Our Team
Auriel cole (sHe/Her)
Organizing and Policy Fellow
Auriel Cole is a 32 year old Black, bold and broad-minded activist. She has a passion for all things artistic - from arts and crafts to appreciating a good book. Auriel was introduced to Action in 2020 as a canvasser during the Mayoral Election, where she knocked thousands of doors. She has worked with Action on many other campaigns such as the West End Plan, Close the Workhouse, and Defund. Re-envision. Transform. In 2022, Auriel joined the Action team as the Administrative Assistant, where she manages the schedules of the Executive and Deputy Director. When she’s not keeping our leaders organized, she’s cooking up a new recipe or beating her friends at her favorite card game.
Katherine Fenerson (she/her)
Organizer, Civic Engagement
Katherine Fenerson (she/her) is a St. Louis-based organizer and a graduate of BOSS. After completing BOSS in 2019, Katherine joined the Action St. Louis team and has held many roles at the organization. Katherine has served as an Electoral Justice Organizer, supporting with Black voter outreach and turnout, and helped usher in transformative policies like Medicaid Expansion. Katherine was also the lead organizer for Action’s #WeCount314 campaign, which sought to increase Black participation in the 2020 Census. In her current role as the Civic Engagement Organizer, Katherine leads Action’s Environmental Justice work and organizes tenants in the Peabody Housing Complex.
Marcel Hagens (They/Them)
Policy Coordinator
Marcel Hagens (they/them) is a 31-Year-Old, non-binary, St Louisian and CSPAN kid, who loves all things music, cartoons, and maximizing their gains! Marcel joins Action St Louis as the Policy Coordinator. In their role, Marcel will be responsible for legislative tracking, collaborating with the organizers to keep them abreast of changes on a policy level, and working with Action’s partners to further the mission of building Black political power in St. Louis. Marcel believes that freedom comes when Black people are free from pressures, scrutiny, and fear and are able to just be.
Kayla Reed (she/her)
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Kayla Reed (she/her) is a Black, queer feminist organizer and strategist from St. Louis, Missouri. Kayla is the co-founder and Executive Director of Action St. Louis, a grassroots racial justice organization founded after the 2014 Ferguson Uprising that works to build Black political power. In her role, she has led campaigns that have resulted in the election of progressive Black candidates throughout the St. Louis region and led issue-based campaigns around housing, voting rights and the criminal legal system. Kayla is also a lead strategist in the Movement for Black Lives, where she co-founded the Electoral Justice Project (EJP), a national campaign of the Movement for Black Lives, that seeks to challenge electoral injustice, expand and mobilize the Black electorate and strengthen the capacity of Black-led organizations building power across the U.S.
Jada Peten (They/She)
Organizer, Electoral Justice
Jada Peten (They/She) is a Black, Queer, Marxist organizer from the South who was sucked into STL, but has grown to love it as their first real home away from home. Jada is particularly interested in using Black Marxist theory to think through all the ways we can disrupt racial capitalism and reimagine what it means to build community.
They first joined the Action team in 2020 as a BOSS fellow, and now as the Electoral Justice Organizer. In their role, Jada leads our electoral justice work, which includes building Black political power through policy and advocacy work on a range of issues that affect Black communities, as well as mobilizing voters.
Kennard Williams (he/him)
Organizing Manager
Kennard Williams (he/him) is the Organizing Manager at Action St. Louis. Born and raised in St. Louis, his organizing background has spanned issue-based campaigns focused on closing the workhouse, anti-surveillance, and electoral and housing justice.
Kennard joined the Action team in Fall 2020 as the Lead Organizer. His work focuses primarily on training and developing organizers, supporting Action’s campaigns, and building out a tenant-led movement in partnership with the STL Housing Defense Collective.
Our Board
Rev. Michelle Higgins, Co-founder & Chair
Diana Hill-Mitchell
Kathryn Redmond
Blake Strode
