The People, Community, and Friends of Wisdom Projects

Miss tree turtle | Cleis Abeni, President (CLICK HERE for bio and affiliations).

Ms. Sharon Williams, Member (CLICK HERE for bio and affiliations).

Ms. Laura Orem, Secretary (CLICK HERE for bio and affiliations).

Matthew D. Jackson, Treasurer (former LSW (licensed social worker) with extensive nonprofit healing and caring experience, and current licensed pharmacology health professional with CVS).

In memoriam

Gregory Turnipseed

We deeply mourn the passing of Gregory Turnipseed (1954-2025), our longterm, beloved Elder Board Advisor, Friend, and Supporter who helped create our Safe Passage Wrap-Around services. He was an incredibly loving, gentle, funny, and visionary man and public servant with a brilliant understanding of issues of equity in at-risk communities, especially as it relates to transportation and security. He made so much of our early work in East Baltimore possible. His unforgiveable loss to violence in November of 2025 hurts us greatly and we send love and blessings to his family today and every day.

We are deeply grateful to our present and past individual and organizational supporters and funders, including the NoVo Foundation, Circle for Justice Innovations’ Leadership Circle, New York Life Foundation, Afterschool Alliance, Gunpowder Friends, the Miles White Beneficial Society, the Black Trans Fund, Youth As Resources, the Baltimore Development Corporation, Education First, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and Individual Donors via Patreon.

In memoriam

We mourn the loss and celebrate the lives of Dr. Gladys McGarey (1920-2024), Dr. Drid Williams (1928-2018), Dr. Vera Maletic, and Mr. Christian Holder (1949-2025) whose seed funding and individual donations (either by direct giving or by their estate in behest) helped launch and sustain our work in Baltimore and beyond.

Please CLICK HERE if you are moved to become a supporter and friend.

The Youth Peacemakers are a group of grassroots youth leaders between the ages of 14 and 24 who work to uplift nonviolence and peacemaking in East Baltimore, receiving weekly or monthly stipends for their work as trained junior Community Health Workers (CHWs). Some of these youth appear in anti-violence campaign videos on our website and we adhere to HIPAA, FERPA, and MPIPA law to protect their identities and enrollment data. The youth featured here gave us permission to share themselves on our website. Youth Peacemakers work in our afterschool program and receive pre-career/pre-college mentoring and workforce development training as well as ongoing education in trauma-informed care, conflict resolution, restorative justice, de-escalation, Social and Emotional Learning, and peer/community counseling. They spread the good news of peacemaking within their homes, schools, and neighborhoods within targeted campaigns by word-of-mouth and by video. A few youth are integrated into the Parent Peacemakers' SB group.

The Parent Peacemakers are a group of leading, grassroots mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and grandfathers who work to cultivate peace in East Baltimore as trained Community Health Workers (CHWs). 

They receive monthly stipends for creating and implementing policies and practices for peacemaking and wellness in their community. Their grassroots abolitionist community-organizing and leadership is responsible for many milestones that have reduced violence, provided alternatives to mass incarceration, and uplifted wellness in East Baltimore. Some of these peacemakers appear in videos on the impact page of our website. 

Anti-violence programming often involves managing stigma and censure towards community members involved in peacemaking and  protecting people who have been impacted by the criminal justice system. Consequently, we adhere to HIPAA, FERPA, and MPIPA law and keep most Peacemakers' identities confidential. Individuals depicted on this website agreed to the release of their images. 

Currently, there are four Parent Peacemakers groups: the women's group, the men's group, the domestic and intimate partner violence survivors' group, and the SB group. (SB refers to the group for those diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, or other major mental health challenges.) Community members enroll willingly into these groups with full informed consent after a careful intake process and they receive ongoing case management as they process through their work as Peacemakers.

Given the seriousness of many community members' disabilities, in tandem with participating in our programming, enrollees are encouraged to receive outpatient medical care and/or psychiatric rehabilitation in hospitals and clinics for their infirmities, and we help enrollees select culturally-competent providers based on word-of-mouth testimonies.

Click here for detailed information about volunteering.

Over the course of its history, Wisdom Projects has welcomed volunteers from a variety of groups, including AmeriCorps, local universities, and medical centers. 

We welcome volunteers (including from Americorps) who are looking to enhance their understanding of community organizing, community healing, and community education for peace, justice, and wellness. 

We ask that volunteers undergo at least three training sessions with us and become a regular monthly Patreon supporter (for as little as $5 per month) to help fund our trainings and activities. 

Training for volunteers is essential because we work with vulnerable populations that demand specialized, safe, and culturally-competent engagement. 

Insofar as we work to prevent violence in sensitive situations, we ask that volunteers sign an agreement to hold us harmless for risks and liabilities, and to maintain strict confidentiality, nondisclosure, and non-disparagement under HIPAA, FERPA, and MPIPA regulations.