On May 12, 2026, more than 200 attendees gathered at The Hawthorn in Portsmouth for the annual meeting of the New Hampshire Center for Justice & Equity (NHCJE) to discuss today’s social and political realities. Their goal was, and is, to change the existing narrative in order to create change and establish a more vibrant, flourishing, just, and equitable New Hampshire. The theme of this year’s annual meeting was: What the Water Remembers: The Collective Power of Storytelling. Cinnamon Kills First, a Northern Cheyenne living in Chinook territory, served as the meeting’s featured speaker.
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Digital Event Booklet
Agenda
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Greeting and Networking — music provided by TEEBA
Introduction of Featured Speaker
Até Song — Cinnamon Kills First
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Medicine Wheel Model & Somatic Literacy —Cinnamon Kills First
Open & Welcome — NHCJE Board President Remarks & NHCJE Year in Review -
Embodied Awareness & Ramp to Receive —Cinnamon Kills First
Dance performance — NSquared
A Community Where Everyone Belongs - Panel: Randall Nielsen, Louis Esposito, Divine Nkwelle
Feel and Listen - Partnered Activity — Cinnamon Kills FirstIntroduction & Screening of “The Myths that Made Us” Trailer — Jeff Fuhrer
Reflection & Networking — music provided by TEEBA
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Ramp for Re-Centering —Cinnamon Kills First
Spoken Word — Mckendy Fils-Aimé
A Community Where Everyone Thrives - Panel: Nicole Heller, Nancy Glynn, and Ed Taylor
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Six-Word Story Sharing - Small Group Activity — Cinnamon Kills First
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Call to Action and Closing Remarks
Reception and Networking — music provided by TEEBA
Oniya Wicozani Medicine Wheel
“Cinnamon offered a unique, embodied experience rooted in indigenous Cheyenne teachings. The medicine wheel provided the framework for the meeting, addressing the mind, body, heart, and spirit. Simultaneously, it offered a structure for how we can use our own body signals, such as posture, tension, and breath, to find ourselves and reclaim our unique stories and personal perspectives.” Read more.
Featured
Speaker
Cinnamon Kills First
Cinnamon Kills First is a published author, documentary filmmaker, and traditional beadworker. As a word warrior, she is dedicated to facing hard truths in order to bring about change. Cinnamon is a Northern Cheyenne guest living in Chinook territory, where she owns and operates Northside Advocates LLC.
Cinnamon offers an Indigenous-centric perspective on education, healthcare, and healing. She tailors her messages to address audiences ranging from kindergarten to medical school to national corporations. She offers workshop facilitation, keynote speaking, and professional development training for tribal communities, schools, and healthcare systems.
“Let’s co-create beautiful ways of life today, for the generations yet to come.”
— Cinnamon Kills First
Panelists
Louis Esposito
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Dr. Louis Esposito is a disability rights advocate and the Executive Director of ABLE NH, a grassroots organization building collective power among disabled people and their families across New Hampshire. Through community organizing, policy advocacy, and leadership development, his work focuses on advancing disability justice and ensuring that people with disabilities lead conversations about the systems that shape their lives.
For more than a decade, Louis has worked in supportive education classrooms in public schools, supported employment, and community life. At ABLE NH, he helps lead statewide advocacy efforts on issues such as inclusive education, healthcare access, housing, transportation, and civic engagement while centering the voices and leadership of disabled people.
Louis earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership at Southern New Hampshire University. His dissertation, Identity Positioning through the High School Transition Process for Students with Autism Enrolled in Higher Education, examines how schools shape disability identity and how inclusive practices can support belonging and self-determination.
As a member of a family with neurological differences, Louis brings both lived and professional experience to his work and believes disability is not something to fix, but an essential part of human diversity and community.
Divine Nkwelle
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Divine Nkwelle is a community engagement-focused practitioner dedicated to building inclusive communities and amplifying marginalized voices. With a background in human rights advocacy, peacebuilding, and dialogue facilitation, he has worked with international organizations, grassroots groups, and diaspora communities in various contexts to promote dialogue, civic participation, and social cohesion. Divine currently serves as Program Coordinator with the American Friends Service Committee and holds graduate degrees in Conflict Resolution and Intercultural Conflict Management, along with a B.Sc. in Political Science. He is passionate about using storytelling and policy engagement to foster meaningful social change.
Nancy Glynn
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Born in Exeter and now rooted in North Sutton, Nancy is a dynamic community organizer, veteran, and storyteller with a deep commitment to grassroots leadership and public service. The daughter of a Korean mother and a proud mom herself, Nancy has built her life around service, connection, and empowerment.
A U.S. Navy veteran and graduate of the UNH Institute on Disability’s New Hampshire Leadership Series class, she went on to serve as a Community Engagement Coordinator and Group Leader providing mentorship to family members and people with disabilities across the state.
Nancy currently serves as a Selectwoman for the town of Sutton—the first woman to hold the position in over 20 years. She also serves on the Kearsarge School Board. Since 2021, she has chaired the Sutton Free Library Board of Trustees and is widely known as a “serial volunteer” across her region and by those who know her.
As Co-Senior Director with MomsRising, Nancy has led fellowship programs since 2018, first as a contractor and now as Senior Director, has mentored hundreds of Granite Staters in relational and values-based organizing. Known by some as a “Ninja Warrior Mom” and by many more as a steadfast friend, Nancy is driven by the belief that communities thrive when people are empowered to lead from where they are.
Nicole Heller
Developmental Psychologist, Research Consultant
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Nicole (she/her) is a Developmental Psychologist, mom, and self-proclaimed "data nerd." Since 2023, she has used her knowledge of child development and research skills to inform child and family policy in the Granite State, including serving as a Senior Policy Analyst at the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.
Prior to joining New Hampshire's non-profit space, Nicole was a tenured Associate Professor at Siena College in Albany, NY, where she taught courses in developmental psychology and research methods. Though a transplant to New Hampshire, Nicole fell in love with the Granite State while teaching at Colby-Sawyer College early in her career and moved back in 2023 to raise her family. Nicole is a proud Manchester resident and resides in the city with her husband and two boys.
Randall Nielsen
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Randall Nielsen(he/him) is a community organizer, artist, and the Founder and Executive Director of Queerlective, as well as the Advocacy and Engagement Director for 603 Forward. Randall’s work focuses on developing innovative and engaging ways to foster a sense of belonging while creating pathways for people to get more involved in civic life.
Often using art as a tool for social change, Randall explores creative approaches to organizing and community building. His projects include We Are Your Neighbors, a storytelling-for-change board game, Not Afraid to Fail Fest, which encourages people to step outside their comfort zones for the sake of community, and the State of Queer NH, a statewide resource book designed to help build solidarity across the region. Randall is known for taking on ambitious ideas and working with the community to build something new together.
Ed Taylor
Organizing Director — ACLU - NH
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Ed grew up in South Florida and is a proud HBCU graduate. He has spent a decade in community organizing, building coalitions and leading grassroots initiatives for various organizations and campaigns. Passionate about justice and equity, he works to create real change in diverse communities. Known for his innovative leadership, he brings together different perspectives to form inclusive partnerships. Whether working on large-scale campaigns or engaging with local neighborhoods, his efforts continue to inspire progress toward a fairer future.
Performers
Kate Crary
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Kate Crary is a graphic recorder with a public health brain, a policy‑development backbone, and a systems‑level superpower. She tunes into complex conversations with precision and turns big, messy, high‑stakes discussions into visuals that actually make sense. Kate brings a sharp equity lens to every room she enters, distilling layered ideas into clear, bold maps that help groups see patterns, identify leverage points, and move forward with purpose. She travels across New England and beyond to support public agencies, community organizations, nonprofits, multi‑day conferences, and cross‑sector teams—anywhere groups need visual clarity and creative synthesis. With her blend of strategic thinking, illustration, and grounded confidence, Kate helps teams get aligned, get energized, and get things done.
Mckendy Fils-Aimé
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Mckendy Fils-Aimé is a New England based Haitian-American poet, organizer, and teaching artist. He has received fellowships from Callaloo, Cave Canem, The Watering Hole, Periplus, and CantoMundo. Over the span of nearly two decades, Mckendy has represented New England in several regional and national poetry slams, performing on numerous semi-final and final stages. Mckendy’s work has been featured or is forthcoming in Best New Poets, Adroit, Muzzle, American Literary Review, Poem-a-Day, and elsewhere. His debut poetry collection, sipèstisyon, will be published by YesYes Books in 2026
Thomas Forbes
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Teeba is a bassist, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter hailing from Seacoast NH, USA.
Masterfully navigating diverse styles, and having collaborated with artists such as Eminem, DMX, Nas, Denaun Porter, Dave East, JID, DJ Drama, Ceelo Green, and more, Teeba's musical journey encompasses a rich tapestry of experiences, making him a sought-after collaborator in the industry.
Jeff Fuhrer
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Jeff works as a Nonresident Fellow for the Brookings Institution and a Foundation Fellow for the Eastern Bank Foundation. He has recently published The Myth That Made Us (MIT Press 2023), which received the Axiom Business Books Award silver medal in economics. The book explores the link between widely held but false narratives about poverty and race and poor outcomes for many in the U.S. economy.
Jeff previously served as director of research, executive vice president and senior policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He has been an associate economist of the Federal Open Market Committee, and has been active in economic research for more than three decades. He served as an associate editor for the American Economic Review. Married for 44 years Jeff and Mary have three grown children. Fuhrer earned an AB in economics with highest honors from Princeton University. He received his MA and PhD in economics from Harvard University.
NSquared Dance
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NSquared Dance is a nonprofit professional contemporary dance company based in Manchester, New Hampshire. Our mission is to expand access to high-quality contemporary dance through performance, education, and community engagement.
We produce original choreography and present professional performances that contribute to the cultural vitality of New Hampshire and the broader New England region. Founded in New York City, NSquared Dance has created dozens of original works and toured throughout the United States and internationally, including festival appearances in Sweden and major U.S. cities. From 2022 to 2024, the company participated in the New Hampshire Dance Collaborative Accelerator Program, partnering with organizations such as New Hampshire Humanities and the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce to strengthen organizational capacity and community impact.
NSquared Dance serves as the resident dance company at The Rex Theatre in Manchester, NH, as well as The Lowell Philharmonic Orchestra's 25-26 season.
Vendors
David Vargas
Chef/Owner — Vida Cantina
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David Vargas, Chef/Owner of Vida Cantina, brings his Mexican heritage and appreciation for local seasonal New England product to every plate at Vida Cantina in Portsmouth, NH. A James Beard nominated chef, (2023, 2022, 2020, 2019) David grew up in Southern CA and has spent a lifetime learning, living and sharing his Mexican heritage. David’s mother and father are both from the state of Jalisco; in CA together his parents owned a taqueria and were CA police officers. David grew up in the family’s taqueria; cooking family recipes with fresh local ingredients, while learning all he could about his Mexican culture. It was important to David’s parents that he appreciate his Mexican heritage. Appreciate it he does indeed at Vida Cantina, where with each dish he is “elevating our understanding of what Mexican food is or should be, while elevating our understanding of what New England cuisine is or should be” The Portsmouth Herald. According to The Boston Globe, David prepares “the best Mexican food north of the MA Border” and is “nearly evangelistic about using local ingredients.” In August 2019, Boston Magazine declared “David Vargas, a James Beard award-nominated chef is making some of the best Mexican food on the East Coast at Vida Cantina in Portsmouth, NH.” In 2023 he was nominated as a James Beard semifinalist for the national title of Outstanding Chef. Locally, regionally and nationally, the critics agree that Chef David Vargas s shining a bright light on Mexican cuisine, and his dishes at Vida Cantina are definitely “worth the drive” to Portsmouth, NH.
Matthew Anderson
Photographer & Videographer — Matthew Anderson Photography
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Hi, I’m Matthew Anderson, a professional photographer based in Portland, Maine. With nine years of experience behind the lens, I specialize in capturing authentic moments that tell a story. Whether it’s an event, a portrait session, or a breathtaking landscape, I strive to create images that leave a lasting impact.
Beyond photography, I’m passionate about the outdoors—hiking, exploring lakes and beaches, and embracing the beauty of nature. I also love cooking and the creativity that comes with it. At the heart of everything I do is a deep belief in equality, kindness, and the power of love.
Whitney Barney Maka
Photographer — We Are All Art
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Whitney Maka Barney is a New England based photographer whose work focuses on documenting the BIPOC community and the powerful stories within it. She also captures families, weddings, and portraits, highlighting the beauty and connection in every moment.
The Hawthorn
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Opening for events in June 2025, The Hawthorn is Portsmouth, New Hampshire’s unrivaled historic venue, evoking the vintage charm and industrial spirit of the city it calls home.
At The Hawthorn, we believe in the power of gathering, of coming together to celebrate love, honor life, and build community. We are unwavering in our commitment to inclusivity. Whether you’re here to marry your soulmate, commemorate a life well lived, or rally around a cause close to your heart, you are welcome here. We embrace and celebrate all people, of every race, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, and belief. This space was created not just to host events, but to hold space for connection, truth, and joy in all its forms. We are proud to be a house of celebration and belonging and we are deeply grateful for the beautiful diversity of the guests, couples, and communities who walk through our doors.
Thank You to Our 2026 Event Sponsors!
Allies
Partners
We are excited to announce our participation in this year’s NH Gives campaign, the 24-hour fundraiser hosted by the NH Center for Nonprofits. Save the date and help us reach our $5,000 goal!
Help us tell New Hampshire’s story.
