NCHJ membership also includes several at-large members who bring their own expertise and experience, even though not officially connected with another member organization. These at-large members include:
Diamond Dumas
Diamond Dumas (they/them) is a queer Afro-Latinx social justice advocate and activist. Using their lived expertise Diamond strives to dismantle oppressive systems, emphasize the impact of young people, and create a more equitable world. In addition to Diamond’s organic education they also received their Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology at the University of North Florida. Their studies of interest have supported their work in the Youth Homelessness field by informing them on diverse cultures, communities, and practices. Utilizing this knowledge Diamond’s work centers on what makes us human through a socio-cultural lens.
Mari Brooks
Mari Brooks is an Afro-Latina advocate based in Boston, with a primary focus on youth homelessness, foster care, and barriers within systems that impact young people. Drawing from her lived experience in youth homelessness and the foster care system, Mari uses storytelling and advocacy to challenge how homelessness is defined, measured, and addressed.
Through her work, Mari is focused on three core goals:
1. Increasing visibility of hidden youth homelessness and the gaps in how it is measured
2. Expanding access to support by highlighting barriers young people face when navigating systems
3. Contributing to long-term change by centering lived experience in conversations that shape policy and practice
Mari has contributed to multiple organizations, sharing her perspective to inform more accessible and effective support for young people. Mari has engaged in policy and advocacy efforts, including speaking with legislators and participating in national housing justice spaces. She has also been quoted in the nationally recognized public media outlet GBH News regarding housing and youth homelessness.
Mari has recently launched a blog on substack titled Youth Homelessness Unfiltered. It is focused on unpacking youth homelessness, visibility gaps, and lived experience within the system. Through her writing, she centers the realities often left out of mainstream narratives and encourages more accurate, community-informed approaches to addressing homelessness.
Tiffany Haynes
Tiffany is a Black Jamaican mother of one who has lived in the states for over 26 years. Tiffany has connected people, organized strategies, and mobilized marginalized populations affected by the system. She has an unwavering belief that people impacted must be at the forefront to guide and inform the changes they want to see and values transparency when engaging with others, especially system-involved, immigrant, LGBTQIA+, Black & Brown, parenting youth in care, & other marginalized youth & young adults.
Tiffany is also driving change through her own firm, Aiden Anthony, LLC https://www.aidenanthonyllc.org/
Zenayah Roaché
Zenayah Roaché (she/her) is a New York City native who experienced various forms of homelessness, including living in shelters and doubling up with friends and family. Through this experience, Zenayah began to understand its multidimensional consequences throughout her years of homelessness. Hence, she dedicates her professional work to housing/homelessness spaces with a particular focus on youth. Zenayah graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Urban Studies this past May. In May 2025, Zenayah will graduate with an MPA from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University concentrating in Urban Policy and specializing in Leadership, Innovation, and Design. Together, her personal, academic, and professional skills intertwine daily to achieve two main goals: 1) create a world where the unhoused population is justly served with all of the comprehensive resources necessary to thrive and 2) create a world where homelessness is no more.