Shanique Rodriguez, she/her
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Shanique Rodriguez is a political, social, and reproductive justice activist who has dedicated nearly a decade to organizing in BIPOC communities across Massachusetts. With a BS in Criminal Justice from Mount Ida College, Shanique is a native of Kingston, Jamaica, and is a current resident of Springfield. She brings her lived experiences and passion for uplifting and finding justice for marginalized communities like her own to her work. In 2022, Shanique delivered a hard-fought win for the Fair Share Amendment campaign as the BIPOC Community Director. Prior to the Fair Share campaign, Shanique spent 4+ years at Planned Parenthood Advocacy Fund of Massachusetts working on reproductive rights and justice issues in Western and Central MA as the Manager of Mobilization and BIPOC Organizing.
Jordan Brandt, he/him
DATA AND TARGETING DIRECTOR
Since September 2013, Jordan Brandt has served as the Data Manager of the Massachusetts Voter Table and of Mass Alliance. Prior to working with the Voter Table and Mass Alliance, Jordan worked as the Targeting and Data Director of the Montana Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign, where he oversaw all data operations for one of the major US Senate races in the country, as well as other local and statewide races. Prior to that, he had been the Data Director for Mass Uniting in Massachusetts. Before focusing on targeting and data, Jordan spent 6 years as an organizer for political campaigns and organizations, including as Regional Field Director for the Nevada State Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign, Regional Organizer for the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, and Minnesota State Field Director of Rock the Vote.
Julia Kupferman, she/her
Communications & Civic engagement organizer
Julia joined the MVT team as a Tisch Summer Fellow in June 2020 and has continued working with MVT ever since. Previously, she gained field experience through working on several campaigns as well as organizing with J Street U as the national president. She graduated from Tufts University with a degree in sociology. Julia is excited to fight for racial justice and economic equality at MVT through communications work.
Layanie Oscar, she/her
field organizer
Layanie is a recent graduate of UMass Boston. She joined MVT in March of 2022 through the Civic Action Fellowship. She has and hopes to continue to participate in organizing work that focuses on topics and issues that relate to the BIPOC community, as well as, immigrant communities. Her hope is to create conversation where communities of colors’ voices can be listened to and heard. On the off chance Layanie isn’t embroiled in such works, she likes to write poetry and short stories that reflect her life and her social justice work.
Kendra Patterson, she/her
FIELD Director
Kendra is an experienced organizer who has managed field teams for political races in every region of the United States (Nevada, Missouri, Michigan, Georgia, and Massachusetts.) Most recently, she served as the Field Coordinator for Yes on 1 for A Better Budget and Field Director for Mayor Kim Janey’s Campaign. She started her journey as a student organizer at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy Law & Justice with minors in Chinese and Political Science. Kendra is incredibly passionate about voter participation in BIPOC communities, and she is eager to transition her campaign experience to create community strength with the Massachusetts Voter Table and partner organizations.
Ben Robinson, he/him
DATA MANAGER
Ben joined the Massachusetts Voter Table in June 2022 and serves as the Data Manager. Ben brings 10+ years in social movement work and research, including 5+ years of grassroots community organizing. He completed his PhD in 2018 where his research focused on the relationships between religion, racism and economic justice. After the police murder of Michael Brown his organizing shifted to the role carceral institutions play in controlling movements for worker power and racial justice. Before transitioning to the data side of movement work, Ben worked for nearly three years with Faith in Texas as a community organizer building power with people directly impacted by the criminal legal system. During his time in Dallas he led dozens of trainings on divesting from policing and imprisonment. He has collaborated with a diverse range of organizations, including the North Texas Immigration Coalition, Jobs with Justice, Fight Toxic Prisons, and In Defense of Black Lives Dallas.
Ben is guided by a commitment to undoing systems of domination and to building a world centered on collective care.