Our Team

Rev. Lennox Yearwood Jr. ​is the President & Founder of Hip Hop Caucus, a minister, community activist, U.S. Air Force veteran, and one of the most influential people in Hip Hop political life.

Rev Yearwood entered the world of Hip Hop Politics as the Political and Grassroots Director for the Hip Hop Summit Action Network in 2003 and 2004, and as a key architect of P. Diddy’s “Vote Or Die!” campaign in a run up to the 2004 Presidential Election.

To carry the energy of the efforts beyond election day, he founded Hip Hop Caucus in September of 2004. The goal of Hip Hop Caucus is to build a powerful and sustainable organization for the culture’s role in the civic process and empowerment of communities impacted first and worst by injustice.

As a non-profit, non-partisan, multi-issue organization, Hip Hop Caucus focuses on addressing core issues impacting underserved and vulnerable communities, with programs and campaigns that support solution-driven community organizing led by today’s young leaders. Through a collaborative network, Hip Hop Caucus holds elected officials accountable, shapes policy, and builds more diverse and powerful movements to ignite positive change.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Rev Yearwood established the award winning Gulf Coast Renewal Campaign where he led a coalition of national and grassroots organizations to advocate for the rights of Katrina survivors. The coalition successfully stopped early rounds of illegal evictions of Katrina survivors from temporary housing, held police and government entities accountable for injustices committed during the emergency response efforts, supported the United Nations “right to return” policies for internally displaced persons, promoted comprehensive federal recovery legislation, and campaigned against increased violence resulting from lack of schools and jobs

in the years after Katrina.

In 2008, Rev Yearwood led Hip Hop Caucus’ launch of ​Respect My Vote!​, ​a campaign and coalition that works with Hip Hop artists to engage young people in the electoral process. Since its inception, numerous celebrity partners have joined the campaign during election cycles to reach their fan bases, including T.I., 2 Chainz, Amber Rose, Future, Keyshia Cole, Vic Mensa, Charlamagne tha God, Keke Palmer, Omar Epps, and more. The campaign has registered and mobilized tens of thousands of young voters to the polls and in 2008 set a world record of registering the most voters in one day (32,000 people across 16 U.S. cities). ​Respect My Vote! ​is the longest running hip hop oriented voter engagement program, having been active in United States elections for over 10 years.

As a national leader and pacemaker within the Green Movement, Rev Yearwood has been successfully bridging the gap between communities of color and environmental issue advocacy. With a diverse set of celebrity allies, he has raised awareness and action in communities that are often overlooked by traditional environmental campaigns and elected officials. His innovative stance has garnered the Hip Hop Caucus support from several environmental leaders including the Sunrise Movement, League of Conservation Voters, Earthjustice, and Zero Hour.

He is a leader in campaigns calling for divestment from fossil fuels causing climate change, increasing diversity in the climate movement, ensuring everyone has clean water and air, and international efforts to address climate change. He has also fought on the frontlines for vulnerable communities, including at the international climate negotiations in Paris and efforts to fight new oil pipeline developments in Maryland and at Standing Rock. He has received numerous awards for his work, including being dubbed as a ​New Green Hero by Rolling Stone ​and recognized by the Obama White House as a ​Champion of Change​.

In 2018, he helped launch ​Think 100%​, Hip Hop Caucus’ award-winning climate communications and activism platform. Comprised of podcast, film, music, and activism opportunities, the platform challenges environmental injustices and shares just solutions to the climate crisis, including a transition to 100% renewable energy for all. More at ​Think100Climate.com​.

Mark Magaña is the Founding President & CEO of GreenLatinos, a national network of Latino environmental and conservation advocates.

Mark is the first Latino to have served as senior staff at both the White House and in Congressional leadership – as Special Assistant to President Clinton for White House Legislative Affairs and Senior Policy Advisor to the House Democratic Caucus Vice-Chair Robert Menendez. Mark also served as a Presidentially appointed Congressional Liaison at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as Legislative Assistant to Congressional Representative Jim McDermott (D-WA), as a Federal Legislative Representative for the City of Los Angeles, and as a Research Assistant for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).

Originally from Los Angeles, Mark lived in Washington, DC for 30 years and just recently moved to Boulder, CO with his wife and young children, where he serves on the boards of the League of Conservation Voters, National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, Green 2.0, and the Children’s Environmental Health Network.  

Dana Johnson is the Chief Movement Advisor at Strategic Movement Collective. Her expertise sits at the intersection of strategy, operations and communications and has positively impacted the work of organizations committed to achieving diversity, equity and inclusion goals that positively impact entrepreneurs, consumers, health seekers, patients, students, and travelers. She has held senior-level operations roles at cause-driven nonprofits, such as the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington and YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, and client service positions at full-service communications firms including Beaman Incorporated and Golin.

Dana attended Roosevelt University in Chicago where she earned a Master of Science in Business Administration, with a General Management concentration, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a Marketing focus.

Niria Alicia is a Xicana community organizer, educator, storyteller and human rights advocate devoted to protecting the sacredness of Mother Earth and the dignity of historically oppressed peoples. She is the proud daughter of immigrant farmworker and forestry workers. She graduated Cum Laude from the University of Oregon with degrees in Environmental Studies, Latin American Studies and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. In 2019 her climate justice work earned her the national ‘Emerging Leader Award’ from GreenLatinos and the internationally recognized ‘EE 30 under 30’ award from the North American Association for Environmental Education. She is recognized by the United Nations as one of this year's Young Champions of the Earth, the highest recognition awarded to youth. She is a Human Rights masters candidate at Columbia University who believes there's nothing more beautiful than the glistening morning dew on the cornsilk of her ancestral corn.

Jeff Orlowski is the director, producer, and cinematographer of the award-winning films Chasing Coral and Chasing Ice. Chasing Coral received the US Documentary Audience Award at Sundance in 2017. Chasing Ice received the Documentary Cinematography award at Sundance in 2012 and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Both films were shortlisted for an Academy Award for Best Documentary, screened at Congress and the United Nations, and have garnered awards and accolades from film festivals around the globe. Jeff founded Exposure Labs, a production company dedicated to impact through film. His latest film, The Social Dilemma, had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. 

Mitali Chakraborty is an entrepreneur, event producer, community builder and business development professional who has worked with the world's largest brands, nonprofits and startups over the past 18 years. As an intrapreneur she has helped for profits, nonprofits and social good movements scale with her creativity and expertise in project management, stakeholder engagement, sponsorship sales & activation, operations, curation, research, strategy, brand management and event production. Whether it’s an exclusive dinner party for 10 executive leaders or a 300,000 person music festival - size doesn’t matter. Mitali is always focused on the individual experience. She’s also a community builder and diversity & inclusion advocate who has worked across the country with deep ties in Atlanta, NYC, Washington D.C. and the San Francisco Bay area.

In 2020 amidst the pandemic, Mitali founded Youth Jobs Connect, a technology based nonprofit. YJC’s mission is to create a world where historically excluded youth have early and broad exposure to a wide range of professions, have upskilling opportunities aligned with work of the future, and can access and obtain professions to support their ideal livelihood. YJC is building software, systems, and networks that listen to student perspectives; expand the availability of youth employment opportunities; and connect all youth to their first job, a coach, and a mentor.

Robert Raben, and the eighty or so people who have joined him in the unique public policy firm he created in 2002, works to drive public policy in a humane and sensible direction; to bring diversity and equity to the boardrooms and think tanks and corporations of America; to create a fair judiciary and to influence legislation that will broaden civil rights, reform our criminal justice system, and improve education for all our children.

Nearly 30 years of professional experience as an attorney, senior Hill staffer, and Assistant Attorney General have given Robert a nuanced understanding of both the legal subtleties and the political realities of the issues he handles. In addition, he brings an aggressively bipartisan approach to the firm, built during a highly respected legislative career that began on Representative Barney Frank’s staff and concluded with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde’s endorsement of his Justice Department appointment.

Robert served as counsel to Congressman Barney Frank, Democratic counsel for two Subcommittees of the House Judiciary Committee; first on the Constitution, then on the Courts and Intellectual Property.

In 1999, Robert’s reputation and effectiveness caught the attention of the White House, earning him an appointment as Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and, subsequently, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legislative Affairs. After a unanimous confirmation vote by a Republican-controlled Senate, Robert was charged with overseeing Attorney General Janet Reno’s legislative initiatives and handling extensive Congressional oversight of the department.

Since 2002 he has run The Raben Group. Robert serves on the Boards of The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the Unidos Action Fund, and former President Barack Obama’s My Brothers’ Keeper Alliance. Past Board Service includes the American Constitution Society, Alliance for Justice, and the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project

He is a serial NGO entrepreneur, having formed the Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary, the Friends of the Museum of the American Latino, Green 2.0, Committee for a Fair Judiciary, the March on Washington Film Festival, and the Pasos Graduation ceremony for Latino law students.

Robert is a native of Miami, and a graduate of the Wharton School and the New York University Law School.

Philippe is a multi Emmy-nominated TV host, author, speaker, and social entrepreneur. He has hosted numerous TV programs for Discovery, BBC, CNN, Travel Channel and more. Currently he is the host of the syndicated television show Xploration Awesome Planet, now in its sixth season.

He and his wife Ashlan are producers and narrators of a new Virtual Reality ocean exploration experience Drop in the Ocean that premiered at Tribeca Immersive in 2019.

Recently, Philippe was the co-star with his wife Ashlan of Travel Channel’s award-winning series, Caribbean Pirate Treasure for three seasons. They also co-hosted the documentary, Nuclear Sharks, for Discovery Channel’s Shark Week 2016, which premiered as the #1 rated show across all cable programming.  

He is an award-winning author of several books; Follow the Moon Home, Going Blue, and Make a Splash. The first installment of his new book series The Endangereds launched on HarperCollins in the fall of 2020. Philippe and his wife Ashlan are co-authoring Oceans for Dummies which comes out in Feb 2021. Philippe is a sought-after speaker having keynoted events for the United Nations, Harvard University, USC, the Society of Environmental Journalists and many more. In 2004 he founded EarthEcho International; a leading environmental education organization dedicated to inspiring youth to take action for a sustainable planet. With programs in North America, the Galapagos, Caribbean, Australia and Europe – EarthEcho directly engages hundreds of thousands of youth each year.

He serves on the National Council of the World Wildlife Fund where he is a partner in their Natural Security campaign. He also serves the boards of Green 2.0 and the Environmental Media Association and is a member of the Ocean Unite Network.

Philippe and his wife, fellow explorer and TV host Ashlan Gorse-Cousteau reside in Los Angeles, California with their daughter Vivienne and rescue dog Kenai.