Cristina Jiménez Moreta and Shanelle Matthews join Colin Powell School as Distinguished Lecturers

Two national leaders in movements for social change have been appointed to full-time Distinguished Lecturer positions at The City College of New York’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. The positions were made possible by Leadership for Democracy and Social Justice (LDSJ), a new CUNY institute dedicated to developing the next generation of social justice leaders, based at the Colin Powell School and the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.

Cristina Jiménez Moreta is a community organizer, political strategist and storyteller, and 2017 MacArthur Fellowship recipient. Jiménez Moreta moved from Ecuador with her family at the age of 13. While a student at CUNY Queens College, Jiménez Moreta, who was undocumented, became an immigrant-rights leader. She was co-founder of United We Dream (UWD), the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the country. Under her leadership, the national politics and narrative around immigration shifted, culminating in the 2012 signing of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) into law.

“A truly inclusive and multiracial democracy is possible if those most affected lead the movements for change,” said Jiménez Moreta. “As a CUNY alumna I’m honored to join the Colin Powell School and LDSJ to train the next generation of changemakers and give back to the community that supported my growth as an undocumented immigrant student and social justice leader.”

Shanelle Matthews is Communications Director for the Movement for Black Lives and former faculty of Resistance Narratives at The New School. She is co-editor of a forthcoming anthology detailing world-building narrative campaigns and strategies led by social movement communications workers in the 21st century.

“It’s an honor to be on the frontlines demanding justice and liberation. I found my purpose in building narrative infrastructure for the Movement for Black Lives and other 21st-century social movements,” said Matthews, « and I’m overjoyed to share all I’ve learned with the CCNY community and to collaborate with the next generation of movement workers committed to building power for our shared liberatory future.”

“Jiménez Moreta and Matthews will teach, mentor, and advise our students,” said Andrew Rich, Dean of the Colin Powell School. “We are grateful for their commitment and to LDSJ for making the positions possible.” 

“[The appointees] bring decades of experience leading the most important social movements of our generation. We’re excited to have them join us to impart their knowledge and experience,” said LDSJ’s Co-Executive Directors Jennifer Disla and Chris Torres.

Jiménez Moreta and Matthews will be based in the Colin Powell School’s Department of Anthropology, Gender Studies, and International Studies (AGIS).

“We’re thrilled to welcome two transformative leaders whose vision guides the work ahead,” said Irina Carlota Silber, Chair of AGIS.

About the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership
Established in April 2013, the Colin Powell School is home to the social science departments at CCNY as well as the core leadership development and public service programs of the College. With almost 4,000 students, and graduating the most CCNY students annually, the Colin Powell School’s mission is to transform the nation’s most diverse student body into tomorrow’s global leaders. Half of our students are immigrants; most come from lower income backgrounds. More than seventy percent are first-generation college students, and eighty percent are people of color. The Colin Powell School and City College remain among the most effective engines of economic and social mobility in the United States. The School is led by a faculty dedicated to the highest standards of research and to the university’s democratic and public obligations. Read more about the Colin Powell School.

About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. Education research organization Degree Choices ranks CCNY #1 nationally among universities for economic return on investment. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. This year, CCNY launched its most expansive fundraising campaign, ever. The campaign, titled “Doing Remarkable Things Together” seeks to bring the College’s Foundation to more than $1 billion in total assets in support of the College mission. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.