Terza A. Silva Lima-Neves (Co-founder) is a proud Kriola/Cabo Verdean woman, wife, mom, scholar, award-winning professor, Black African feminist and community advocate. She was born and raised in Cabo Verde and as a teen, Terza emigrated to the United States with her parents, Ivone and Cesar and sisters, Frandine and Lauraberth.
She is a graduate of Providence College and Clark Atlanta University and is currently professor of political science and chair of the Department of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies at Johnson C. Smith University. As a scholar, her research interests and published scholarship are interdisciplinary and straddle the fields of political science, sociology, African diaspora studies, and women and gender studies. Dr. Lima-Neves is one of a handful of scholars whose work focuses on the emerging field of Cabo Women’s studies adding the voice, stories, and experiences of Cabo Verdean women to the larger body of literature on Lusophone African studies, African women’s studies, African gender studies, and modern African diaspora politics. Terza is especially interested in Cabo Verdean women’s understanding and expressions of self-identity, self-love, sexuality, womanhood, siblinghood, and self-empowerment through social media, social movements, and beyond. She is passionate about community work that empowers and inspires people. For more on Terza’s work visit her website, terzalimaneves.com. She lives in Charlotte with her husband and children.
Aminah Fernandes Pilgrim (Co-founder) is a Cabo Verdean woman who is also of Caribbean descent (having heritage from Barbados). She is a mother, historian, artist, author and community organizer. She is a faculty member at UMass Boston who teaches in Women’s & Gender Studies, the Critical Ethnic & Community Studies Masters Program and Africana Studies (online). Pilgrim has been awarded several grants and special recognition for teaching and leadership in community initiatives. In addition to teaching, she is a research associate of the Maurício Gaston Institute at UMass Boston. She is an affiliate of the Pedro Pires Institute for Cape Verdean Studies at Bridgewater State University and co-director of the Clemente Program of Stonehill College. Her areas of research and teaching include late 19th and 20th century African-American history, African-American women’s history, African Diaspora studies, Cabo Verdean studies, education research and critical hip hop studies. Her community organizing and advocacy focuses on the same, with particular emphasis on youth and women’s empowerment. She is an advocate of teaching using civic engagement and has empowered many students to make a difference in this field. She is the founder of the HIPHOP Initiative (est. 2004). She is the co-founder of Poderoza International Conference on Cabo Verdean Women. And she is the co-founder of SABURA Youth Programs, Inc. For more information on her research, publications, and community projects, see: www.aminahpilgrim.com or visit her organization pages.
