Staff
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Jessica E. Martinez
Executive Director
she/her/ella
Vea la biografía
A nationally-recognized movement leader, Ms. Martinez has been spearheading organizing, public policy and education initiatives at National COSH for over 10 years. Under Ms. Martinez’s direction, National COSH has built ground-breaking coalitions that engage workers to win critical improvements in workplaces and communities, with a particular focus on immigrants, people of color, women and youth. Additionally, she leads efforts around language justice ensuring accessibility and inclusivity of programs for diverse worker populations. She is trilingual, speaking English, Spanish, and Portuguese. A well-respected strategist in economic, racial and labor justice movements, Ms. Martinez has appeared and has been quoted in several mainstream media outlets. In 2014, Ms. Martinez was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez under President Obama’s Administration to the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, representing safety professionals. She holds a B.A. in International Development Studies from UCLA and a Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois, Chicago.
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Eva Barreda
Finance and Operations Manager
she/her/ella
Vea la biografía
Eva Barreda is National COSH’s Finance and Operations Manager. She supports the COSH network by overseeing financial management, budgeting, and operations.Eva brings over a decade of private sector experience in accounting, human resources and operational management. She has a proven track record of enhancing organizational efficiency, driving financial performance and cultivating a culture of stability.
Eva is deeply committed to excellence and continuous improvement and is drawn to National COSH’s mission of inspiring and empowering individuals to create a positive change in their communities. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Texas State University and is a proud Texas State bobcat.
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Jessica Samara Cruz Pineda
DATA ARCHITECT & COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE DEVELOPER
she/her/ella
Vea la biografía
She specialized in public transformation, leadership building, digital experience, change management, and operational efficiency. She has experience with international and bi-lateral labor contract negotiotions, non-profit administration, multicultural outreach, growth strategy for social businesses/projects, and digital organizing by working in non-profits like America Solidaria, TECHO and The National Hispanic Intitute where she developed and coordinated leadership projects for youth, young adults and executive professionals in México, Panamá, Finalnd and Estonia. She has served as leadership and career mentor for Latinx highschool, undergraduate, and graduate students as well as for young professionals with interest on research and data strategy for the past 10 years for Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Estado de México (ITESM CEM) where she has been awarded with the "Golden Ram Award for Leadership" in 2018.
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Brittney Jenkins
WORKER AND NETWORK ORGANIZER/ SOUTHERN REGION COORDINATOR
she/her/ella
Vea la biografía
Brittney is a Houston native whose passion is to empower Houstonians to fight for change to improve their community for all. Brittney brings direct community organizing experience in environmental justice and political campaigns across the South. In addition, she has experience in power building, community outreach, volunteer management, event coordination, and leading direct actions. As an organizer, she has been able to increase community involvement and participation in the legislative process. Her inspiration to organize comes from seeing communities living in environments that harm them and knowing the only way to see a change is to bring people together to fight for change.
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Susi Nord
Administrative Synergist
she/her/ella
Vea la biografía
She has worked for National COSH since 2016. She has a background in administration and marketing, focusing on non-profit administration for the past 15 years. She cares deeply for social and economic justice having applied her administrative skills to organizations working for gun violence prevention, peace and disarmament, labor, and workplace health and safety. She even served 2 terms in the NH House of Representatives earning her the title of 'honorable'.
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Katelyn Parady
Development & Capacity Builder
she/her/ella
Vea la biografía
She supports the COSH network's resource development and regional coordination, as well as encouraging health and safety organizing in the Interior West. Katelyn was born and raised in a mining and oil & gas community in Southwest Wyoming. She was previously the Associate Director of Justice at Work, a Boston-based law and organizing nonprofit that supports workers in low-paying jobs and their worker centers. Katelyn helped steward Justice at Work through a period of significant growth before moving back out West to Phoenix, Arizona, where she now lives and works.
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Marianela Acuña Arreaza
SPECIAL PROJECTS CONSULTANT
she/her/ella
Vea la biografía
She is a Venezuelan immigrant who had dedicated herself to social change in Houston for over a decade and started to work with National COSH when she moved to Atlanta before the COVID pandemic. With a strong background as a community educator, organizer, and social researcher, Marianela has always loved facilitating participatory decision-making, designing and implementing educational curriculum, and moving networks and groups into action. While studying sociology and arts in college, she organized student/worker solidarity groups at the University of Houston and volunteered with Fe y Justicia Worker Center, which she later served as executive director. With National COSH, she has coordinated and helped strengthen the Southern region’s worker safety and health partners and supported other educational programs, like monthly webinars and COSHCON. She built her experience through participatory advocacy research projects with Data Center, Food Chain Worker Alliance, and the National Domestic Worker Alliance national survey. She also has led civic engagement and voter protection campaigns with organizations such as Mi Familia Vota, Common Cause, and VoteRiders. Her work as Organizing Director at Young Invincibles taught her much about the role of advocacy and workforce development.
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Roger Kerson
COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT
he/his/él
Vea la biografía
A veteran labor communicator, he has coordinated media efforts for organizing, bargaining and legislative campaigns for the United Auto Workers, the United Mine Workers, the Metropolitan Council of Newspaper Unions, the American Postal Workers Union, the Transport Workers Union and others. Working with the National Wildlife Federation, the Natural Resources Defense Council and other environmental organizations, he has helped communicate the jobs-creating potential of advanced vehicle manufacturing, producing online videos which have drawn thousands of hits on YouTube. His essays, articles and reviews have appeared in the Chicago Reader, the Columbia Journalism Review, Eclectablog.com, In These Times, the Washington Monthly and other publications.
