Mary Moran is a national leader on issues organizing and Black and Brown coalition building. Mary’s ultimate commitment is to the freedom of Black and brown people. She is the co-founder of, and currently leads, Our Voice Nuestra Voz (OVNV), a nation-building organization, anchoring ancestry while building Black and brown solidarity in New Orleans.

As a political strategist and organizer, she has led campaigns that won the first ever living wage campaign in the state of Louisiana–and the entire South, won statewide legislation that keep school districts transparent and accountable, and fought for numerous policies that protect undocumented students, such as securing a sanctuary school district in Orleans Parish. She worked with New Orleans city council president Helena Moreno to make Indigenous People’s Day an official holiday. Mary and OVNV launched the Community Defense Fund which has distributed $320,000 in emergency relief for families and community members who suffered financial strain as a result of COVID-19 and Hurricane Ida.

Mary was a fall 2016 Pahara Next-Gen fellow. In that same year, she founded the #BlackandBrownGetDown, a movement created to build coalition, create a Black and brown agenda, and win on shared issues. Mary also served on the leadership teams of key New Orleans progressive elected officials. She was the political director for New Orleans district attorney Jason Williams, the first progressive Black DA from New Orleans. After he won, she continued to shape strategy by serving as a member of the leadership team on the DA transition team. She also served as the deputy camp manager for congress member Troy Carter.