President & CEO

Oboi@equiticity.org

Olatunji Oboi Reed serves as the founding President & CEO of The Equiticity Racial Equity Movement. He works globally as a racial equity tactician, increased mobility advocate, and racial justice activist. Oboi’s passion lies at the intersection of community, culture, and health.

With an extensive background in both nonprofit management and corporate social responsibility, he is most proud of his work to create a diverse coalition of people, organizations, and businesses all working together to achieve racial equity and mobility justice across the City of Chicago.

In 2015, Oboi was awarded The White House Transportation Champion of Change award by The White House and the United States Department of Transportation, under the administration of President Barack Obama. Oboi serves as Co-Chair of the Transportation Equity Network, Steering Committee Member of PolicyLink’s Transportation Equity Caucus, and Steering Committee Member of the Free To Move Coalition.

Senior Advisor

Ellen@equiticity.org

With a spirit of adventure and challenge, Ellen strives to align the business case, the moral argument and the environmental imperative for transportation law and policy that is sustainable and equitable. Throughout a career that brought her to Washington DC, Alaska, the Republic of Palau, and Chicago, she has been a committed collaborator and has become a transportation geek (loves a good graph)!

The pandemic showed that we can have a world of cleaner air, that we could make streets that are welcoming to people on bikes and people on foot. It gave impetus to making transportation more equitable.

Ellen has worked in public transit at federal and local levels, serving in the Obama Administration as Chief Counsel for the USDOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration and Chief Counsel for the FTA. At the Chicago Transit Authority she served as Deputy General Counsel for Policy and Appeals and learned that everyone has a CTA story. Before joining the CTA, she practiced environmental law with Jenner & Block in Chicago and Van Ness Feldman in Washington, D.C.

Director of Programs

Remel@equiticity.org

Remel Terry is a distinguished community leader and advocate based in Chicago's Westside, with an impressive professional background spanning over 15 years in technical leadership, case management, advocacy, people leadership, program development, and community organizing. Her unwavering commitment to advancing the Black community and empowering its youth is a testament to her dedication and values instilled during her upbringing within a tightly-knit community.

Early on, Remel demonstrated a deep passion for community sustainability, focusing her efforts on social justice issues by collaborating with prominent organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and Black Lives Matter. Her work in addressing social justice, police misconduct, and accountability showcased her determination to eradicate racial disparities.

Remel has consistently partnered with grassroots organizations to confront legislative and enforcement inequities, economic development, education, legal system reform, healthcare, affordable housing, and political action. She has received recognition from the Fred Hampton Scholarship Fund for her empowering leadership, particularly in revitalizing neighborhoods and promoting financial and social equity in Chicago.

As a former Vice Chair for the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Targeted Community Engagement Council and an advisory council member for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), Remel has demonstrated her dedication to community service. She also contributed her expertise to the Good Governance Transition Committee during Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration, highlighting her commitment to good governance.

In her recent role as Interim Commissioner for the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA), Remel continues to make strides in public safety. She co-led the most recent Superintendent search for the Chicago Police Department, making history yet again. Remel co-owns Black Gaming League, a company focused on digital gaming awareness and opportunities while actively engaging in community initiatives targeting youth and violence prevention.

Remel Terry is renowned for being a voice for the voiceless and a collaborative force within the community, working closely with residents, non-profit organizations, and elected officials. Currently, she serves as the 1st Vice President and Political Action Committee Chair for the Chicago Westside Branch NAACP, showcasing her dedication to civil rights, human rights, and community development.

Remel earned her Bachelor of Science in Aviation Administration with a Minor in Business from Lewis University. With over a decade of membership in the Chicago Westside Branch NAACP, she remains deeply involved in her community. Beyond her professional endeavors, Remel finds joy in traveling both domestically and abroad, further enriching her perspective and experiences. Her transformative work in community engagement was duly acknowledged through a resolution from the Board of Commissioners Cook County, IL, sponsored by 2nd Cook County District Commissioner Dennis Deer.

Zair Menjivar is currently the Operations Manager at Equiticity, where the breadth of his work involves equitably based human resource initiatives, which prioritize the employee equally to the organization. As a firm believer in a healthy work/life balance, Zair has worked to implement a series of progressive policies and benefits, including a four-day work week and a comprehensive PTO policy. In addition to the human resource pillar, Zair supports Equiticity with grant management and reconciliation, communications, and other overall operational tasks.

Zair is a recent graduate from UIC, which he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, with a minor in Human Resource Management.

He has also organized around transportation inequities in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood of Chicago, which recently saw an unprecedented ten fold increase in accessible bike lanes, and historical investments in bike parking stations, and Divvy bike share stations.

A current board member of the Northwest Center, Zair works to ensure the Belmont Cragin-based non-profit operationalizes and executes against its six pillars, which are to be Responsive, Relational, Resident-Led, Data-informed, and racially equitable, in all of its day-to-day operations in the community it serves.

In his free time, Zair enjoys riding his bike, attending concerts, and traveling throughout Latin America, where he has the goal of visiting every country in that region. In his free time, Zair loves to workout at the gym and ride his bike to the lake.

Research & Consulting Contractor

matt@equiticity.org

Matt Weiss comes to Equiticity with a broad background in active transportation at the city, regional, and federal level and a passion for the healing power and potential of intentional community building. He serves Equiticity as a Research and Consulting Contractor, where one of his major projects is developing a Framework for communities who want to create their own Community Mobility Rituals. He is also convening everyday experts who ride the bus to participate in innovative transit pilots in the Illinois Medical District. 

Matt brings five years of experience in transportation planning roles, including with the Chicago Department of Transportation's Street Are For Everybody Ambassadors. He represented Divvy/Lyft at community events as the bikeshare system expanded through the rest of the city. Most recently, he served in a Transportation Fellowship with the Department of Interior, expanding nonmotorized mobility access to federal public lands.

Matt is on the Young Professionals in Transportation International Board as the Midwest Regional Liaison. He also is on the Board of Directors of Out Our Front Door, a Bike camping educational nonprofit in the Chicago great lakes basin. Matt has supported Equiticity formally with the SAFE Ambassadors and informally in his free time serving in Squad for many Community bike rides over the past five years.