Pastor Mike McBride
Executive Director
Pastor Michael McBride - Executive Director
Rev. Michael McBride is the executive director for LIVE FREE USA a national organizing and social change network committed to ending the criminalization of people of color, reducing gun violence and transforming the policing and the criminal justice system. He was named by the Center for American Progress as a Top Clergy Leader in 2013 and served on President Obama’s Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships Council to address Poverty and Inequality in 2016. He is one of the national leaders in the movement to implement community violence intervention and public health gun violence prevention programs, recently featured as one of CNN’s Champions of Change.
Pastor McBride is a Square One Fellow at Columbia University Justice Policy Lab. He is the co-founder of Black Church PAC and the Black Brown Peace Consortium. Pastor McBride serves as the Lead Pastor of The Way Church in Berkeley, CA. He has been a frequent contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, MSNBC, CNN, the Huffington Post and many other media outlets.
Dr. Antonio Cediel
Special Advisor
Dr. Antonio Cediel - Special Advisor
As Special Advisor, Antonio leads LIVE FREE’s community violence intervention efforts and also supports the network’s Latino church organizing. His work is informed by his years growing up in Colombia while it suffered the highest homicide rates in the world and by his years working in urban public schools throughout the U.S. Before joining LIVE FREE, Antonio served as a teacher, high school principal, chief academic officer, and deputy superintendent of schools. As a principal, Antonio and his team reduced campus fights by 75% and, during his tenure as a deputy superintendent in Boston, the district was repeatedly identified as one of the top five urban districts in the country based on its progress in eliminating equity gaps and improving student performance.
Antonio’s career in education includes teaching middle schoolers in Oakland, graduate students at Harvard, and emerging scholars at San Quentin, as well as designing and teaching a school leadership program at the University of Chicago. He also currently serves as a steering committee member and instructor for the University of Chicago’s Community Violence Intervention Leadership Academy. He has written pieces on gun violence, racial justice, and other topics for The New York Times, USA Today, The Root, and other publications. He is also the CEO of First Revolution Consulting which provides leadership coaching and professional development for education, nonprofit, and corporate leaders throughout the country. He holds a B.A. in religious studies from Brown University, an M.A. in Latin American history from California State University-East Bay, and masters and doctoral degrees from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Halleemah Nash
Operations & Finance Director
Halleemah Nash - Operations & Finance Director
Halleemah Nash is heading up Operations at Live FREE USA and Founder of Rosecrans Ventures, an underrepresented talent solutions firm that provides coaching and career courses for marginalized talent populations in the workforce.
Halleemah is backed by 12+ years driving business initiatives and developing diverse talent toward entry and navigation in competitive industries.
As an executive, Halleemah led several social impact based projects as Executive Director at iMentor, Executive Director of iF Charities, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Chicago Housing Authority, and Community Relations Manager at The Chicago Bulls.
At Rosecrans Ventures, Halleemah has led workforce projects for teams across industries including City of Compton, Duke University Athletics, The Chicago Bulls, H&M, McDonald’s, Reprise Media Brands, Publicis Groupe, PUMA and Savage x Fenty, and community based employment projects for celebrity brands Nipsey Hussle and Kendrick Lamar.
Halleemah is respected for developing programs that empower top-performing teams to achieve mission-driven objectives. Halleemah Nash is a graduate of Howard University and a proud product of Compton, California – a city that has greatly shaped her ambition, values, and interest in reaching back as she climbs.
Rosie Bryant
Director of Programs & Organizing
Rosie Bryant – Director of Programs & Organizing
Dedicated to fostering positive change, Rosie Bryant is a seasoned professional providing training, coaching, and campaign support for local organizers and movement partners nationwide as the Director of Program & Organizing at LiveFree. Passionate about ending gun violence and mass incarceration, Rosie leverages her expertise as a Licensed Social Worker with a Master’s degree from Indiana University.
Prior to joining Live Free, Rosie served as the Lead Community Organizer at Faith in Indiana, spearheading initiatives focused on police accountability, and combating gun violence and mass incarceration. Her impactful leadership led to the establishment of Indianapolis’s first-ever co-governance board, granting citizens unprecedented control over police policy. Additionally, Rosie’s advocacy secured millions in funding dedicated to community violence intervention and support for families during the pandemic.
Recognized for her outstanding contributions, Rosie was honored with the prestigious Indianapolis Business Journal’s Top Forty Under 40 award. Beyond her professional achievements, Rosie is deeply involved in community service. She serves on the Board of Sam Masarachia Scholars, providing scholarships to aspiring community organizers. Personally blessed with a loving family, Rosie is the proud mother of three children cherishing the joys of both professional success and family life.
Archange Antoine
National Organizing Manager
Archange Antonie - Live Free National Organizer Manager
Archange Antoine serves as the Live Free National Organizer Manager, training, developing, and supporting directors, organizers, faith leaders, and directly impacted individuals to drive public safety issues and campaigns across America. He is a multi-talented human rights organizer, executive, minister, and public servant with 15 years of experience across the public, private, non-profit, and government sectors. He holds a B.A. from Rowan University, an M.A. from Seton Hall University, and an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Antoine has been directly impacted by state and gun violence. It fuels his commitment to ensure every woman, man, person, and child’s constitutional, human, and God-given rights are defended, protected, and respected from infringement, and community-based approaches help drive public safety
Archange, who was elected for 9 years, believes it is essential to be involved and engaged in the political and electoral process. It is how we support people, build communities, and set the next generation up for success.
He believes that people must work in groups, coalitions, and through movements to ensure their voices are at the table when decisions are being made, especially if they are going to advance transformational issues that improve the material condition of people, especially the poor.
Antoine is an ordained Minister and Elder in the Christian protestant tradition. He has a strong faith in the Living God which informs his inclusive outlook on earthly and heavenly salvation which is made available to all people and religions.
Archange has a long history of working with other religions and faith traditions on achieving social justice. His relationship with other clergy and community leaders goes beyond common interest in the social, political, and economic mobility of people. It begins by validating others’ humanity, seeing each person as part of the global family.
Marcus McAllister
Violence Intervention Specialist
Marcus Mcallister - Violence Intervention Specialist
Marcus McAllister is a nationally known speaker, consultant, and expert in the field of violence interruption and provides technical assistance to LIVE FREE movement partners throughout the country who are working to reduce gun violence in their communities. From 2005 until 2020, Marcus worked as a violence interrupter, program manager, and national trainer for Cure Violence and now runs McAllister Consultancy & Training.
As a youth, shuttling between parents in Los Angeles and Chicago, Marcus was introduced to the gang & drug culture of the 1980s and 1990s and, at the age of 18, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on drug & gang conspiracy charges. After serving 8 years of his sentence, Marcus had difficulty finding permanent employment and narrowly avoided falling back to life on the street. The turnaround came in 2005 when Marcus was approached by a representative of CeaseFire Illinois who recognized Marcus’s potential as a force for good in his community. Working with CeaseFire (now Cure Violence) as a violence interrupter and outreach worker, Marcus quickly learned that his street background and ex-offender status were actually assets in his work to transform lives. Marcus was quickly promoted to Program Manager where he managed two Cure Violence sites and was later promoted to National Trainer in order to recruit, train and establish Cure Violence sites throughout the world.
Marcus is a recipient of the WARRIOR award from the King of Kings Foundation in New York City as well as a New York State Assembly proclamation in recognition of his work and commitment to stopping violence in New York City and across the US and the globe. Marcus and his wife of 20 years live in the Chicago suburbs and are parents of a teenage boy and girl.
Josh Riddick
State Organizing Manager, Indiana
Josh Riddick - State Organizing Manager, Indiana
Josh Riddick (he/him/his) is a community organizer and justice advocate. Since moving to Indianapolis, Josh has been a pastor, racial equity trainer, and civic dialogue facilitator and presently organizer of the Black Church Coalition.
His current organizing work focuses on building a public safety apparatus that is not reliant on carceral and law enforcement involvement. Josh is also engaged in messaging, and comms work focused on reducing the impact of political mis/disinformation on Black men. He completed his graduate work in Religious Education & Leadership from Rochester University in 2022 and has always been moved by the intersections of identity, spirituality, justice, and the development of emerging Black leaders.
Shelly Blair
Special Projects Manager
Shelly Blair – Operations Administrator and Special Events Coordinator
Shelly Blair has a passion for curating events that bring about education regarding voter awareness, justice, and healing for our black and brown communities. She has successfully created multiple virtual and in person events with over 1.2 million views that include major influencers and music artists such as Erica Campbell, Fred Hammond, and Bishop Paul Morton Sr., to help spread the message of love and peace in the midst of chaos and pain. Shelly also works closely with the administration team as the Operations Administrator.
She finds joy in her work along with pursuing her music career as an independent artist. She is married with two beautiful daughters, whom she has the pleasure to homeschool and do life with in Nashville.
C. Christopher Scott
Digital Media & Marketing Manager
C. Christopher Scott - Digital Media & Marketing Manager
Christopher Scott is a husband, father, entrepreneur and author. He is a results-focused leader with 20+ years of experience and a thorough understanding of vision management, organization structure, marketing, graphic design, customer engagement, and community building strategies. Possessing a heart for humanity and a practical approach to teaching, Chris has worked behind the scenes to build and equip many leaders, businesses and non profit organizations for success.
Advisory Board
Sherrie Deans
Founder and President
Intentional Group
Sheena Meade
CEO The Clean Slate Initiative
Steve Kerr
Head Coach, Golden State Warriors
W. Kamau Bell
Stand-up comedian, director and producer
Warryn Campbell
CEO My Block Inc.
