NFL announces 2023 Inspire Change changemakers for their support of social justice

For the second consecutive year, the NFL and its clubs today announced its list of 2023 Inspire Change Changemakers, 32 individuals that are going above and beyond in their pursuit of social justice by helping to transform their communities. These Changemakers were nominated by clubs for having a meaningful impact across Inspire Change’s four focus areas: education, economic advancement, police-community relations, and criminal justice reform.

This year’s Changemakers list includes formerly incarcerated individuals, entrepreneurs, attorneys, teachers, activists, advocates and more, who have made an immeasurable difference on the lives of those around them. The NFL is honored to recognize these 32 Changemakers and their extraordinary contributions, from helping to break the cycle of poverty to providing mentorship and financial support services.

“The NFL is proud to spotlight the work of these Changemakers for the invaluable impact they’ve had on those around them,” said Anna Isaacson, NFL Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility. “Their stories and achievements are a testament to their profound empathy, diligence, and contributions, and they inspire all of us today and every day.”

In addition to receiving special recognition at each team’s Inspire Change games during Weeks 15 and 16, the Changemakers – who are selected by their local NFL teams based on their work either individually or as part of a non-profit – will receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation, paid directly to a non-profit organization of their choice. 

This year’s Changemakers include:

• Arizona Cardinals: Martina Estrada – nominated by the Arizona Cardinals for her work with Arizona Brain Food. Estrada has worked with Mesa Public Schools for 14 years and is currently a Family Support Specialist who provides resources to meet students’ educational, emotional, and social needs.  
• Atlanta Falcons: Anthony Hinton – nominated by the Atlanta Falcons for his work with the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). Hinton works closely with EJI in Alabama as a Community Educator who helps provide legal assistance to those on death row. He is also the author of ‘The Sun Does Shine,’ a story on criminal justice reform.
• Baltimore Ravens: Damion Cooper – nominated by the Baltimore Ravens for his work with Project Pneuma. Cooper is passionate about advancing police and community relations in Baltimore City and works with over 500 students annually to support their intellectual, physical, and emotional needs.
• Buffalo Bills: Nekia Kemp – nominated by the Buffalo Bills for her work with the Police Athletic League (PAL) of Buffalo. Kemp has worked with children in diverse educational settings in the Buffalo community for over twenty-five years, including her current role as the Executive Director of Buffalo PAL. 
• Carolina Panthers: Sandra Smith – nominated by the Carolina Panthers for her work with Roof Above. Smith has worked with Roof Above for nearly 30 years. In her current role as Director of Food Services, she oversees serving meals 365 days a year to underserved members of the Charlotte community. 
• Chicago Bears: Juliana Zavala – nominated by the Chicago Bears for her work with Chicago Public Schools. Zavala is currently the Senior Manager of Elementary Sports for CPS where she oversees all sports at over 300 elementary schools.
• Cincinnati Bengals: Barbara Turner – nominated by the Cincinnati Bengals for her work with BT RISE. Turner has over 40 years of corporate leadership experience in financial services and founded BT RISE to support women and individuals from underserved communities in accessing the resources needed for financial security and independence.
• Cleveland Browns: Brandon Chrostowski – nominated by the Cleveland Browns for his work with EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute. Chrostowski founded EDWINS in 2007 to offer formerly incarcerated adults a foundation in the culinary and hospitality industries. 
• Dallas Cowboys: Tyler Chambless – nominated by the Dallas Cowboys for his work with The Salvation Army North Texas Youth Education Town. Chambless has served as the Program Manager for The Salvation Army North Texas Family Life Center and Gene and Jerry Jones Family North Texas Youth Education Town. In this role, he is responsible for creating and implementing programming that connects students and families through education, spirituality, and health and wellness.
• Denver Broncos: Michelle Graham Rodriguez – nominated by the Denver Broncos for her work with The Urban Farm (TUF). Rodriguez has been Executive Director of TUF since 2019 and works with the organizations’ Cultivating Change in Youth diversion programming, which supports justice-involved and at-risk youth with various life skills. 
• Detroit Lions: Khali Sweeney – nominated by the Detroit Lions for his work with Downtown Boxing Gym (DBG). As Founder and CEO of DBG, Sweeney helps youth recognize their full potential through comprehensive programming, including life coaching, academic support, health and nutrition, transportation, and athletics. 
• Green Bay Packers: Pearl Webster – nominated by the Green Bay Packers for her work with Safe Shelter. Safe Shelter is a first-of-its-kind shelter for families in crisis to improve their housing and lifestyle situations. In her role as Vice-Chairwoman and Executive Director, Webster serves both the local minority community, the Oneida people, as well as the greater Green Bay area. 
• Houston Texans: Sylvester Turner – nominated by the Houston Texans for his work as the 62nd Mayor of the City of Houston. Mayor Turner has launched several programs to empower the community including the Hire Houston Youth Program connecting thousands of local youth to local jobs, the Complete Communities program, a city-wide initiative to revitalize Houston’s most under-resourced neighborhoods, and the One Safe Houston initiative to combat violence. 
• Indianapolis Colts: Eric Muller – nominated by the Indianapolis Colts for his work with DREAM Alive. Muller has worked with DREAM Alive for 14 years and currently serves as Executive Director, helping to break the cycle of poverty for youth by helping them discover career paths and offering mentorship. 
• Jacksonville Jaguars: Reggie Fullwood – nominated by the Jacksonville Jaguars for his work with Operation New Hope. Fullwood is the President and CEO of Operation New Hope, which provides support, life and job skills training, employment services, and case management to returning citizens starting before the time of release.  
• Kansas City Chiefs: Deidre Anderson – nominated by the Kansas City Chiefs for her work with EarlystART. Anderson has served as Executive Director of EarlystART for over a decade and works to ensure school readiness of children from low-income families and also provide health, nutrition, and social services unique to each family’s needs.
• Las Vegas Raiders: Angela Cook – nominated by the Las Vegas Raiders for her work with Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada. As an attorney with the LASCN Children’s Attorney Project program, she represents children who have suffered from abuse and neglect, and provides holistic representation, advocating for the child’s interest both in and outside the courtroom. 
• Los Angeles Chargers: Alex Tonner and Jon Grobman – nominated by the Los Angeles Chargers for their work with Paws for Life (PFL) K9 Rescue. Tonner founded PFL in 2014, which works with Los Angeles city shelters and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to save and transform the lives of animals and people through innovative canine-centered programs. Grobman serves as Chief Operating Officer after originally being sentenced to life in prison and becoming the state’s “first-ever beneficiary of a ‘Recall of Commitment’ from the California Department of Corrections.”
• Los Angeles Rams: Marc Maye – nominated by the Los Angeles Rams for his work with Watts Rams, 4wrdProgress and Project Blue. Maye currently serves as the Senior Branch Director of the Southside Village Boys & Girls Club and ushered in a new model of Club programming that focused on age-specific and foundational learning needs. 
• Miami Dolphins: Edward Garza – nominated by the Miami Dolphins for his work with Mexican American Council (MAC). In his role as Executive Director of MAC, Garza helps to provide music and education programming to underserved youth in South Miami-Dade through two flagship programs: College & Career Prep (CCP) and The Homestead-Miami Mariachi Conservatory.
• Minnesota Vikings: Mark Graves – nominated by the Minnesota Vikings for his work with Southside Village Boys & Girls Club. Graves currently serves the Senior Branch Director of the Southside Village Boys & Girls Club, which he turned into a food pantry offering fresh food, dry goods, and hygiene products at no cost.
• New England Patriots: Shawn Brown – nominated by the New England Patriots for his work with Youth Guidance Boston. Brown currently serves as the Executive Director of Youth Guidance Boston, a leading provider of outcomes-driven programs and capacity-building initiatives, directly serving about 14,000 youth. 
• New Orleans Saints: Robert Jackson – nominated by the New Orleans Saints for his work with the Caddo Parish School System. In 2003, Jackson began The High School Voters Project, a voter program in the Caddo Parish School System. He also worked to get the Louisiana High School Senior’s Voter Registration Day Act signed by Louisiana Governor John Bell Edwards.  
• New York Giants: Daonese Johnson-Colon – nominated by the New York Giants for her work with the Giants’ Touchdown Fellowship program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and PushBlack. Johnson-Colon has served as the faculty mentor for fellows in the Giants’ Touchdown Fellowship program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice since the program’s inception in 2019 and currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer at PushBlack, the nation’s largest nonprofit media organization for Black Americans. 
• New York Jets: Patricia Thompson – nominated by the New York Jets for her work with the NYC Department of Education and Brooklyn Community Services (BCS). Thompson is an educator with BCS, and she has taught three generations of East New York residents while planning various community gatherings and food distribution initiatives. 
• Philadelphia Eagles: Jamila Harris-Morrison – nominated by the Philadelphia Eagles for work with ACHIEVEability. Harris-Morrison has worked with ACHIEVEability for 17 years, currently serving as Executive Director. In this role she works to break the generational cycle of poverty for low-income, single-parent, and homeless families through higher education, affordable housing, supportive services, community and economic development, and accountability. 
• Pittsburgh Steelers: Kathi Elliott – nominated by the Pittsburgh Steelers for her work with Gwen’s Girls. Elliot currently serves as Executive Director of Gwen’s Girls, where she leads programs that offer school and community services, after-school and summer programs, STEM Initiatives, career and workforce readiness, tutoring, and mental health services.
• San Francisco 49ers: Christian Huang – nominated by the San Francisco 49ers for his work with Mobilize Love. Huang is co-founder of Mobilize Love, which provides for the community by deploying a fleet of trucks directly to where children and families are to deliver mobile human services and mobile after-school programs. Through Huang’s leadership, Mobilize Love has grown from providing one laundry truck serving the community to a fleet of six trucks with varying purposes. 
• Seattle Seahawks: Mia Williams – nominated by the Seattle Seahawks for her work with Seattle Public Schools (SPS). Williams currently serves as Executive Director of SPS and is committed to educational justice by supports the brilliance and excellence of young Black males. In this role, she has curated initiatives including Kingmakers of Seattle and WHOLE Mentoring. 
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Thomas Mantz – nominated by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his work with Feeding Tampa Bay. Mantz joined Feeding Tampa Bay as President and CEO in October of 2012. Throughout his tenure, meals distributed throughout the community have grown from 15 million per year to almost 90 million per year. 
• Tennessee Titans: Glenda Glover – nominated by the Tennessee Titans for her work with Tennessee State University. Since 2013, Glover has served as the President of Tennessee State University where she has made a significant impact on the university, HBCUs across the country and higher education. She has advocated on behalf of HBCUs and minority students at both the state legislative and White House levels.
• Washington Commanders: Tony Lewis Jr. – nominated by the Washington Commanders for his work with the DC Reengagement Center. For the past 21 years, Lewis has worked to empower men, women, and children impacted by mass incarceration. Working with the DC Reengagement Center, he has assisted former prisoners on their re-entry into the world and served as an advocate and champion for children with incarcerated parents. 

Throughout Inspire Change Weeks, which start this week and conclude on December 25, the NFL will continue to raise awareness for its support of social justice, in addition to highlighting stories from individuals and organizations inspiring change in their communities across the country.

Inspire Change is a year-round initiative that highlights the impactful social justice work taking place throughout the NFL Family alongside grant partners to break down barriers to opportunity and end systemic racism. Since 2017, the NFL Family has provided $300 million to advance social justice causes in the areas of education, economic advancement, police-community relations, and criminal justice reform. To date, the NFL Foundation has provided more than 1,950 Inspire Change matching grants to current NFL players and Legends for nonprofits of their choice to help reduce barriers to opportunity. For more information on the 2023 Changemaker recipients, visit NFL.com/causes/inspire-change/changemakers. To learn more about the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative and to view the 2023 Social Justice Impact Report, visit www.nfl.com/inspirechange.