Welcoming LV’s New Team Members
Please welcome three brilliant new people to the Liberation Ventures team! Amity Paye joins us as Vice President of Narrative Change, Marsha Davis as Vice President of Movement Building, and Karin Gerald as Vice President of Operations.
This marks the beginning of a new, very exciting chapter for LV. Drawing from their deep backgrounds across narrative and communications, grantmaking, organizing, and operations, Amity, Marsha, and Karin bring decades of experience fighting for racial justice. Their leadership will bring a wave of incredible talent to LV as well as the reparations movement at large, and we could not be more excited to bring them on board.
Aria Florant, Co-Founder & CEO
Amity Paye, Vice President of Narrative Change
Prior to Liberation Ventures, Amity (she/her/hers) was the Chief Communications Officer at Color of Change, where she launched and spearheaded the first communications department. Amity has also led strategic communications for new organizing campaigns at the labor union 32BJ SEIU, supported grassroots communications at The Black Youth Project 100 New York, and spent a decade as a journalist reporting on Black youth and social justice for a variety of national and Black news outlets. She was named PR Daily’s Top Woman in PR and PR News’ PR Professional of the year in 2022. Amity currently serves on the board of Samara Collective, Picture Motion and the National Advisory Committee for The Ad Council.
Amity holds a BA in Journalism from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. She lives on a homestead in upstate New York with her husband.
Marsha Davis, Vice President of Movement Building
Marsha (she/her/hers) is a strategist and philanthropic leader committed to building just and joy-filled worlds where we all can thrive. She has over 15 years of experience in philanthropy and nonprofit leadership. Marsha is the Co-Founder of Davis Squared Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that supports individuals, families, and foundations who are ready to apply their progressive social justice values to their giving. Grounded in Black queer feminist values, Davis Squared Consulting works with organizations across sectors to operationalize their social justice values and develop practical strategies for change.
In her prior work as the inaugural Executive Director at Tzedek Social Justice Fund, Marsha co-led their transition from a funder-led to a community-led fund, designed innovative grantmaking programs to support social justice leaders, and created infrastructure for Asheville’s reparations’ movement. She is one of the founders of the Reparations Stakeholder Authority of Asheville, a Black-led grassroots organization that ensures all Black voices are heard in the city’s reparations process.
Marsha graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Molecular and Cellular Biology and holds a Masters in Science Education.
Karin Gerald, Vice President of Operations
Karin (she/her/hers) is a planner and strategist dedicated to constructing and sustaining just systems that foster a world where all thrive in communities abundant with resources. She brings over 20 years of experience leading strategic organizational initiatives and streamlining operations within nonprofits and education institutions. Karin is committed to leveraging her personal power and operational lens to design organizational frameworks that amplify and restore the narratives of Black and Brown communities.
As the former Chief Operations Officer at Project Ready, Karin played a key role in transitioning the organization from fiscal sponsorship to an independent 501(c)(3) by defining and sustaining the operational infrastructure and financial systems. Additionally, she led the development of their 501(c)(4), Be Ready, an organization focused on advancing policies that address issues affecting Black women and increasing the number of Black women elected to positions of power in New Jersey. Before her work in civic engagement, Karin contributed significantly to the education reform space, managing non-instructional and operational initiatives at large charter management organizations and nonprofit community organizations.
Karin received a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education and Psychology, as well as a Master of Education in Educational Administration from Temple University.
