AALF Advisory Board

Dr. Tonya Strozier is an educator, author, and visionary leader committed to advancing excellence and equity in education. She is the Founder and CEO of Black and Brown Girl Wellness and the founder of Ubuntu Academies, a private K-5 school, and Ubuntu Preschool, where she leads with a focus on whole child development, cultural identity, and academic achievement.

Dr. Strozier serves as Commissioner for the Governor’s Office of African American Affairs, where she is the Education Pillar Chair, and is the current Chair of the African American Legacy Fund, advocating for policies and practices that uplift the Black community. Her professional experience includes serving as the former Director of African American Student Services in the Tucson Unified School District, an elementary school principal, a reading specialist, and a certified superintendent.

Minnette “Minnie” Powell is a 28-year United States Air Force veteran recognized for her dedicated service and numerous military honors. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Human Resources Management, both with honors.

Actively engaged in the Tucson community, Minnette lends her vocal talents as a performer of the National Anthem and the Black National Anthem (“Lift Every Voice”) at a diverse array of events, including ceremonies for the Tucson Police Department, the Southern Arizona Law Enforcement Training Center, the Erik Hite Foundation events, the Tucson Roadrunners hockey games, the City of Tucson the MLK Jr. Day celebrations, the Juneteenth events, and the TUSD Legacy of Excellence Galas. She also serves as a vocalist at Rising Star Baptist Church in Tucson.

Additionally, Minnette serves as the Financial Secretary and on various committees of the Tucson Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc

Jennifer O’Neill, LPC holds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Marketing and a graduate degree in Community Counseling. As a Trauma Psychotherapist of 14 years, she has worked in private group practice, community organizations and correctional facilities. She has worked supporting active-duty and retired military personnel as well as survivors of sexual assault.

Jennifer has trained crisis advocates, attorneys, community organizations, and correctional officers on the impact of sexual and racial trauma, domestic violence, and sex trafficking. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Existential, Humanistic, and Transpersonal Psychology. Jennifer serves as the Board President of YWCA Tucson and is an advisory board member for the Women’s Business Center and a former board member of the Association of Black Psychologists Student Circle.

Beyond her clinical and leadership work, Jennifer is an international retreat facilitator, conference coordinator, and speaker who creates spaces for healing, connection, and transformation. She is also the owner and curator of Beautiful Little Things LLC, a lifestyle venture healing-inspired boutique created to help women reconnect with their identity, confidence, and personal power through intentional fashion.

Jennifer is an avid reader and enjoys writing short stories.

As a Tucson native, Shannon brings a wealth of leadership experience and a homegrown knowledge of our community. Shannon has over 15 years of experience in the non-profit sector, including 9 years in a leadership role.

When he is not at Boy Scouts of America, Shannon enjoys cycling, home improvement projects, spending time with family, and he definitely knows his way around the kitchen!

In June 2023, Yevette Sykes was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Arizona Diaper Bank (AZDP), dba Diaper Bank of Southern Arizona, the nation’s first diaper bank and a statewide leader in addressing diaper insecurity and community dignity. As AZDP’s CEO, she provides strategic leadership for an organization that ensures access to essential products for thousands of children, families, seniors, and individuals with disabilities throughout Arizona. Under her leadership, Arizona Diaper Bank has strengthened community partnerships, expanded distribution efforts, and advanced advocacy to elevate information on diaper and period product poverty as critical public health and workforce issues. Yevette plays a key role in guiding the organization’s long-term vision, including program growth, operational sustainability, and fundraising strategy. She works directly with AZDP’s Board of Directors, community partners, and policymakers to increase awareness and mobilize resources to support family well-being and economic stability throughout the state. 

A Langston University graduate and Kansas City native, Yevette Sykes has dedicated her post-university life to helping children and families learn, grow, and thrive. With nearly 30 years in the Tucson region, Yevette’s distinguished career includes youth development with the YMCA of Southern Arizona and as a City of Tucson and Pima County recreation worker; establishing family stability solutions through Behavioral Health Technician roles and as a case worker for a Juvenile Outpatient Program. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Yevette demonstrated hands-on leadership and compassion by organizing efforts to support individuals isolated at home and reinforcing her belief that access to basic necessities and human connection are foundational to healthy communities. 

Beyond her professional role, Yevette is an active leader in the Tucson community, serving organizations close to her heart: Tucson Black Women’s Task Force, Old Pueblo Social Society, Juneteenth Committee, and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee. She is an accomplished chef and licensed caterer. 

Halisi is a native of Arizona and takes pleasure in the fact that he has lived in northern arizona, Phoenix (and surrounding ares), and currently resides in southern Arizona. He enjoys meeting new people and exploring new ideas. Halisi attended a few years of undergrad school on the east coast in Virginia and Vermont before graduating with his bachelors from Northern Arizona University. In 2015, he graduated with his law degree.

Post graduation he engaged in policy writing helping employers navigate the employment laws across the United States. Any given weekend, you can find Halisi enjoying time with his family.

For his birthday, Halisi treats himself to a local Tucson resort as a way to experience different sites in Tucson. One thing he learned from living in multiple places, when you leave, you don’t want to feel like you didn’t experience the area. He also enjoys going snowboarding even if it is only once during the season.

Originally from Dallas, Xavier Walker is a true Texan. In his high school years, Xavier and his family relocated to Phoenix, Arizona and he fell in love with the state!

Xavier bleeds red and blue and is a proud Wildcat for life! During his time at the University of Arizona, he turned his passion for helping less fortunate kids into a full time gig as he began his career at the YMCA of Southern Arizona. While t the Y, he established the Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Leaders youth leadership program which is still operational around the country to this day. For nearly a decade, Xavier worked in executive management for Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH) who raises over 8,000 orphaned and disadvantaged children across Latin America and the Caribbean. Xavier oversaw a staff team and created strategy to raise $9,000,000 annually. NPH’s largest service area is Haiti. Xavier has extensive experience raising millions of dollars for marginalized children, and patients being treated at the St. Damien Pediatric Hospital, in Haiti.

Xavier is the proud Founder and President of X Marks the Spot Consulting (XMSC). XMSC works everyday to ensure their clients achieve their strategic, organizational and financial generation goals. This concierge consulting firm is truly world-class and offers services through lens of professionalism, excellence, and efficiency.

Xavier lives to give and has served numerous nonprofit organizations as a board member or programmatic volunteer. These organizations include, but are not limited to: American Cancer Society (youngest Board Member in History), Diaper Bank of Arizona, Educational Enrichment Foundation, Helping Hands for Single Moms, St. Vincent DePaul, Susan G. Komen Arizona, Tucson Urban League and Tucson Unified School
District- Legacy of Excellence.

Xavier is pleased to be the Executive Director of the Walker Family Fund. This named fund distributes charitable contributions to non-profit organizations that better the quality of life for children and other marginalized populations across the United States and around the World.

Xavier is one of 150 worldwide graduates of the NAACP Fellowship program and is active in his local branch. Additionally, Xavier currently serves on the following boards: Arizona Anti- Trafficking Network, Arizona Community Foundation- Black Philanthropy Initiative, Community Foundation of Southern Arizona- African American Legacy Fund, and Coalition of Blacks Against Cancer.

Xavier is a guest lecturer at the University of California, Polytechnic Campus and loves spending time with future leaders. Both professionally and in a volunteer capacity, Xavier has raised over $80,000,000 for worthy nonprofits both internationally and right here in our community.

Some of his proudest achievements include: founding and chairing the Annual St. Vincent de Paul Juneteenth Celebration; being a member of the Tucson MLK street naming project; Volunteering with the African American Museum of Southern Arizona to bring Ruby Bridges to Arizona, and sharing a stage with her; & co-chairing the 2023 Tucson Unified School District Bond committee, prop 496, which provided $480 Million dollars to the district- the largest Bond in Arizona State History.

Cydne Bolton has called Tucson home for over 40 years.  She is currently a Learning Center Coordinator for Literacy Connects, a non-profit organization with the mission of connecting people of all ages to a world of opportunities through literacy and creative expression.

Cydne considers herself to be a lifelong learner and educator. Her positions in elementary education, logistics, juvenile corrections, and adult basic education have all focused on teaching and training.  She is a graduate from the Tacheria Interfaith School of Spiritual Direction and the African American Leadership Institute of Southern Arizona.

Ms. Bolton also serves as Board Secretary for The Learning Community for Loss, Grief and Transition. She is the proud auntie of several nieces and nephews, some biological and some chosen.

John-Peter is the Director of Partner Engagement at Social Venture Partners Tucson and has over 40 years of non-profit experience, much of this time has been in positions of leadership.  He has both staff and board member experience with non-profits and has also help found two non-profits which are still thriving today.

John-Peter has lived in Tucson for 21 years and calls Tucson home. He gained his work experience and knowledge from living in Indianapolis, IN, New York City, San Francisco twice and Austin, TX before moving to Tucson.  He has a BFA in Fashion and Art from Pratt Institute and M.A. in Communication Studies from Texas State University.

Anthony Young has been the Executive Director at Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc., based in Tucson, Arizona, since 2007. He attended law school at the University of Nebraska College Law. Anthony has worked as a legal aid attorney since 1991, managing legal aid offices in Nebraska and Arizona. Anthony served as President of the NAACP Yuma Arizona Chapter and President of the Board of Directors for Child and Family Resources in Tucson. He currently serves as a member of the Pima County Library Foundation, African American Project Directors Association, and the Arizona Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice, and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association. Anthony was the recipient of the 2007 State Bar of Arizona, Sharon A. Fullmer Legal Aid Attorney of the Year Award. Anthony is married with two adult children.

Amy Amoroso
aamoroso@cfsaz.org
(she/her/ella)

Amy Amoroso’s unique experience includes working with and for Native American tribes in natural and cultural resource conservation, teaching technical and environmental writing, and, most recently, as Development Director for a bi-national conservation nonprofit based in Tucson. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Indigenous Studies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, a self-designed interdisciplinary major covering history, culture, and politics, and the contemporary experience of indigenous peoples, and a Master of Science in Environmental Studies with a focus on communications from Antioch University.

Amy’s experience includes serving on nonprofit boards, facilitating and bi-national and multicultural convenings, managing a tribally funded regional grants program, managing a tribal language reintroduction program, and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement programs and projects.

As Senior Community Impact Manager for CFSA, she supports the African American Legacy Fund, the LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund, and the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Fund, along with supporting the evolving needs of our vibrant community as a member of the community impact team.

When not working, Amy can be found on stage with improv teams, in a coffee shop writing poetry, hiking in Arizona’s Sky Islands, or traveling the world with her husband, John, and son, Marco.