2024 Impact Award Winners – Round 2

Christian Chambers is a dynamic advocate for housing equity and inclusivity. His 7+ years of investment in humanizing local mental health and housing support have transformed shelter access and security for historically marginalized LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities. As the former Coordinated Entry Program Manager for Homeward Bound, he ensured fair housing placements, doubling the rate of people of color slated for housing during this time. As the current Safe Shelter Director, Christian grounded his service and leadership in values of unity, compassion, and respect. His vision? Unity, not uniformity; solidarity despite difference. His collaborative spirit shines through his work with initiatives like the O.U.R. Asheville Academy, Haywood Street Respite, and Blue Ridge Pride.

As a part-time musician, part-time psychotherapist, and full-time delight of a human, Elizabeth McCorvey championed diversity, equity, and inclusion to shift workplace cultures and practices, helping to create a more connected community that prioritizes authentic relationships and relational safety. Elizabeth’s intersectional lived experience as a young, Black, queer person, social worker, and mental health practitioner catalyzed her culturally competent care advocacy. Her therapeutic practice and community education centered people impacted by systems of oppression and other marginalizing factors. From teaching equine-assisted psychotherapy as a faculty member at the HERD Institute to serving on the Asheville Symphony board to guiding local reparations efforts, Elizabeth enriched the local music and social justice scenes by bringing her heart and voice to the mix.

Growing up amidst violence and loss, Eunique Waters understood the dehumanizing effects of systemic oppression and injustice early on. The deaths of his uncle at age eight and his brother at thirteen profoundly influenced his personal and professional development. Eunique has dedicated himself to living an elevated life rooted in community support, resilience, and healing. His work with youth, peers, and elders involved house checks, school visits, and group talks, consistently showing up to build trust and promote progress. He has partnered with various organizations, including the P.E.A.C.E. Team (Providing Education & Advocacy through Community Engagement), a collaboration between My Daddy Taught Me That, The SPARC Foundation, and YTL. Eunique believes in the transformative power of choice, a principle that continues to anchor his community service and guide his path forward.

Isabella Clark is a Black queer femme from rural North Carolina who found their passion in food justice, a calling that combines their interests in sustainable food systems, storytelling, and community resilience. After a transformative apprenticeship with Bountiful Cities, Isabella founded the Uplift Access Garden Project in January 2024 in collaboration with Aflorar Herb Collective, Melanin Rising Apothecary, Asheville Buncombe County Community Garden Network, Coach Diversity Institute, CoThinkk, Asheville Community Care Collective, and Yesod Farm. This initiative plans to address systemic racial inequality in local food systems by cultivating an abundant, accessible, sustainable community farm and apothecary managed by Black and Brown agrarians and herbalists. Through their efforts, Isabella reconnected people of color to the land, promoted food sovereignty, and fostered healing and resilience in their communities.

Black, queer, pagan entrepreneur Jazmin Whitmore transformed her experiences of mental illness, houselessness, poverty, and religious abuse into a mission of radical inclusivity and empowerment. Having faced systemic injustices in childhood, Jazmin dedicated her adult life to unlearning harmful ideologies and challenging societal norms to promote greater compassion and accessibility. She founded More To Love, Plus-Size Consignment to provide affordable, inclusive fashion while supporting the community. Her shop, a safe space for all, supported various local organizations, including AVL Clothing Swap, Homeward Bound, and the Asheville Period Project. Recognized as Western Women’s Business Center’s 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year, Jazmin continues to inspire through her advocacy and leadership.

North Carolina native Karen Roberts is a passionate NC Certified Peer Support Specialist, Community Health Worker, Recovery Coach, and Trauma and Resiliency Educator who has called Asheville home for the past decade. Drawing on her own experiences as a Black woman in recovery, she assisted individuals and families dealing with culturally specific traumas. Through UMOJA’s HOPE 4 the Future program, she works with students of diverse identities, focusing on LGBTQIA+ inclusion, suicide prevention, and mental health. As a Community Paramedic with the Post Overdose Response Team, Karen helped individuals struggling with substance use disorders and houselessness. She is deeply involved with numerous community organizations, connecting people to essential resources and promoting cultural pride every step of the way. Karen recently joined UNETE, My Daddy Taught Me That, and HOPE on a Black and Brown youth-led “day of healing” hosted at Medicine Wheel Way and served with the Buncombe County Equity & Human Rights Office advisory workgroup.

Celebrating nearly 20 years in recovery, stereotype-smasher Lexie Wilkins, founder and Executive Director of Love and Respect, transformed his life and dedicated his career to helping others do the same. Early drug use eventually led to prison but also sparked purpose, ultimately leading to the establishment of  North Carolina’s first Black-led, peer-run Recovery Community Center. It’s in this space of BIPOC community representation and advocacy that Lexie has thrived. Lexie was also instrumental in developing the Sunrise Community for Recovery and Wellness, serving as the Director of Operations before joining Family Preservation Services, where he still serves on the Community Support Team. Known for his empathy and collaborative spirit, Lexie embodies the principles of Love and Respect, fostering strong community partnerships and uplifting vulnerable populations.

Since becoming The Firefly Gathering Executive and Creative Director in 2019, Marissa Percoco has strived to transform the space into the first earthskills gathering in the country centering People of the Global Majority (PGM)/BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ folks. Her experiences of exclusion as a queer, cisgender woman in the predominantly white, male-dominated earthskills community inspired her to create a more inclusive environment. She implemented racial equity training, established affinity group support systems, and built relationships with the Big Witch Indian Wisdom Initiative and Cherokee representatives to move mindsets. Under her leadership, Firefly celebrated a significant increase in non-white and queer participants, staff, and leadership. Marissa’s willingness to lean in and go deep has fostered a community that champions diversity, cultivates resilience, and is deeply rooted in anti-oppression.

Visionary Quetzal Jordan is a multifaceted, queer professional of color committed to using their unique blend of trade expertise, business acumen, and community engagement to fuel ongoing learning and community upliftment. As the founder of Skills Academy for Women (SAW), Quetzal created a safe and inclusive environment where women, trans, and nonbinary individuals learn trade skills for personal and professional development. Their dedication to dismantling barriers in trades has empowered over 300 women through carpentry workshops at Wild Abundance. Their service includes collaborations with multiple change drivers, including PODER Emma, Hood Huggers, Women in Trades AVL, and Black Wall Street AVL. Quetzal continues to shape the trajectory of trade industries while inspiring others to build stronger selves and better futures.

Guyanese American artist Tarah Singh is a multifaceted, multicultural creative powerhouse who leverages diverse mediums to shift Western narratives of BIPOC communities from stories of subjugation to legends of liberation. She has worked extensively with local BIPOC women and youth to challenge white supremacy and racism through creative expression. Tarah co-founded Origins MakerSpace and founded Imprint Artists Collective to support artistic growth and financial autonomy. Her impact includes collaborations with LEAF Global Arts, Artovida, Youth Artists Empowered, and Word on the Street. By sharing her social change message and methods, she has given voice to the issues and struggles while also envisioning a future where humanity is the ultimate equalizer.