Tori is a proactive communications specialist with multi-industry expertise curating communications campaigns and roadmaps. She brings several years of experience at the intersection of her technical communication capabilities and passion for community work.
Her career spans multiple countries; she has worked as a community organizer in Florida and has held several positions in advocacy, nonprofits, and communications in various industries in Kingston, Jamaica. In these roles, she has prioritized the voices of marginalized groups in her work while always maintaining an appreciation for the power of narratives and authentic storytelling.
Tori is a proud alumna of Mount Holyoke College, where she graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in international relations and Nexus minor in law, public policy, and human rights. She is Jamaica raised and can often be found either enjoying a beach and/or great local foods.
For people returning home after incarceration, safe and stable housing isn’t just a basic need, it’s the foundation for rebuilding everything: work, family, community, and dignity. But in Illinois, housing remains one of the steepest and most unforgiving hurdles to reentry, and far too many face it alone.
Proposed budget cuts threaten fair housing enforcement, putting millions at risk of discrimination and instability. By slashing funding for frontline organizations and gutting HUD’s enforcement capacity, these changes would make it nearly impossible to hold bad actors accountable. At the Shriver Center, we’re fighting back — through legal advocacy, state-level solutions, and coalition efforts to protect people’s rights to safe, stable housing.
Many individuals living in poverty are working more than one job, yet still struggle to make ends meet. People employed in low-wage or part-time positions are caught in a cycle where their earnings fall short of covering basic needs like food, utilities, and rent. Their reality of juggling multiple jobs challenges the narrative that poverty is a result of personal shortcomings.
People with low income are particularly vulnerable to systems that criminalize poverty. Fines and fees like speeding tickets, city sticker fees, and court costs create financial burdens and trap individuals in cycles of hardship.
Recently, three unhoused individuals filed a complaint against the city, calling its anti-homeless laws unconstitutional. In Johnson v. Grants Pass, the Supreme Court will determine if the city is violating the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment protection against cruel and unusual punishment when it arrests, fines, and even imprisons people without homes for sleeping outside.
The recent release of the report, Funding Our Futures: The Equitable Revenue Policies Illinois Families Need to Thrive, sheds light on the shortcomings of Illinois’ revenue system, calling it out for favoring the wealthy while leaving many struggling to meet basic needs.
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Chicago, IL 60603
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