Board President
Diversity Consulant

Daedra Staten is a diversity, anti-racism, and inclusion ("DAI") consultant and educator living in Los Angeles. She believes that diversity, antiracism, and inclusion touch everything that we do.

Staten is the founder and Chief Diversity Consultant at SCG Diversity Consulting which provides businesses, non-profits, and educational institutions with comprehensive diversity, anti-racism, and inclusion education, training, and programming. SCG’s projects vary in magnitude and depth depending on the client, but involve developing DAI panels and other educational programming, conducting organizational audits of internal DAI structures and practices, building and implementing DAI policies, and developing diversity recruitment and retention plans.

Prior to founding SCG, she spent the better part of a decade at UCLA Law, first as a law student, and then as the Assistant Director of Graduate Studies, working with international graduate law students. In this capacity, Staten traveled the globe recruiting a diverse class for several months out of every year while also developing diversity and academic support programming.

Graduating from UCLA Law in 2013 with a specialization in Critical Race Studies and a focus on International and Comparative Law. Staten received a dual bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California in 2010 in International Relations Global Business (Marketing) and Philosophy (Ethics, Law & Value Theory). She is a member of the California State Bar.

Board Member
Realtor, Compass and RenaRealEstate
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Rena Braud is a seasoned REALTOR®, strategist, investor, and philanthropist with over three decades of experience. As the founder of RRE Strategists, Rena leverages her extensive background in real estate and mortgage lending to empower others to build generational wealth. A legacy Realtor and multi-property owner, she utilizes her deep market expertise to help clients create sustainable economic stability.

A passionate advocate for women and girls, Rena channels her commitment into active philanthropy and board leadership. She is a Founding Board Member of the She Angels Foundation, an Advisory Board Member for A New Way of Life, and proudly serves on the Board of Sovern LA. Rena also supports teachers at her alma mater, 54th St School.

Beyond her civic endeavors, Rena is a creative writer, photographer, and music enthusiast who loves traveling. She is excited to contribute her strategic vision and passion for impactful community initiatives to the Sovern LA board.

Board Member
Founder, Dominique Gallery

Dominique Clayton is an arts consultant, writer, and gallerist born and raised in Los Angeles. Clayton is the founder of Dominique Gallery, a storefront and pop-up exhibition and online program which showcases and advises emerging artists, marginalized artists and artists raising families. In addition to the gallery, Clayton often serves as a guest curator, most recently organizing the group exhibition Ode to Dena: Black Artistic Legacies of Altadena now on view at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles and the current exhibition Giving You The Best That I Got on view at Art + Practice.  Clayton also serves on the curatorial and programming committee of Destination Crenshaw, a forthcoming outdoor art museum and arts program based in the historic Crenshaw community of Los Angeles.  Clayton previously worked as Manager of the Founding Director’s office at The Broad and later as an interim director at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery.  Her arts management journey started at the Brooklyn Academy of Music where she oversaw a global array of multi-disciplinary talents.  Her arts writing has been featured in publications including Cultured Magazine, LALA Magazine, Artsy, Sugarcane Magazine, and her own forthcoming publication.  Clayton earned her undergradaute degree at Columbia Universirt in New York City and later earned a masters in business design and arts leadershup at Savannah College of Art and Design.  Clayton lives in mid-city with her three daughters.

Board Member
Attorney at Law, WHD Firm
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Whitney was raised in South LA and is passionate about giving back to the community. Well-versed in all areas of business law and civil litigation, Whitney's legal practice specializes in real estate and entertainment law. Her passion for justice for clients extends to her nonprofit work. As Board President for A New Way of Life, Whitney works on behalf of the organization in whatever capacity is needed to ensure the success of women recently freed from incarceration. Whitney is also a mother of two sons who are her greatest source of pride.

Board Member
Teacher Residency Professor

Dr. Shadi Seyedyousef (she/her) is an Iranian immigrant, educator, and activist based in Los Angeles, CA. She was a teacher for over 10 years, finding particular joy in teaching young children how to read. She now supports teachers in her role as a program associate and teacher residency professor.  Her research focuses on liberatory teaching and learning in early grades, and she believes in the power of young children as changemakers in our world.  Some of her favorite things include sunshine and the ocean, bright colors, trivia nights, karaoke, and creating digital and mixed media art.  Dr. Shadi is excited to join the board of Sovern after years of visiting the lovely and intentional third space for different cultural events and programs.  Community is everything, and spaces like Sovern are beautiful sites of resistance in action.

Board Member
Creative Director

Marrisa Wilson is an award-winning Guyanese-American Fashion Designer, Creative Director, and Founder of MARRISA WILSON New York. Born and raised in New Jersey, educated in New York and Paris, and now based in Los Angeles, her work is shaped by a belief that multiculturalism is a superpower—that each of us is influenced by a unique combination of cultures, experiences, and perspectives that shapes how we see the world and create. This belief informs both her creative process and her commitment to Sovern's mission, where she is proud to support the development of intersectional arts and cultivate opportunities for artists and communities to co-exist and thrive.