Meet the Squad

  • Charles (they/them)

    LEGAL EMPOWERMENT/HOTLINE ORGANIZER

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    Charles works to be a point person between assessing the needs of renters and connecting them to activating their power through their Housing Navigator Program.

    A program that trains and supports tenants to become fluent in community-based housing legal navigation.

    They can best be described as a gender anarchist who is driven by their passion to dismantle oppressive systems.

    As a long time resident of Saint Louis, Charles has created spaces for masculine centered people of color to bravely work to dismantle toxic masculinity as the Founder of Flower Boi STL.

    When not at Flower Boi, Charles can be found as an organizer for Occupy City Hall STL, advocating for the rights of sex workers in Missouri as member of MO HO Justice Coalition and running around on a number of local campaigns as a canvasser.

    They have two fire signs and are excited to bring that same fiery energy to Tenants Transforming Greater St. Louis works to be a point person between assessing the needs

  • Sarah (she/her)

    LEAD FIELD ORGANIZER

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    a former foster youth, Sarah Watkins is a mother and renter, building tenant power and fighting to transform housing conditions in St. Louis.

    Sarah's organizing journey sparked in 2019 when her experiences navigating housing insecurities and displacement led her to connect with her neighbors in the Dutchtown South area, who introduced her to tenant organizing and inspired her to learn the tools needed to take back our city from slumlords and disconnected developers.

    Sarah organized with Tenants Transforming St Louis, then Homes For All St. Louis, as a member and volunteer before joining the team as staff in 2021.

    Now, Sarah organizes locally and statewide around issues like racial equity and housing justice. She takes joy in empowering her communities through education and radical love. Sarah knows when Black women lead, we win.

  • Kristian (she/her)

    EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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    is a native of St. Louis, MO.

    Her passion lies in the fight for Black liberation, injustice and oppression that negatively impacts ALL people.

    She is a community organizer, art curator, activist, facilitator, & trainer.

    Kristian has done organizing work around economic justice, raising the minimum wage for 30K St. Louisians, protecting voting rights for voters in the state of Missouri, leading & participating in dozens of voter registration drives , youth justice work around incarcerated youth, and LGBTQI+rights.

    Kristian first became acquainted with Tenants Transforming Greater St. Louis, then Homes For All St.Louis, in 2019 supporting tenants’ rent strike at Southwest Crossing.

    She continued to follow and support the work of from then forward. Near the end of 2020, she came on as the Coalition Coordinator for the organization

    Kristian strongly believes in the motto, “Housing Is A Human Right” & believes everyone deserves both affordable & equitable housing.

  • Sunni (she/her)

    FUND DEVELOPMENT

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    Sunni is a community organizer with deep experience in helping translate between technical experts and community residents with a focus on elevating community views and voices.

    She became involved in tenant organizing in 2018 when a bed bug outbreak occurred in her building. She organized with her neighbors to have a mass meeting and they decided that no one will have to go through this again so they adopted the Homes For All model, and started Homes For All St. Louis, a coalition dedicated to catalyzing tenant associations across the metropolitan area and improving housing quality.

    Her projects over the past few years range from organizing renters and institutional stakeholders in the St. Louis region into a coalition that builds tenants associations, leveraging an EPA Environmental Justice grant to build community and government capacity through a collaborative problem-solving model addressing environmental injustices.

    In recent years, Sunni has brought in over $1,000,000 in funding to Black-led community-based organizations in the St. Louis region. Sunni holds a Bachelor's of Science degree from Vanderbilt University in Policy and Human & Organizational Development, and a Masters of Education from University of Missouri Saint Louis. She is a former classroom teacher..

    When she is not working, her focus is family since she is the fifth of six kids born and raised in St. Louis.

    As a native, Sunni knows that the people are what make St. Louis a great place to live and it is the people who have the power to change St. Louis for the better.