President, Rev. John Thomas

is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ. From 1999 to 2009 he served as General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ.  He has also been a pastor of congregations in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, served as the denomination’s national ecumenical officer, and was a member of the faculty of Chicago Theological Seminary. Rev. Thomas is retired and lives with his wife, Lydia Veliko, in Hyde Park.  He is a member of Epiphany United Church of Christ in Chicago.

Secretary, Arnoldo Fabela

is the Director of Field Organizing at the Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT), a state-wide union with 103,000 members. He was instrumental in Arise incubating the union at Old Town School of Folk Music, consisting of 250 teaching artists who are now members of IFT Local 909 members.  He has been an organizer in labor, racial, and social justice movements for two decades, working previously with SEIU’s Justice for Janitors and UFCW’s WalMart campaigns.  Arnoldo is a proud family member with his wife Maria, and children Sofia, Xavier, and Sebastian.

Treasurer, Rev. Jason W. Coulter 

is the Senior Minister of First Congregational Church of Evanston (UCC). Prior to serving FCCE, Rev. Coulter was the pastor Ravenswood United Church of Christ in Chicago for sixteen years.  Rev. Coulter is a native of West Bend, Wisconsin and a life-long member of the United Church of Christ. He is a graduate of Macalester College, received a Master’s Degree from Cornell University, and completed his Master of Divinity at Chicago Theological Seminary. Before entering the ministry, Rev. Coulter worked for thirteen years as a union organizer where he helped thousands of workers organize unions, including textile workers in North Carolina, warehouse workers in Indianapolis, and industrial laundry workers in Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland. Rev. Coulter is the chair of the Chicago Metropolitan Association (UCC) Congregational Life Ministry Team. He was selected as one of twelve fellows in the Lilly Foundation program Chicago Commons directed by the University of Chicago Divinity School.  He is an accomplished activist, compelling writer and powerful speaker.

Brenda Badolla

serves as the City and County Political Coordinator for SEIU Healthcare Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas. Her passion for workers’ rights and social justice was shaped by firsthand experience, including working for 10 years in Chicagoland area restaurant industry. She is passionate about building people power in and outside of workplaces, and can be found organizing her community when she's not organizing workers. Brenda is a contributing author to Today’s Inspired Young Latinas, Volume V. She also serves as a Director for the Morton College Foundation since 2019. Brenda holds an Associates of Arts degree from Morton College and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies from Northeastern Illinois University.

Guillermo “Gil” Barragan 

has been a member of the Carpenters Union for 25 years.  He worked in the field for 10 years as a welder-framer and commercial & residential carpenter.  During his first ten years of membership whenever work slowed down and he was laid-off from regular employment, he volunteered organizing workers who were victims of workplace violations. His passion for organizing comes from witnessing his parents' experiencing workplace violations. His mother spent most of her career as a union seamstress. His father worked in the steel mills where he was a union steward for 15 years. His parents settled in Pilsen where he was born and then later moved to Little Village. After graduating from John F. Kennedy High School on the southwest side of Chicago, Gil attended National Louis University before he began working as a carpenter. Since beginning the trade he has taken certification classes at the Carpenters Union Training Center, Triton College, and Carpenters Department of Education and Training International. Currently, he serves as a Business Representative for the Mid-America Carpenters Regional Council where he specializes in investigating fraud that occurs on construction job sites resulting in organizing campaigns for improved worker conditions.   

Alfredo Benedetti

first came to Arise Chicago via the worker campaign at El Milagro tortilleria. He spoke out against unjust treatment, harassment, and low pay. He quickly became a campaign leader and spokesperson. Alfredo has given interviews to the Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, WBBM, and Telemundo, among others. As a working parent, he takes action to improve working conditions for himself and all workers, both to support his family and to provide an example to his children. 

Imam Tariq I. El-Amin

is the Senior Imam of the Board of Masjid Al-Taqwa, a member of Iron Workers Local 1, and is completing a Masters Of Divinity, with a focus on Islamic Chaplaincy from Bayan Islamic Graduate School/Chicago Theological Seminary in May of 2022. El-Amin cofounded Bridging The Gap Inc. and serves as a board member of The Abolotion Institute, an international anti-slavery nonprofit. He has served as on-air host/producer of Radio Islam, Director of Civic Engagement & Interfaith Services at the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago and a past appointee to the Illinois Muslim Advisory Council.

Isabel Escobar

came to Arise in 2011 for wage theft while working as a domestic worker. Through perserverence, and support from her sons and Arise Chicago, she won a large payment for owed wages. Isal was a leader in the fight for the Illinois Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. For her efforts, she was recognized in 2016 by President Barack Obama’s administration and was invited to the White House. Isabel is a returning Arise board member.

Rev. Lindsey Long Joyce

currently serves as Lead Pastor of the Northside Co-op, a team of pastors that shares care for three congregations. She is a long time member of the Leader's Network, member of the Logan Square Ecumenical Alliance, and co-president of the board of ONE Northside. Lindsey is trained in community organizing, cross-cultural community building, and restorative justice. Her passion is for every mountain to be made low and every valley to be lifted up in our social landscape. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and a Master’s of Divinity from Duke Divinity School. 

María Medina

came to Arise due to workplace sexual harassment. She stayed involved for many years, increasing her leadership at Arise. As a domestic worker, Maria completed Arise training as a Domestic Worker Contract Specialist and has participated in several leadership courses at Arise. Maria has two young daughters, and continues her engagement and activism to build a better future for them

Ameya Pawar

is the President and CEO of the Michael Reese Health Trust. He was alderman of Chicago's 47th Ward and the first Asian and Indian American elected to the Chicago City Council. While in office, Ameya focused legislative efforts on social justice, worker rights, and economic justice. To this end, Ameya led almost all labor policy and worker rights legislation passed in Chicago between 2011-2019, including raising the minimum wage, guaranteeing paid sick leave, creating the Office for Labor Standards, combating wage theft, and preserving housing for Chicago's most vulnerable. Ameya also chaired the Chicago Resilient Families Task Force  the nation's first city-led effort to study guaranteed income, the expansion of the earned income tax credit, and the future of work. Ameya holds graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was named to Crain's Chicago 40 under 40 in 2011. In 2018, he was named a McCormick Foundation Executive Fellow and was a Pritzker Fellow at the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics.

The Very Rev. Joy Rogers

is the retired dean of Chicago’s St. James Episcopal Cathedral, serving from 2006-2014. During that time, she opened the Cathedral to workers in the Fight for $15 campaign. She was also a strong supporter in Arise Chicago’s coalition campaign to win the Illinois Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. She has served congregations in Illinois and Michigan. Joy is a previous board member of Arise Chicago. 

Carlos Sosa

joined as a member of Arise Chicago in 2024. His wife and colleagues came to Arise reporting severe injuries and other workplace concerns at their suburban factory. Carlos is a leader in their workplace campaign, also serving as a spokesperson with the press. He is very active in Arise Chicago programming, including our members’ Tu Lucha es Mi Lucha (Your Struggle is My Struggle) solidarity group, and May Day planning. He enjoys spending time and traveling with his children and grandchildren.

Claudia Terrazo

has been a member of Arise Chicago since 2023. She first came to Arise after facing problems on the job and seeking information and support to take action. She led her coworkers in a campaign against retaliation for their organizing. Since then she has become an active leader, participating in several Arise programs including our women’s group, Las Adelitas, and May Day planning. She also speaks to the press as an Arise Chicago spokesperson. She previously worked as a programming analyst. She is active in her church, and volunteers at her children’s previous school in the after-school program, supporting teachers in organizing teaching materials. She is a proud mother of her children and their studies and careers. 

Don Villar

was born into the labor movement and spirit of social justice after his parents and three siblings immigrated to the U.S. In 1991, Don became a member of NABET-CWA Local 41 – a union representing broadcast news and TV production workers in Chicago. During his nearly 25-year broadcast journalism career at WLS-TV (ABC) Chicago, Don won an Emmy Award for breaking news coverage. He later earned his Juris Doctorate at Loyola Law School. In 2010, Don was elected Vice President of NABET-CWA Local 41 and then President in 2015. In this role, he focused on organizing, movement building and collective bargaining. Don is now the Secretary-Treasurer of the Chicago Federation of Labor and is also on the Campaign Cabinet of United Way of Metropolitan Chicago. 

Christel Williams-Hayes

has been a Chicago Teachers Union member for 28 years, a School Clerk for 17 years, and CTU organizer. She now holds the elected officer position of Chicago Teachers Union as Secretary and is on the Executive Board of IL Federation of Teachers as a Vice President. She represents Paraprofessionals on the American Federation of Teachers PSRP Program and Policy Council.  She is a Licensed Minister and a member of Bright Star COGIC on the south side, where she sings in the choir. Christel is the mother of three beautiful girls and a grandmother.