What We Are All
About
Our History
WE BELIEVE IN A WORLD WHERE ALL PEOPLE FLOURISH
UNDIVIDED formally began its work in 2016. While our personal stories vary, the thread that ties us together is a collective of people who have roots in the American Evangelical church and are troubled by the racial harm and injustices we see today.
Together, we saw the gap in book studies and DEI trainings that have limited lasting impact and often cause harm. With our diverse, collective expertise, our team has built experiential programming designed to take businesses, organizations, and churches from isolation into community and from inertia to action. The experiences bring people together to learn from each other with honesty, integrity, and vulnerability, moving them toward awareness, through agitation, and into action.
We believe in a world where all people flourish, and human dignity is a gift we all enjoy. We’re creative and forward-thinking while remaining rooted in the spiritual heritage of hopeful historical movements for freedom and justice. So let’s do more than listen and learn. Let’s invite communities to repair racial harm, heal racial trauma, and realize racial equity.
Let’s be UNDIVIDED!
Our People
OUR BOARD
Chuck Mingo
Board Chair & Co Founder
Chuck is a co founder of UNDIVIDED and served as the founding CEO for four years. Through his passion for justice and racial reconciliation, Chuck transformed a congregational training into a national movement. Chuck’s leadership has inspired and mobilized thousands from diverse backgrounds around the nation.
Chuck teaches and consults for churches and organizations around the country on a variety of topics related to race relations and racial justice.
Chuck also serves as a teaching pastor at one of the largest churches in America, Crossroads Church. Prior to being a pastor, Chuck spent nine years in the corporate world at Procter & Gamble. He earned his Bachelors in Business Administration at Duquesne University.
Chuck and his wife are busy raising three children and call Cincinnati, OH home.
ARIANNA GENIS
Arianna Genis is a first-generation Latina from Minnesota who grew up bridging the gap for her Mexican immigrant family as the eldest daughter—a role that sparked her passion for organizing and amplifying working-class voices in democracy.
With over a decade of political experience, she has led transformative efforts at organizations like TakeAction Minnesota and Mijente, including helping to secure paid sick leave in Minneapolis, leading campaigns to elect leaders of color, and boosting Latino voter turnout nationwide.
Arianna launched The Movida Initiative—a platform for reshaping democracy by fostering belonging and building the power of Midwest Latinos to shape their future.
JESSICA FORSTER
Jessica Forster is a lawyer by education, preacher by calling, and peacemaker by purpose. Jessica serves as the Lead Community Organizer for Spiritual Activists Leading Together (SALT) Coalition in northern Michigan, an interfaith organization rooted in spiritual organizing working in areas including attainable housing, voting rights, and racial justice. Jessica also serves on the teaching team for her local church and other speaking opportunities. She serves on the leadership team for Beloved360 – an organization focused on discipling people towards God’s heart for justice.
Jessica lives in Traverse City, Michigan with her husband, Neil, and their three children and their two dogs. In her spare time, Jessica is an avid reader, loves being outside, and horseback riding.
ALVIN HERRING
Reverend Herring retired after serving five years as the leader of Faith in Action, the largest grassroots, faith-based organizing network in the United States. The nonpartisan organization works with 1,000 religious congregations in more than 200 cities and towns through its 46 local and state federations. He previously served as Director of Racial Equity and Community Engagement with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, as Dean of Students and Assistant Vice President for Student Life for the University of Louisville, as Executive Director of the Working Interfaith Network in Baton Rouge, La., and as Executive Director of the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice in Louisville, Ky.
Rev Herring is an ordained African Methodist Episcopal minister.
BEN SHAT
Ben Shat is an accomplished tech executive with a 25+ year track record of success in business development, sales, and executive management. In 2022, Ben answered God’s call to change careers to help missional organizations grow and amplify their impact to the people and communities they serve. He finds fulfillment in coaching leaders and mentoring youth by helping them discover their God-given identity, gifting, and purpose and cultivating their potential. In Ben’s personal journey of understanding his own racial identity, he became passionate about unity, justice, and racial healing which is where he
discovered UNDIVIDED and immediately jumped in to become a facilitator and member of the Michigan UNDIVIDED team.
Ben cherishes time with his wife and two children, serves as an Elder at Kensington Church, and enjoys traveling, mountain biking and snowboarding.
Charla Weiss
Having lived in 2 countries and seven U.S. states, Charla Weiss views UNDIVIDED as a perfect place for her curiosity and appreciation for people, culture, and change. Charla retired from one of the largest companies of almost 17,000 employees in Cincinnati, Ohio as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Prior to moving to Cincinnati, Charla lived in the San Francisco/Bay Area where she worked an Executive Director for several San Francisco/East Bay organizations. She has also lived in Sydney, Australia, and Hong Kong for almost a decade. Dr. Weiss earned a master’s degree from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Michigan.
OUR STAFF
Troy Jackson
Executive Director
Community organizer, pastor, leader and writer, Troy Jackson, has been with UNDIVIDED since its founding. He is a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and earned his PH.D in U.S. history from the University of Kentucky.
Troy’s book Becoming King: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Making of a National Leader (The University Press of Kentucky, 2008) explores the critical role the grassroots Montgomery Movement played in the development of Dr. King. His other publications include his work as an editor on The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Volume VI:Advocate of the Social Gospel (September 1948-March 1963) (University of California Press, 2007). With their children grown, Troy and his wife moved to a cabin outside of Cincinnati, OH with their two dogs, Pip and Pico.
Stephanie Crider
Organizing Director
As a community organizer and consultant, Stephanie seeks to embody “agape love” in all she does. Beginning her UNDIVIDED journey as a participant in 2022, she has served as a national facilitator, trainer, Michigan local network leader, and coach for nationwide organizing efforts.
Stephanie is trained in Restorative Practices and urban ministry and has earned a master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. She has consulted with community organizations, school districts, and law enforcement agencies. Her talk show Agape Social Justice amplified stories of resilience and hope, empowering individuals and communities.
In Michigan, where she lives with her husband and two daughters, Stephanie continues to advance statewide advocacy initiatives to foster unity and belonging.
Elizabeth Cronlund
Partnership Development Director
Based in Orlando, FL, Elizabeth Cronlund has more than 15 years of experience in congregational ministry and Christian Community Development. She helps lead the AAPI affinity network for CCDA and is a contributing writer for their Education Equity Handbook. Elizabeth is a Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) and Graduated from Northern Seminary.
Elizabeth is a big sci-fi/fantasy nerd, can solve a Rubik’s cube in about 3 minutes, and is a mom of two. She was born near Chicago but grew up in the Philippines.
Natalie Lundstrom
Communications Strategist + Curator
Natalie started with UNDIVIDED as a volunteer and joined the team to help launch the nonprofit in 2020. Her favorite part of her role is the opportunity to curate how UNDIVIDED utilizes the power of the arts to elevate diverse narratives.
Before this role, Natalie spent eight years with the Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Summer Seminars, where she provided support to artists. Her background also includes marketing for small businesses and serving various ministries. For six years, she helped lead a support group for foster, adoptive, and kinship families. Additionally, Natalie was a devotional writer for “Hope is Hard” for two years and has contributed to social media content and strategy for her church.
Natalie resides in Cincinnati, OH. Raising three amazing kids occupies much of her energy and time outside of work.
Caroline Max
Development Manager
Caroline is passionate about helping people step more deeply into the purpose and calling God has placed on their lives – whether that’s through cultivating their gifts, taking on a new opportunity, or stewarding their resources.
A graduate of Ohio University and Syracuse University’s University’s Maxwell School, Caroline began her career in community philanthropy. After stepping into Christian ministry for several years, she views UNDIVIDED’s work for racial healing and justice as an invitation for the Church to incarnate the Gospel fully.
Caroline was raised on the east side of Columbus, OH, and continues calling it home with her husband, Ryan, and their two awesome kids.
RICH MORALES
Chief of Staff
With more than 20 years of experience in law and faith-based organizing, Rich has advanced pro-immigrant policies and nonpartisan initiatives to change the culture of voting and increase participation in every election by BIPOC communities. Rich’s organizing has moved hundreds of clergy and lay leaders into action and engaged senators, representatives, and local officials to support vulnerable communities through public action or legislation. Rich’s work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Time Magazine, and N.P.R., among other outlets. Rich’s legal training focused on constitutional rights and civil litigation. He earned a B.S. from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Rutgers School of Law–Newark. He represented clients in private practice before becoming an organizer in 2013.
A native of Philadelphia of Puerto Rican descent, Rich resides in Virginia with his family.
Our Core Values
We are wholehearted followers of Jesus who are grounded in self-giving love, guided by Scripture, committed to spiritual formation, led by the Spirit, and passionate about the Church.
COURAGE
We stand firmly in our convictions and lean humbly into our concessions.
JOY
We cultivate joy in our work so that our souls thrive.
INVESTMENT
We commit to learning in relationship and investing in people for racial healing.
HUMILITY
We serve our team and submit to this mission with purpose.
