Who we are
Marsheda Ewulomi
Policy & Advocacy Strategist
​Marsheda Patrice Olubunmi Ewulomi, Esq. is a policy attorney and strategist with a
history of authentically showing up in spaces while fighting seemingly impossible fights.
Her advocacy interests focus on mitigating the harm that carceral systems have on
black families. She has done this work as one of the main negotiators and strategists in
passing legislation on community safety in Chicago, Illinois. She has worked to expand
access to higher education in prisons in Illinois. Her passion lies in supporting systemic change that positively impacts Black women, girls, and Black families overall. She graduated with Distinction from the University of Michigan in 2012 with a BA in English and African and African American Studies and received her JD Cum Laude from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. Prior to law school, Marsheda Patrice, Esq. taught secondary English in Washington, D.C., as a Teach for America Corps member and later worked as an Academic and Behavioral Interventionist at Mid-Michigan Leadership Academy in Lansing, Michigan (the middle school she once attended and
graduated from).
Before joining IBAI, she served as the Michigan State Organizing Director for NextGen America, an organization focused on empowering young people to engage in the political process.
Patrice James
Founding Director
Patrice has spent her career in service of and with a deep love and respect for Black people and communities.
Prior to joining IBAI, she was Director of Community Justice at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, a founding attorney of Still She Rises, Tulsa, where she provided holistic legal representation primarily to low-income women of color, engaged in community building, and advocated for shifting the narrative of women involved in the criminal justice system “from broken women to broken systems”, and a public defender at the Bronx Defenders Office. Patrice is also the co-founder and board member of the Black Public Defender Association.
Adam Slade
Director of State Fiscal Policy & Governance
Adam Slade is a committed policy advocate and researcher whose professional purpose aims to address historic harm and disinvestment facing black communities across the country. Adam has over 15 years of experience working for public, private and nonprofit organizations that serve the public, and has worked with and for government organizations to connect resident needs to public decision making to achieve equitable outcomes. He specializes in racial equity policy development, public finance and budgeting, process improvement for government, organization change transformation, policy advocacy and research.
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Outside of IBAI, Adam serves as the President at the Center for Loving Workplace, a global nonprofit organization that aims to transform workplaces into loving communities focused on inclusion and equity. Prior to IBAI, Adam was the Deputy Budget Director of Community Safety for the City of Chicago and was a Board Member for Change Illinois and a Chicago United for Equity Senior Fellow. Adam holds a Master of Public Policy and Administration from Northwestern University, a Master of Education from Lesley University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy from Depaul University.
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Gianna Baker
Director of Strategy & Partnerships
Gianna Baker has over 15 years of experience advancing racial, economic, and housing justice for Black communities as an organizer and coalition builder. She has co-led campaigns with directly impacted leaders, community organizations, and advocates that secured historic housing protections, including the Cook County Residential Tenant Landlord Ordinance, which established housing rights for 245,000+ suburban renter households, and the Just Housing Ordinance, which protects over one million people with arrest and conviction records from housing discrimination in Cook County. She currently co-chairs the Illinois Reentry Council's Housing Working Group.
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Before joining IBAI, Gianna was the Co-Executive Director of the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance, the Outreach Manager for Housing Action Illinois, and an adjunct professor for Loyola University of Chicago's Institute for Pastoral Studies, where she taught a graduate course on community organizing. She has served on various boards and advisory bodies, including the Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County, Illinois Racial Equity Roundtable on Black Homelessness, and the Statewide Independent Living Council. Gianna earned a Bachelor of Arts in English at Howard University and a Master of Arts in Community Development at North Park University.
Board Members
Sharon Bush
Deborah Harrington
Jawanza Malone
Yolanda Knight
Angela Rudolph
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