What We Do

We help families advocate for themselves and their children in the juvenile justice system.
Mentoring & Cultural Programming

We want young people to know that they are part of a caring community and come from a rich cultural heritage. That’s why we provide an array of programming in New Orleans’ juvenile jail and prison.

Family Advocacy in Juvenile Court

Court can be intimidating and confusing, so we train Parent Navigators to explain the legal process and help families advocate for themselves and their children.

Parent Leadership & Research

Ubuntu holds regular parent leadership classes and engages families in participatory action research to identify and address issues in the juvenile justice system.

LATEST NEWS

About Ubuntu Village

Mission

Ubuntu Village fights for social, economic, and transformational justice for children and communities. We work primarily with families of youth who are involved in the juvenile justice system. We help families advocate for their rights and those of their children by educating them and helping them navigate the juvenile system. At Ubuntu, we believe that those directly affected by incarceration should be at the forefront of efforts to reform the system. We work with parents and young people to conduct participatory action research, analyze inequities in the juvenile justice system, and advocate for changes that would make the system more humane, antiracist, rehabilitative, and just. In all our programming, we prioritize providing immediate economic opportunities to participants and families as well as developing strategies for long-term economic sustainability.

Vision

“Ubuntu” is a South African word that means “I am because we are.” In other words, we become our fullest selves through our investment in our communities, our families, and our children. At Ubuntu, we believe that we need to work together as a community to support families and children, create economically sustainable solutions, promote education, innovation, and creativity, and foster transformational justice. We ground our approach in unity, self-determination, collective work, responsibility, purpose, and creativity.

Ubuntu is a village that connects young people and families to resources as well as a space to reflect and to grow. Together, we work toward imagining and creating a world in which all children are empowered to pursue their goals and all families have the economic resources to support them. Through tackling issues like juvenile justice, mass incarceration, racism, unemployment, trauma, joblessness, individualism, and divisiveness, we work toward more just and equitable solutions that enable people confronted with multiple oppressions to overcome them in unity.

I am because we are

Our Team

It takes a village!

Staff


Ernest Johnson
Ernest Johnson
Director
Ernest is co-founder of Ubuntu Village. He has a passion and energy for advocacy and volunteerism that spans a period of 10 years. He has traveled around the country speaking on navigating the criminal justice system, family engagement, and leadership building. He is a recipient of the National Juvenile Justice Beth Arnovists Gutsy Advocate for Youth award.
Jesse Chanin
Jesse Chanin
Education Coordinator
Jesse is an experienced educator, researcher, facilitator, and champion for young people. She has a Master’s degree in Education and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Sociology. Currently, she works with the Coalition for Compassionate Schools at Tulane University, where she is responsible for facilitating youth participatory action research. Jesse is a co-founder of Ubuntu Village NOLA.
Louis Ward
Louis Ward
Community Organizer
Louis is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School. He has skills in landscaping and welding. He mentors with the Real Talk program which focuses on alternatives for people impacted by mass incarceration.
Florence Fleischer Djoleto
Florence Fleischer Djoleto
Development DIrector
Florence is an architect and urban planner with an interest in social justice issues. She is specifically interested in the intersections of health, the built environment, and financial security. She is currently pursuing a PhD. in urban studies at UNO.
Terry Nogess
Terry Nogess
Business Manager
Terry has over 10 years of professional accounting consulting experience using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, and approaches to problems. He is highly self-motivated, has excellent analytical skills, effective organizational and time management skills, and has the ability to communicate technical concepts to technical and non-technical stakeholders. Terry holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.
Javier Jordan
Javier Jordan
Parent Navigator
Javier, a resident of New Orleans, has accumulated over five years of professional experience in the field of child advocacy, demonstrating a profound commitment to championing the rights of marginalized individuals. She is engaged in the field of Social Work to offer counseling assistance to adolescents confronted with persistent poverty. Currently, Javier fulfills the role of a Parent Navigator in the juvenile courts for Ubuntu Village NOLA.

Board of Directors


Vedisia (Dee Dee) Green
Vedisia (Dee Dee) Green
Dee Dee Green is the Area Program Director for AFSC in New Orleans. She has worked both regionally (South) and nationally as a social justice advocate. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Tammy Carter
Tammy Carter
Tammy is a New Orleans native and graduated from UNO with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Sociology. She has taught for the LSU Ag Center and Southern University Ag Center​and is currently the Executive Assistant for James Carter & Associates, LLC.
Marvin Arnold
Marvin Arnold
Still a kid at heart, Marvin believes investing in youth is the key to our future.
Laura Romanosky
Laura Romanosky
Laura Romanosky is the Director of Operations at New Pathways New Orleans. She’s worked at KIPP as a Business Operations Manager and Director of Student Support. Laura taught special education for 5 years in Baltimore and holds a MPA from NYU; a MAT; and a Bachelor’s from University of Maryland.
Michael Grey
Michael Grey
Michael Grey is an Assistant District Attorney with the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office. He works in the Civil Rights Division focusing on Law Enforcement Transparency and Accountability. Previously, Michael worked as a staff attorney at Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights – New Orleans’ juvenile public defender office.
Betty Dimarco
Betty Dimarco
Betty Dimarco retired in 2014 after 33 years, as a Judicial Administrative Assistant and Human Resource manager, in U.S. District Court in New Orleans. Betty has been promoting and participating in Restorative Practices since 2000.
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson
Robbie is the former president and creative director of Coleman Robertson, Inc. He has consequently spent three decades as an education and human development research analyst. He introduced cold-drip coffee essence to the American retail market (1987) and later developed the coffee and chicory soft drink, Zydecola (1995).