Our Story

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 Janelle Wood is the Founder  & CEO of Black Mothers Forum, Inc.  Janelle is a wife, mother and published author of "Anatomy of A Black Mother". Janelle's passion is to see to it that all of our Black sons and daughters are free to live in safe and supportive communities. 

Gwen Payton serves as a Governing Board and Charter Member of the organization and one of our Central and South Phoenix Lead Parent Advocate.  Gwen is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother with a passion to see our children safe, supported and free to pursue their academic endeavors. 

Janice Varnado serves as Governing Board member and Charter member of the organization. is our West Valley Parent Lead Advocate.  Janice is a wife, mother and grandmother with a passion to see our children treated with dignity, respect and free to pursue academic excellence. 

Pastor Donna Foster serves as a Core Team Member and Leads our Prayer and Wellness Team.  Pastor Foster is a wife, mother and grandmother with a heart for children in Foster Care and has passionately volunteered in Foster Care communities and agencies to make sure these children are socio-emotionally in tact and academically successful. 

Shannon Hayes serves on our Governing Board and Parent Advocacy Lead. Shannon is a mother with a passion to see our Black community gain financial literacy and pursue economic freedom. 

 Juanita R. Williams serves as Leader of the Economic Development Team. She is a mother of two, business entrepreneur, and registered investment adviser representative holding both life insurance and securities licenses (S6, S63, S65, S26) in multiple states including Arizona. She is passionate about empowering women to become financially independent and building financial literacy skills for our youth.

 Da’Naeja Sutton serves as the Executive Assistant. She is an ASU Alumni with a Bachelor's Degree in African/ African American Studies with a concentration on the African Diaspora. Her passion is to protect, uplift, and to consciously heal the Black community through holistic modalities such as Sound Healing meditation and by creating a safe space for all. 

 Christina Foster leads our organizational Education programs and also serves as a Core Team member. Christina is a mother with a passion to see our children safe, supported and free to pursue their academic endeavors. 

Tiffany Dudley serves as co-leader of the Economic Development Team. TIffany is a single mother of three boys, an author as well as an entrepreneur. With a degree in Business in Applied Management, Tiffany has a passion for helping and educating others. With 7 years teaching elementary school within the public school she uses this experience when it comes to educating women when it comes to finances. She is an active member in her community volunteering at her local church teaching the Adult Sunday School and Women's Bible Studies. Her community service activities also include working with children who are in the Arizona Foster Care system. She also spends her time coaching soccer and cheerleading for young children. 

Armonee D. Jackson is the Communications Coordinator. She is a young social justice activist and scholar who currently serves the Phoenix Metro community.
Armonee has served as the President of the NAACP Arizona State Conference Youth and College and an appointed member of the NAACP National Youth Works Committee.
In 2020, Armonee was recognized by Rolling Stone Magazine for her ability to organize protests in Arizona that raised concern for police brutality and excessive use of force.  In her role, Ms. Jackson passionately amplifies the voices of the Black children, mothers, families, educators, and communities that we serve.