Ash Kalinda (she/they) is the Organizer of Pride At Work, the LGBTQIA+ constituency group of the AFL-CIO. She comes to this work with a background in labor and immigrant justice organizing, as well as a fondness for storytelling as a tool for movement building and narrative identity development.

Before joining Pride At Work, Ash was the DMV Director with One Fair Wage, organizing service industry workers and supporting worker-driven campaigns. In this role, they fostered coalition relationships with union partners, contributed to canvassing efforts across multiple cities in California, and served as the initiative proposer for the DC Living Wage for All ballot measure to increase the minimum wage to $25 and eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped workers. 

Ash also previously organized with African Communities Together, working alongside African immigrant communities and leading campaign committees advocating for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Pulling from their family’s own migration story from Rwanda, Ash’s organizing has centered the intersection of immigration status, labor vulnerability, and dignity. She also launched ACT’s first youth committee, curating storytelling events centered around the intersection of reclaiming narratives of identity and belonging.

In their free time, Ash enjoys spending their Sundays playing flag football through the DC Gay Flag Football League, and planning brunches with their kickball team through the Stonewall Kickball.