Luca Suede Connolly is a queer trans woman, survivor, facilitator and community organizer from southern Virginia. Luca’s commitment to abolitionist movements comes from navigating her own & her communities’ experiences with interpersonal violence and the criminal punishment system. Luca first joined EBC in 2021 as a consultant developing our core values, and now serves as the Director of People, Talent, and Culture. In her role, she strengthens EBC’s organizational culture by aligning our everyday practices and broader structures with these core values. Luca implements restorative & healing justice practices, political education curriculum, and leads EBC staff & community to co-create an organization that best meets the needs of our team while furthering our mission.
Luca comes to EBC with a background in racial, environmental, transgender, and survivor justice movements. She formerly served as co-director of the Richmond Community Bail Fund & was a co-founding member of Appalachians Against Pipelines. Luca currently volunteers as a facilitation coach for Virginia Transformative Justice. Luca holds a Masters in Social Work from the University of California, Berkeley.