Executive Committee Officers
President – Evelyn Evans
Evelyn is president emerita of the Federation of Social Workers; an IUE-CWA local, and currently holds the position of Treasurer. She is a Trustee for the Rochester Chapter of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and a member of the Rochester Finger Lakes Chapter of Pride At Work.
Vice President - Luis Torres
Since becoming a Metro Justice member in 2009, Luis has had the fortune to volunteer with campaigns, help with the running of the organization, learning from the old school volunteers, and getting blown away by the new members. He has also been lucky to get the opportunity to work with those making a living in farmwork, hotels, and healthcare. He was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. One way he is growing the movement is by having four kids... Maya, Mateo, Noah and Phoebe.
Treasurer – Marcus Dunn
Marcus joined Metro Justice over four years ago and joined the finance committee in 2017. He filled in as acting Treasurer at the end of 2018, was elected Treasurer in January 2019, and will complete his second term as Treasurer at the end of January 2020. In addition to his duties at Metro Justice, Marcus sits on several boards and serves on the City/County Commission on Race and Structural Equity. Marcus was motivated to dedicate his time, talent, and treasure to the community as he saw the way the 2016 Presidential election developed and only accelerated his activities after graduating from the United Way’s African American Leadership Program in 2017. A Las Vegas native, he moved to Rochester to earn a Master of Science from the Simon School of Business in 2011 and returned to Rochester permanently in 2012.
Secretary – Sophia Allie Martinez
Sophia is a volunteer/activist in her community. She has been a member of the Citywide Tenant Union helping tenants organize and fight bad living conditions. She has further been active in the Rochester for Energy Democracy campaign to fight for a public utility that is democratically controlled by its rate-payers with an emphasis on renewable green energy transition. In her professional life she is a paralegal for Empire Justice Center in the Immigration Unit.
At Large Council Members
Alice Carli
Alice Carli learned about community organizing as an ACORN volunteer in the early 1980s, before moving to Rochester to study musicology at Eastman. She has worked for the past 25 years as the scores conservator at Sibley Music Library. In November of 2016 she attended a meeting of Campaign for NY Health - Rochester at Metro Justice, and her old interest in community activism was revived and is now going strong.
Anthony Plonczynski-Figueroa
Anthony is the Regional Political Organizer for the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT). For the last twenty years, Anthony Plonczynski-Figueroa has committed himself to work on behalf of first-generation, low-income, minority families to ensure equal opportunity for all. Anthony currently serves as Chair of the Latino Education Task Force and has worked on over 50 campaigns for City Council, County Legislature, School Board, Mayor, and NYS Assembly and Senate with a significant focus on electing Latino and Latina candidates.
Callie Rabe
Darien Lamen
Darien became active in Metro Justice shortly after moving to Rochester in 2017. He currently works in community media and is the founder of the local news outlet Reclaiming the Narrative. Darien first became involved in grassroots organizing during the anti-fracking movement of the 2000s. He was very active in the Fight for $15 and, as an AFT-W member, also helped organize contingent university faculty. In a former career, Darien was a scholar of Latin America, with an interest in Freirean pedagogy and Brazilian liberation theology that survives his time in academia.
Julie Miller
Julie has been a social worker at a local hospital for more than 30 years. She has worked in the areas of maternal health and infectious disease with pregnant women and people living with HIV/AIDS in order to achieve the best outcomes despite our deeply imperfect health care (it's not even a system) market. In 2003 with two other social workers she organized regular voting registration drives within the hospital that continued through the 2018 midterms. She is part of the local Campaign for New York Health which works to educate and inform New Yorkers about the New York Health Act and the need for universal health care. She is also on the board of the Friends of the Brighton Farmers Market.
Larry Knox
Larry Knox is currently a Political and Communications coordinator for 1199SEIU. He was the Regional Campaign coordinator for the Barack Obama campaign in 2008, the WNY staffer for Organizing for America after the election and served briefly as a White House Associate in the Office of Presidential Personnel. Larry is a member of the RMAPI Policy committee and formerly served on the board of Citizen Action. Married with four daughters, he got his start in politics volunteering in high school for his State Senator.