Executive Director

Contact: ashley@jtnwi.org

Ashley Williams (she/her) is the Executive Director of JTNWI, helping to found the organization in 2020. Ashley grew up in Ottawa, IL, which has been treated as a sacrifice zone by the frac sand mining industry. As the daughter of a retired nuclear plant operator and union worker, she began delving into energy justice issues early and supported community members and farmers through the founding of Conserve Our Rural Ecosystem (CORE) in their struggle against the proliferation of the local mines. Ashley is a graduate of Illinois Valley Community College and Loyola University Chicago, receiving the Berta Isabel Caceres Flores Award for Outstanding Leadership. During her time in Chicago, she continued her advocacy, organizing with the NO DAPL movement against the Dakota Access Pipeline on campus and with the Chicago Southeast Coalition to Ban Petcoke and Southeast Environmental Task Force on the city’s southeast side.

Now residing in Michigan City, she is passionate about ensuring a just and equitable transition for her community and the impacted workforce as they prepare for the retirement of the local coal-burning plant.

Digital Organizer

Contact: daniela@jtnwi.org

Daniela Guerrero (she/they) was born and raised in Bogotà, Colombia. She graduated from the University of Illinois Chicago with her bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, Political Science, and Sociology (Class of ‘22). She is incredibly passionate about advancing environmental justice through social media and digital communications.

Regional Organizer

Contact: libre@jtnwi.org

Libré Booker (she/her) joined as the newest member of the JTNWI team. Libré was born and raised in Gary, IN, and is the daughter of steel mill worker parents. Her mother wanted her to follow in her footsteps and work at the steel mill, but Libré knew she had a different path. She attended Indiana Univesity Northwest and received a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a Masters in Business Administration. She attended Indiana University at Indianapolis, completed her Masters in Library Science, and became a librarian.

Libré’s library career was primarily at the Indiana University Northwest Library, where she started as a student worker and years later, became Dean of that same library. She also served on various library boards, including the Indiana Library Federation, serving as its first Black president, and the American Library Association Executive Board.

Libré retired as a librarian and founded Living Green Garden in 2020 to pursue her passion for reconnecting people to Mother Earth through gardening and whole plant-based foods.

Legislative & Policy Director, Press Secretary

Contact: susan@jtnwi.org

Susan Thomas (she/her) is the Legislative and Policy Director and Press Secretary for JTNWI. A former environmental trend analyst, Susan holds a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. During her time in Chicago, she also worked as an actor focusing on community outreach and social justice issues.

Now residing in Beverly Shores, the heart of the Indiana Dunes National Park, she co-chairs the Association of Beverly Shores Residents Environmental Committee.