Our Team

NCSJP Staff

Kevin J. Rogers- Executive Director

A long-time advocate for progressive causes, Mr. Rogers is the current Executive Director of the North Carolina Social Justice Project. After spending time in the non-profit, legal and political words, Mr. Rogers assembled a team to address what he saw as a need for more strategic and targeted work on issues that fall below the radar of most people and organizations. Mr. Rogers has successfully taken NCSJP from a fledgling volunteer organization to the professional association that exists today. Mr. Rogers holds a B.A. from Concordia College-Bronxville, and a J.D. from Widener University School of Law. He currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina with his beautiful wife and adorable dog.

Lisa Fox – Research Fellow

Lisa is the NCSJP 2010 Research Fellow. She will be conducting background and programmatic research for an array of NCSJP’s programs. Specifically, she will be concentrating her efforts on research related to foster care reform in North Carolina. Ms. Fox holds a PhD in Social Work from Duke University.

Kelly Weston – Communications and Development Assistant

Kelly will be assisting NCSJP in our fund-raising and communications efforts. Ms. Weston holds a B.A. in English & Political Science from UNC-Chappel Hill and has extensive communications and development experience.

NCSJP Board of Directors

Cynthia Ball

Cynthia is a certified mediator with her company, Ball Mediation, and works with individuals, families, and organizations. An activist in the community on issues of social and economic justice and animal rescue, she chairs the Forum at Community United Church of Christ and has chaired several campaigns for elected officials. An animal lover, she has rescued quite a few cats and dog, giving a home to a good number of them. In addition to serving as Vice Chair and Chair of the Development Committee of NCSJP, she serves on the Advisory Board of WakeUp Wake County and is a volunteer with AnimalKind and SafeHaven for Cats. She previously worked in development for a local university, and now applies those skills as a volunteer fundraiser for the causes she is committed to.

She has a BA in Psychology from UNC-Greensboro and an MBA from Virginia Commonwealth University and completed doctoral coursework in Human Resources Development and Organization Development at NC State University. A native North Carolinian, she and her husband Dr. David Aspnes, a physicist, currently live in Apex, at the beck and call of their many cats and dogs. Their most recent project is the restoration and renovation of a 1960 modernist home in Raleigh which they hope will be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Ms. Ball currently serves as the Board Vice-Chair.

Chris Brook

Chris grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Wanting to branch out and see the rest of the world, he attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for his undergraduate and law degrees. During these years, he was active in the social justice movement, including serving a legal intern at the UNC Center for Civil Rights and as Director of the Carolina Law Pro Bono Program. After graduating from Carolina Law in 2005, he worked in private practice for three years at the Raleigh civil litigation law firm of Cranfill, Sumner and Hartzog.

Since 2008, he has been a staff attorney at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice in Durham, North Carolina, focusing on fields ranging from environmental justice to housing law. He also has served as an adjunct professor at Carolina Law since 2007, teaching Researching, Reasoning, Writing and Advocacy. Recently, he contributed a chapter on community lawyering in Moore County, North Carolina, entitled Case Study: Municipal Underbounding and Communities of Color, to the book Building Healthy Communities: A Guide to Community Economic Development for Advocates, Lawyers & Policymakers. Mr. Brook currently serves as the Treasurer of the Board.

Jimmy Creech

A former United Methodist minister, Mr. Creech travels around the country preaching in churches and speaking on college and university campuses, as well as to various community and national organizations about human and civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Mr. Creech has served on the boards of directors for several organizations, including Soulforce, Inc., Faith In America, Inc., and Friends of Residents in Long Term Care. His book, Adam’s Gift: A Memoir of a Pastor’s Calling to Defy the Church’s Persecution of Lesbians and Gays, was published by Duke University Press in April, 2011. Mr. Creech serves as the Board Chair for NCSJP.

Katie-Rose Darby

Katie-Rose Darby is the Program Director for Leadership North Carolina, a statewide nonprofit. Prior to her current position, Mrs. Darby was the Outreach Specialist for Be Active North Carolina. Mrs. Darby earned her Bachelor of Arts in Art History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2006. She ran on UNC-Chapel Hill’s Track and Field team, was a coxswain on the Men’s Crew Team, and was awarded a Monogram. Darby also earned the 2004 Alcott Travel Fellowship, with which she mountain biked the width of Northern Spain on the Camino de Santiago de Compostella researching Medieval art and architecture.

Katie-Rose also received her Certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University in 2009. She is a member of the National Association of Parliamentarians and a Wake County Notary Public. In addition to her work with NCJPS, she serves on Board of Directors for Prison MATCH of North Carolina. Katie-Rose lives in Raleigh with her husband, Max Darby, and their dog, Millie.

Crystal Hayes

Crystal Hayes is currently the Director of Racial Justice and Wellness Maternal Health at the YWCA in Raleigh, North Carolina. As Director, Crystal is responsible for co-creating, developing, and managing dynamic and creative programs, services, and policy initiatives, including the thought-leadership that promotes the YWCA’s mission across departments and throughout the Triangle region. Crystal is a leader in social justice and policy work strongly rooted in interdisciplinary fields including history, political science, sociology, psychology, social work, popular culture/education, critical race the-ory and Black feminist theory.

Her work in community organizing promotes social justice education, civic leadership, and social policy that empowers low-income women, their children, and communities. Crystal has a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work from the Smith College School for Social Work and a Bachelors degree from Mount Holyoke College, where she doubled majored in African-African American Studies and Politics.

Brian Klemm

It has been said that Brian could sell ice to an Eskimo, but as a Business Development Representative at EMC, he has an even more difficult task: selling data recovery to IT professionals. That tenacity, and a long background in corporate sales, serves him well in the rough and tumble world that is social justice in North Carolina. Mr. Klemm holds a B.A. from Concordia College. Currently, Mr. Klemm serves as the Secretary of the Board.

Chris Moody

Chris Moody is a Product Marketing Manager at Phonebooth.com. He leads their marketing and social media efforts that have been covered by Mashable, Lifehacker, RWW, PC World and many other publications. Chris is also a guest lecturer / co-course developer for a MBA social media course at NC State University. Both his undergraduate and MBA are from NC State University. In his spare time, he loves college basketball and playing basketball, golf and softball.

Jack Register

Jack Register has many years of experience in social justice causes, non-profit administration, lobbying, and teaching. He is a licensed clinical social worker, and is currently Visiting Instructor of Social Work at the University of North Carolina – Greensboro. Jack was named one of “Today’s Most Influential Social Workers” by Social Work Magazine, and is currently a PhD candidate at Union Institute & University.