Meet the 2026 Voices Activated Fellows
Carla Reed
HR and Organizational Development Consultant | Greater Washington Urban League
Carla Reed is an HR and Organizational Development Consultant who advises small business owners, entrepreneurs, and organizational leaders on organizational change and the implementation of workplace systems, processes, and policies. With nearly 18 years of experience across the nonprofit and for-profit sectors, she provides curriculum, coaching, training, and organizational audits informed by data-driven practices.
Carla’s work includes a focus on workplace community, workforce development, and women’s advocacy. She currently serves as the 2025-2026 Civic Engagement Chair for Thursday Network, the young professional auxiliary of the Greater Washington Urban League. She has also held leadership roles with the Benjamin Network, Women’s Information Network, and Women’s Campaign Fund and is a 2023 Vital Voices Fellow.
Carla represents the Greater Washington Urban League (GWUL), whose mission is to elevate the economic and political power of historically marginalized communities across the DC metropolitan area.
Laura Thomas, MPA, PMP
Founder, Effective to Great Education
Laura Thomas is the founder of Effective to Great Education, an education technology organization focused on helping schools and their communities center well-being through emerging technology. Her background includes education, systems design, community innovation, organizational design, and project management. She works with founders and institutions to design sustainable systems that support societal well-being.
A Ward 7 resident, Laura holds degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Brown University.
Effective to Great Education (ETGE) is a community-based wellness, learning, and collaborative technology design organization focused on making well-being foundational to learning and youth development. ETGE works with school communities to advance mental health and well-being through responsible emerging technology and to support culturally responsive, safe, and trauma-informed learning environments.
Ashley Hernandez Estrada
Resident Services Specialist, Housing Counseling Services
Ashley Hernandez Estrada is a Resident Services Specialist at Housing Counseling Services, where she provides technical assistance to low-income DC condominium owners and cooperative members. Her background includes fair housing and fair lending, with a focus on making housing more accessible.
Ashley represents Housing Counseling Services, a nonprofit organization that provides housing counseling, training, advocacy, and technical assistance to low- and moderate-income homebuyers, homeowners, tenants, and people experiencing homelessness. The organization works to help DC residents achieve successful living in healthy, safe, and affordable homes.
Christian Oliver Smith
Economic Development Associate, The Coalition
Christian Oliver Smith joined The Coalition in 2025 as an Economic Development Associate. His work supports initiatives that strengthen Washington, DC’s small business ecosystem and expand economic opportunity. He facilitates working groups, coordinates partnerships, advances advocacy efforts, supports strategic outreach, and helps improve programs that promote collaboration among small businesses, community organizations, government agencies, and other economic development stakeholders.
Christian brings experience in public policy, community development, and impact investing. Before joining The Coalition, he interned with the International Rescue Committee and the U.S. Department of Justice. He holds a Master of Public Policy and a bachelor’s degree in Cognitive Science from the University of Virginia.
The Coalition is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community and economic development across Washington, DC. Founded in 2000, The Coalition brings together nearly 180 member organizations and other stakeholders to promote collaboration across the District’s community development landscape. Through policy and budget advocacy, research, convenings, and targeted initiatives, The Coalition works across housing and homelessness, workforce development, and the small business ecosystem.
Shamroy Pellew
Technical Co-Founder, Junxion
Shamroy Pellew is the Technical Co-Founder of Junxion. With a background in software engineering and experience at Netflix, he has developed an interest in housing policy, tenant advocacy, and the role technology can play in supporting historically underinvested communities.
Through the Fellowship, Shamroy is deepening his understanding of advocacy and learning from practitioners working across housing and community development in DC.
Junxion is a DC-based housing technology and advocacy platform that helps tenants document housing conditions, connect with their neighbors, and build stronger records of their experiences. The platform gives residents tools to document housing issues, organize evidence, and identify patterns affecting their homes and communities. Junxion also uses technology and housing data to strengthen tenant advocacy and support greater accountability.
Sooin Choi
Community Events and Small Business Engagement, Southwest Business Improvement District
Sooin Choi is an urban planner and place management professional who leads community events, public programming, and small business engagement at the Southwest Business Improvement District. She holds a master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Georgetown University.
Sooin represents the Southwest Business Improvement District (SWBID), which encompasses three distinct areas across 500 acres south of the National Mall: Federal Center South, the Southwest neighborhood centered around the Waterfront Metrorail Station, and The Wharf. SWBID leads initiatives and convenes stakeholders around transportation, hospitality, building management, the arts, public infrastructure, cleanliness, beautification, and placemaking throughout Southwest DC.
