Who we are
Jessica Watkins
Policy & Advocacy Strategist
Jessica Watkins was born, raised, and lives in Illinois. After law school, Jessica practiced civil litigation defense at Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP in Chicago and later served as an assistant attorney general in the administrative review and civil prosecutions unit of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.
Jessica enjoys all things law, public policy, and community engagement. Jessica is a former board member of the South Side YMCA in Chicago, Illinois, and grants manager and general counsel at Young Chicago Authors.
Patrice James
Founding Director
Patrice James has spent her career in service of and with a deep love and respect for Black people and its communities. After a nationwide search, she was selected as the Founding Director of the Illinois Black Advocacy Initiative where she will build the IBAI from the ground-up, organizing and gaining buy-in and engagement, building its management and financial capacity, driving change, and ultimately establishing a plan of collective advocacy and policy solutions for the needs of Black communities throughout Illinois.
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.
Nicholas Richard-Thompson
Director of Communications
Nicholas Richard-Thompson is a dedicated advocate committed to building self-determined communities and advancing the global liberation of Black people. With extensive municipal government experience and a decade in human rights advocacy, he drives change at grassroots and systemic levels. Nicholas has led public policy initiatives, organizational development projects, and communication strategies for various organizations. He serves on executive boards, including the Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley, Aurora Mutual Aid, and the Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry.
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Currently, he is the interim president at the Simply Destinee Youth Center and the Midwest organizer for the Black Alliance for Peace. Prior to joining IBAI, Nicholas was the community engagement manager for the City of Aurora in the Mayor's Office of Community Affairs.
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Maya Pendleton
Research & Data Analyst
Maya Pendleton is a dedicated researcher and writer committed to building a world where Black communities thrive free from oppression. She is a co-founder of upEND Movement, a collaborative organization that aims to end the policing and punishment of Black families. Over the past decade, Maya has devoted her time to understanding how systems affect racialized communities and advocating for their dismantling.
Maya is a contributing author to Confronting the Racist Legacy of the American Child Welfare System: The Case for Abolition, published by Oxford University Press in 2023. Maya also serves as an adjunct professor at American University, where she guides students in transformative justice and abolition studies. Maya received her bachelor's from Georgetown University. She received her Master of Public Policy from the George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Administration, studying public policy at the intersection of race, gender, and class.
Board Members
Sharon Bush
Deborah Harrington
Jawanza Malone
Yolanda Knight
Angela Rudolph
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