Board & Staff

Tia Oso

Arizona Organizer

Tia Oso is a native to Arizona and a long time social justice advocate. Ms. Oso studied Human Communication at ASU and interned with the National Conference for Community and Justice where she organized the “Not in Our State” campaign and Black and African Diaspora dialogue series. Tia has served on boards and volunteered her time with several Valley organizations including NAACP and United Way. Recently, Ms. Oso has served on the MLK celebration committee for Community Celebrating Diversity and worked to support local independent artists. Ms. Oso is a firm believer in the ability of people to become change-makers in their community.

Gerald Lenoir

BAJI Executive Director

Gerald Lenoir has been a leader in progressive social movements for over 30 years.  He is currently the Director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration and a board member of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.  He is also a co-founder of the Priority Africa Network, which advocates for progressive U.S. policies toward Africa and organizes dialogues between African Americans and black immigrants

Lenoir is the former executive director of the Black Coalition on AIDS in San Francisco and co-founder/board chair of the HIV Education and Prevention Project of Alameda County in Oakland, Calif.  He was a member of the editorial board of War Times, an anti-Iraq War newspaper and a long time leader in the racial justice and antiapartheid movements in the United States.  He has also served as a strategic planning consultant for racial justice, immigrant rights, HIV/AIDS and health-related organizations, and public health departments.

Phil Hutchings

Senior Organizer

Phil Hutchings is the Bay Area organizer for the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. A veteran community organizer and educator, Phil has focused much of his work around community empowerment and anti-racist activities.  He has launched various attempts to build coalitions and alliances among different communities of color. Phil has also worked over 30 years in the local and national nonprofit community as a consultant in organizational development and neighborhood issues. He is a co-founder of both the Institute for Multi-Racial Justice and Just Cause Oakland.

Aja Minor

BAJI Program Associate

Aja Minor is the BAJI Program Associate. She graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a BA in International Studies. She then earned her MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, England with a degree in Migration and Diaspora Studies. Aja has worked with the Ella Baker Center, the Women of Color Resource Center, Anti-Slavery International, MISSSEY, Youth in Focus and Global Exchange.  Aja is passionate about the work of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, because, as an African American who has lived and studies abroad, she has gained, first hand, insight into experiences of migration, treatment of black people globally, as well as the lack of contact and information between and about African Diaspora populations.

Opal Tometi

National Organizer

Opal Tometi is the National Organizer and Communications Director for the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), where she helps to educate and advocate for immigrant rights and racial justice with African-Americans, Afro-Latinos, African and Caribbean immigrant communities.

As an activist born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, she has been involved in the migrant rights movement for several years. Most recently, Opal has been movement building by assisting with strategic communications and grassroots organizing with the Puente Movement, the Alto Arizona campaign and with other migrant justice groups in Arizona. Opal is a board member of the Arizona Center for African American Resources (AzCAAR) and an advocate to end violence against women. She holds a Masters of Arts degree in Communication Studies with an emphasis in Rhetoric and Advocacy,