social Development. Silka has written extensively on the challenges and opportunities of building research partnerships with diverse and has consulted internationally on how to build community-university research partnerships.

Allison Walker-Elders is a public health professional with nearly a decade of experience. Her education includes a degree in Neuroscience from Wellesley College and a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

When not working toward reproductive justice and a world with fewer barriers to healthcare, Allison enjoys running, reading, and looking at pictures of baby goats.

As a Black, Somali, Muslim girl from Maine, Muntaha has grown up keenly aware of the injustices that impact people of color and the lack of equity that is present within white majority communities. Muntaha works at Youth and Community Engagement (YCE), Portland Empowered, Gateway to Opportunity, and the Postsecondary Support Project where she works with underrepresented to encourage the power in telling their own stories. Through these groups, she continues to engage youth voices, and is grateful for the opportunity to help uplift individuals impacted by systematic struggles.

Born in Somalia and raised in a Kenyan refugee camp, Abdullahi Ali (PhD.) resettled in Maine as a refugee. Since 2009, he has created programs to address the needs of Mainers of all races across the six most populated counties including populations with mental health needs, BIPOC and Immigrant communities, survivors of torture, youth, and families.

Dr. Ali started his academic career in Nairobi, Kenya getting his Associates Degree in Community Development, and completed another two years’ worth of course work towards a degree in Sociology and Public Administration at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. He was regularly involved in programs and activities of income generation for vulnerable communities, peace education, women’s empowerment, and skills development.

He brought his vision of inclusivity and ambition with him when he moved to Maine where Dr. Ali continued his pursuit of higher education by earning his Bachelors Degree in Social Science with a Minor in Economics from the University of Southern Maine, graduating with a Master of Science Degree in Justice Studies with a concentration in Public Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.

He now holds a Doctorate in Public Policy from the Muskie School of Public Policy, University of Southern Maine in Portland, ME.

Dr. Ali is also an accomplished community member and leader; he founded and is Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Community Services, Executive Director of the Non-Profit organization wing of Gateway (GCSM), CEO of LAAFYO Property Development, and the founder of the East-African based Non-Profit, Nurture All Afric Foundation.

Qasim Rashid is a Pakistani-born American author, activist, and human-rights attorney. Rashid has written for numerous outlets including Time, NPR and The Independent. His essay "I believe in love for all, hatred for none" was featured on NPR's This I Believe.

“Pulling from my experience as a human rights attorney, author, politician, and social media influencer, I bring the critical receipts needed to help disentangle fact from fiction, and work to counter the deterioration of human rights at home and abroad.”