CPI in a Box Team

"Indy" Indrayudh Shome is an interdisciplinary humanist who works with music, digital media, and education. His work ranges from producing music and performing around the world, designing media solutions for nonprofits and artists, developing digital tools for sustainability initiatives, editing documentary films and music videos, and working directly with young people. In late 2020, he joined the School District of Philadelphia to design and teach the city's first high school Career & Tech (CTE) program in Music & Media Production, which was recently recognized with a runner-up Lindy Award for K-12 education and community development. He was born in Calcutta in 1989 and grew up around India as well as in Hong Kong and Singapore, before moving to the US for college, pursuing an interdisciplinary B.A. in "Music, Media, and Consciousness" at Brown University. Shome earned US Residency for his achievements in music.

Kristin Hutchinson is a 2018 graduate of the Citizens Planning Institute (CPI) and serves as both a citizen planner for the CPI Toolbox project and as a member of the CPI Alumni Committee. Kristin’s time at CPI helped her to serve in an advisory capacity for the creation of the Friends of Bodine, a community-based group that mobilizes financial support and resources to enrich the quality of education at William W. Bodine High School for International Affairs, a public magnet school in the School District of Philadelphia. Kristin has worked for the last ten years at the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia (the Council) a non-partisan international affairs experience provider with more than 70 years of expertise in connecting Philadelphia to the world. As Vice President of Education for the Council, Kristin provides leadership, oversight, and management for the Council’s comprehensive education programming which serves students, teachers, and school administrators in keeping with the organizational mission to develop competent, global citizens and leaders. The education program develops, plans, and executes multiple large-scale and small-scale education programs throughout the year serving nearly 85 schools and thousands of students throughout the Philadelphia region. In 2021, Kristin was nominated for the AL DÍA ‘Women of Merit’ award, an annual event that acknowledges and celebrates U.S. multicultural women breaking down barriers and emerging in leadership positions nationwide.

You can connect with Kristin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristinhutchinson/

The Honorable Tracey L. Gordon has served as a pillar of change for Philadelphian’s for over 20 years. Her organizing and legislative success as a block captain and committeewoman in her modest Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood have propelled her from the ranks of local grassroots leadership to an elected official in Philadelphia.

Born in Philadelphia during the height of the Civil Rights Movement to a former police officer mother and filmmaker father (Jamaa Fanaka); community servitude has been instilled in Gordon since childhood. She was first introduced to public service at her High School alma mater West Catholic - where she excelled in civics. Gordon continued her education at Temple University graduating with honors in business administration. Her academic success as a collegiate garnered support from her peers and professors on campus that resulted in several scholars’ awards. Gordon, recognizing the importance of homeownership utilized these resources and purchased her first property for her family of four in the then Irish-Catholic neighborhood of Southwest Philadelphia. As the demographics of the neighborhood began to shift Gordon realized the community outreach from public offices began to decrease. Despite the demographic changes, Gordon demanded that the educational institutions, community safety, and public spaces remained as they had been when she initially purchased her home. Her tireless efforts have resulted in election protection laws, city-wide neighborhood clean-ups, advocacy for seniors and youth, as well as property value increase and protection.

Artafia is a graduate of Citizens Planning Institute contributing to the City’s planning and development for bettering communities with a focus, starting in her neighborhood. She is an active member of Frankford Community Development Corporation/ Neighborhood Advisor Council. She promotes “Love where you live” to encourage healthy living by participating in neighborhood clean-ups and City’s Clean Block events. She hopes to increase community involvement sharing her vision for beautifying the neighboring vicinity within the Frankford Southeast target area. By doing so, she tends to a small garden that produces vegetables and herbs to increase awareness of the nutritional benefits of growing food you can eat from your garden as well as flowering and tree planting. She encourages neighbors to get to know each other for the safety and longevity of good neighbors. She would like a political career in the future to better serve the need in areas involving nutrition, economics, health, and housing.

Rikeyah Lindsay is a life-long member of the Mantua Community, also known as “Da Bottom” by natives. Her family’s roots in the neighborhood date back to 1934, which contributes to Rikeyah’s passion and zeal for the neighborhood. This passion has been displayed in her work with community organizations, such as Action for Early Learning’s Family Ambassador Program in collaboration with the People’s Emergency Center, Mt. Vernon Manor CDC, We Embrace Fatherhood and the Mantua Civic Association. Ms. Lindsay is also a member of groups advancing urban gardening efforts and serves as a block leader. She is an advocate for community-led public safety strategies and youth engagement. She believes in “people power” and uses her overstanding of the importance of organizing to assist people in recognizing the power of their collective voices and actions to advance community change.

Most importantly, Rikeyah is a mother raising a loving and energetic nine-year-old Black male son. Her mission is to keep him safe and at peace during a time when violence amongst Black men is at an all-time high. Her son is her everyday inspiration to do her absolute best to serve the community that he will inherit. Not just for her own child’s future, but for all the youth in the community. Rikeyah is dedicated to promoting a better quality of life and brighter future for the underserved individuals and families.

Rikeyah is passionate about achieving freedom, liberation, and uplift for all oppressed people, especially those Black and Brown persons who have fought so long and hard against the weight of governmental systems and policies that were never meant to serve our highest good in the first place. She believes in the power of love to heal these cycles of senseless trauma and is grounded in her purpose to provide and hold space for those harmed by this system to come to the healing they need and deserve.

Gamar is a design strategist, a visual storyteller and an urbanist who loves design investigations in all its forms. She is a meticulous observer who likes to make sense of information that she either gleans or is “thrown” at her.

Gamar is also an educator and just like her approach to her own practice, she encourages her students to think beyond conventions and look for answers in unexpected places.
Climate and environmental Justice is at the core of Gamar’s values and she tries to find every opportunity to work towards a more just future for everyone and our planet.
Gamar is proud of her Armenian Lebanese heritage and practices and keeps her culture through cooking and sharing delicious food.

Ivelisse (Evy) Cruz is a Senior Project Manager on the Scalable Solutions team at Panorama Global. She manages a diverse portfolio of fiscally sponsored projects to ensure high-impact support for social entrepreneurs, change agents, and funders.

Prior to joining Panorama, Evy worked for the non-profit legal services agency Philadelphia VIP, where she led a program that connected small businesses and grassroots organizations with pro bono legal assistance. Following a career in academic publishing, she honed her skills in non-profit management, community development, and social justice advocacy through several volunteer leadership roles at both a local and national level.

Evy received her Master of Liberal Arts in Urban Studies from the University of Pennsylvania, where she conducted field research on multimodal urban infrastructure and commercial corridor redevelopment. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Temple University. In her free time, you’ll find her tearing up the dance floor, singing karaoke, winning at bar trivia, and otherwise enjoying everything Philly’s vibrant nightlife and verdant park system has to offer.