Meet Our Team
Staff
Anjalique Abernathy | She/They
Director of Education and Outreach
Anjalique Abernathy (formerly Knight) was raised in eastern NC. After graduating from the NC School of Science and Mathematics she took her love of history to Tufts University. There, she grew in her understanding of the importance of community, restorative practice, and critical interrogation of history. Their passion for public history and individual stories was sparked while working as a research intern with the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy. She graduated with a B.A. in Africana Studies after spending a life-broadening semester studying at the University of Ghana- Legon.
Since then, Anjalique has worked as a high school history teacher. Her education and lived experiences combine to inform their continued passion for critical conversations around accessibility, community, restorative and social justice, equity, and history education. She also loves her rescue Shepherd (Argos), fostering dogs, Guyanese food, and beach time.
Connect with Anjalique at education@paulimurraycenter.org
Angela Mason | She/Her/Hers
Executive Director
Angela M. Mason (nee Thorpe) is a cultural heritage leader, public historian, and scholar based in Durham, North Carolina. For a decade, she has worked to share stories of the Black Southern Experience, and to amplify histories of marginalized communities, in archives, museums, and historic sites.
Angela has experience in cultural resource management, organizational development, community programming, strategic planning, and communications. She attended the University of Florida, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in African American Studies. She pursued graduate studies at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she earned a Master of Arts in History with a concentration in Museum Studies. Most recently, Mason served as the director of the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission. In this role, she transitioned the Commission from its position as a program of the North Carolina Arts Council to an independent division of the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. Angela’s values are rooted in community care, equity, and honesty.
Angela’s work to reconsider the social impact, and economic possibilities, of heritage resources, spaces of remembrance, and sites of impact led to her being selected as a member of Leadership Raleigh Class 43, and an inaugural cohort member of the Association of African American Museums and Howard University School of Business Advance Executive Training Program for museum leaders.
Connect with Angela at executivedirector@paulimurraycenter.org
Calvetta Watlington | She/Her
Managing Director
Calvetta is a nonprofit leader, hailing from Alamance County with over 13 years of experience serving victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, creating safe healing spaces for individuals.
Calvetta received her bachelor's in Social Work with a minor in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her unwavering commitment to equity, inclusion, and belonging has been the driving force behind her work. Calvetta's extensive expertise in the realm of capacity building, program development & implementation, and strategic planning has consistently empowered organizations to achieve their vision and deliver high-impact community outcomes.
Calvetta's multicultural heritage, an amalgamation of Native American and African American identities, not only enriches her perspective but also accentuates her approach to leadership. As a proud citizen of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, she intertwines traditional wisdom with modern strategies to lead with a unique perspective. Over the years, Calvetta has championed projects that prioritize community engagement and collaboration, showcasing the power of community-driven initiatives. Passionate about nurturing individuals on their unique journeys, Calvetta embodies the belief that when we discover and embrace our personal strengths, we possess the potential to uplift and transform entire communities.
Karita Cardona | They/Them/Theirs/His/Hers
Executive Assistant
Karita Cardona is originally from Orlando, FL and received their A.S. in Film Production & Technology at Valencia College. They’ve previously worked as an Executive Assistant, Production Coordinator, and the annual Director of VIP Relations for the Orlando Film Festival. Their perseverance through surviving abuse as a defiant gender-fluid adolescent of mixed descent, combined with their eagerness to learn how to grow away from false coping mechanisms, led to a broad understanding of negative conditioning on adolescent minds.
Their passion for equity and empathetic healing is reflected in their aspirations to uphold the legacy of Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray. They are a lover of self-awareness, individual and communal growth by means of compassionate and challenging conversations, mentoring their trans and enby nieflings, crafting, and their companion for over a decade, Maggie Mae Justice (the cat).
Connect with Karita at execadmin@paulimurraycenter.org
Contract Services
Portia Hopkins, Ph.D.
Digital Learning and Engagement Contractor
Portia D. Hopkins is a highly accomplished scholar with a doctorate in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Currently serving as the University Historian at Rice University, Portia actively engages in outreach efforts to empower African American activist groups in Houston with data curation knowledge.
She is the Co-Founder of the Black Houston(s) Symposium, a free conference that brings community members and scholars together to explore themes related to the history, culture and experiences of Houston's Black communities. She is dedicated to developing best practices documents for curating data while actively participating in the thriving communities of data curation, digital humanities, and African American studies at Rice and throughout Houston. She is excited to join the research team as the Co-PI for the Pauli Murray Center project. She is an advise pencil collector and enjoys listening to music, reading, and spending time with her family.
Brandie Ragghianti | She/Her/Hers
Curatorial Associate
Brandie Ragghianti (she/her/hers) is an independent public historian and certified public librarian based out of Wilmington, NC. She is a contractor with the PMCHSJ and previously worked with the Center on the team that developed its Compass Plan. Brandie is passionate about intersectional history, particularly historical intersections of gender, race, sexuality, and class.
She earned an undergraduate degree in Public History with a minor in Music from East Carolina University and later obtained a graduate degree in US History with a concentration in Museum Studies and a Master of Library and Information Studies, both from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Brandie has experience with historical research and writing, program development, digital mapping, digital history, exhibit development, and museum education. Brandie has recently served as a contract researcher with Eisterhold Associates and as a contractor with the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission. In addition to partnering with cultural organizations, she also enjoys conducting historical and genealogical research for private clients.
Brandie was raised in a small, rural town in southeastern North Carolina and is a proud queer southerner. She enjoys singing, learning classical guitar, exploring nature, and spending time with her spouse and two children. She is active in the Unitarian Universalist church and recently gave her first sermon as a lay preacher.
Christen Ruiz | She/Her/Hers
Development Director
Christen is soft-spoken yet passionate about advocacy and connection in her community work. A native Michigander, Christen earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Jazz Studies and Arts Administration at Wayne State University in Detroit. While there, she worked with organizations like the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Jazz Festival, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan focused on resource development and community engagement.
After relocating to Arizona and accepting a position with the University of Arizona, she collaborated closely with the Fort Mohave (Pipa Aha Macav) and Hualapai Tribes on issues of food access, education and food security. Now that she and her husband are in North Carolina and closer to friends and family, she has dedicated her time and attention to volunteer education work and community advocacy opportunities focused on care and equity.
Whenever possible, Christen loves quietly satisfying her curiosity with books, gardening, and road trips around the East Coast with her husband.
Connect with Christen at development@paulimurraycenter.org
Synatra Smith, Ph.D. | She/Her/Hers
Digital Learning and Engagement Contractor
Dr. Synatra Smith (she/her) is a Black eXpeRience researcher from Laurel, Maryland and she earned a doctorate in Global and Sociocultural Studies with an emphasis on anthropology from Florida International University.
She uses her background in cultural anthropology to explore extended reality (XR) and other digital tools to enhance special collections featuring Black art, history, and culture with the specific intention of documenting workflows that can be shared with students, cultural heritage workers, and scholars interested in building digital projects without relying on a large budget or team.
Dr. Smith is excited to bring her expertise in Black digital humanities coupled with her experience in museums and libraries to the Pauli Murray Center team to support a creative, educational, and immersive project. In her spare time, she enjoys sewing to extend the legacy of her grandmother, aunts, and mother as well as attending wine education events to learn more about identifying and enjoying fine wines.