Leadership Team
Jennifer M-F Horn, MSW
Pueblo, Colorado
Chair
Jennifer Mary-Florence Horn, LCSW, chairs the board of ZAMI NOBLA (National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging), bringing governance leadership and more than two decades in the field of aging to an organization devoted to the dignity and wellbeing of Black LGBTQ+ elders.
A licensed clinical social worker and Doctor of Social Work (DSW) candidate at Tulane University, Jennifer centers the everyday lives of older Black same-gender-loving women in her scholarship — not as symbols of “resilience,” but as people whose survival and wellbeing are shaped by community, care, and the systems around them. She is a co-author of peer-reviewed research on caregiving during the COVID-19 pandemic in The Gerontologist and Social Sciences & Humanities Open, and a peer reviewer for The Gerontologist. In April 2026, representing ZAMI NOBLA as Board Chair at the American Society on Aging’s annual conference, she published “A Bold Vision for Aging Black Lesbians” in ASA’s journal Generations — a call for collective care to be recognized as essential infrastructure for aging with dignity. She also co-chairs ASA’s Equity and Justice Advisory Council and, as Founder and Lead Educator of Let’s Talk About It! An Educational Journey Series, develops professional education on aging, equity, and trauma-informed care.
A U.S. Navy veteran whose work in aging began in long-term care as a teenager, Jennifer brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her leadership. As Board Chair, she is committed to strengthening ZAMI NOBLA’s national voice — and to a future where no Black LGBTQ+ elder ages without community, dignity, or care.
Article cited: Horn, J. M-F. (2026, April). “A Bold Vision for Aging Black Lesbians: Care, Community, and the Future We Must Build.” Generations, American Society on Aging. https://generations.asaging.org/a-bold-vision-for-aging-black-lesbians/
Cherise M. Matilla, MHA
Phoenix, Arizona
Vice-Chair
Cherise attended Western Illinois University, where she earned a bachelor's in Social Work. Cherise soon after discovered her passion for serving those who were less fortunate in many areas. Cherise began her career working as a Case Manager for a program under the Illinois Department on Aging which began her immediate joy in working with the Older Adult population. Throughout her adult life, Cherise gained experience working in the areas of Child Welfare, Mental Health, and Developmental Disabilities.
Cherise later earned a Masters in Health Administration with a concentration in Gerontology. Cherise continues working with Older Adults and Disabled persons with the local Area Agency on Aging and is employed part-time as a General Residential Specialist for Chrysalis, a Domestic Violence agency in Phoenix AZ. For many years Cherise has enjoyed volunteering with several different organizations providing for those who are experiencing poverty leading to homelessness, poor health, and inadequate nutrition.
Edith Biggers, MD
Atlanta, Georgia
Secretary
Dr. Edith Biggers is a public health physician in the HIV clinic at the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness. She delivers compassionate and state-of-the-art medical care to indigent, uninsured, underserved, and substance-using HIV positive patients, with an emphasis on maximizing self-empowerment through education. As an African American woman specializing in HIV care and treatment, her presence has an empowering effect on those the clinic serves. She spent more than 10 years as a volunteer at AIDS Survival Project talking directly with people living with HIV on how to improve their health by understanding their own health care needs. Dr. Biggers is a native of Atlanta and received her Medical Degree from Emory University, MA in library science from Atlanta University and BA in music education from Smith College.
Sonya Walker, MBA
Roswell, Georgia
Treasurer
Sonya Walker is an ITIL certified business process manager in the financial services industry. She has a B.A. in Psychobiology from Oberlin College and a Masters degree in Business Administration from Pepperdine. Her love of Excel and her passion for technology led her to work experiences in the IT field focused on analysis, compliance, management, monitoring, reporting, and metrics.
Sonya loves to travel and is an avid fan of the arts. She enjoys plays, concerts, dance performances, and visiting museums.
Janyce L. Jackson Jones
Leland, North Carolina
Board Chair, North Carolina State Chapter
Janyce L. Jackson Jones is a founding member of ZAMI NOBLA (National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging) North Carolina State Chapter and currently serves as President. She discovered her passion for art upon retiring to coastal North Carolina after 21 years of dedicated service to her church and social justice causes in Newark, New Jersey. Prior to retirement, Reverend Janyce served as the Co-Pastor of Newark’s Unity Fellowship Church, and helped to found Liberation in Truth UFC, also in Newark, serving for eight years as its Pastor and Executive Director of that church’s Liberation in Truth Social Justice Center. Reverend Janyce lives with her spouse, Valerie Jones, and their dog Buster. She volunteers at the local senior center and serves on the boards of the Frank Harr Foundation, SAGE Wilmington, and the local branch of the NAACP.
Iris Rafi, Ph.D.
Atlanta, Georgia
Board Chair, Georgia State Chapter
Dr. Iris Rafi, a native of Miami, has called Atlanta home for over 50 years. She earned degrees in English from Spelman College and Clark Atlanta University, and a Ph.D. in American Studies from Emory University. After more than 30 years of teaching English in Colorado Springs and across Atlanta, she retired in 2012. Iris became active in issues affecting Black lesbian and queer women in 1990 when she founded Zami in Atlanta. She has worked with ZAMI NOBLA since 2017 and now serves as chair of the Georgia State Chapter. Post-retirement, she has contributed to Grady Senior Services and Ubuntu Community Catalyst’s behavioral health and housing teams. A lover of books, gardening, word games, and baking, she especially enjoys making treats for ZAMI NOBLA’s weekly Sister Harriet Spiritual Collective. Iris continues to center service, care, and justice in every part of her life and work.
Mary Anne Adams, MSW
East Point, Georgia
Founder & Executive Director
Mary Anne Adams, MSW, is a Black lesbian feminist, and community organizer. Her work builds power at the intersection of age, race, gender, and sexuality, centering Black lesbians 40+ through education, health/wellness, advocacy, and community-driven research. With a master’s in Social Work focused on Community Partnerships, Adams brings over 25 years of experience in public health, grassroots organizing, social work education, and health justice. Her praxis is rooted in dismantling the structural determinants of racial, gender, and sexual health inequities. Adams has led NIH-funded research projects examining the structural drivers of HIV, STIs, and aging disparities, and has directed key community research. She served as principal investigator on a landmark study exploring the healthcare realities of aging Black lesbians and has collaborated with Johns Hopkins on breast cancer care among Black sexual minority women. She is currently a co-investigator on a national research project with Dr. Tonia Poteat at Duke University focused on the impact of COVID-19 on sexual minority women. Adams is committed to disrupting systems that erase Black lesbians from conversations on aging, health, and care. She believes in community knowledge as power, storytelling as resistance, and research as a tool for justice.
Angela Denise Davis, M.Div., M.S.
East Point, Georgia
Creative Director
Angela Denise Davis serves as Creative Director at ZAMI NOBLA, where she brings vision and voice to the organization’s cultural and wellness programming. She is the creator, host, and producer of the ZAMI NOBLA Podcast, and leads UKE-In, the organization’s community-based music initiative. Angela is also the founder of Uke Griot, a program offering ukulele instruction that centers storytelling and healing. She facilitates the Sister Harriet Circle, an affirming emotional support circle for heretics, holy-rollers, heathens, and everyone in between. Rooted in radical inclusion, the Sister Harriet Circle is a space of deep connection, reflection, and emotional exploration. Angela’s work lives at the intersection of art and community care. A proud graduate of Clark Atlanta University with a B.A. in Art, Angela holds a Master of Divinity from Vanderbilt University Divinity School and a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from Georgia State University. She is also a Level 3 certified teacher in the James Hill Ukulele Initiative.
Alanah Armstead, MPH
New York City, New York
Membership Coordinator
Alanah Armstead is a Black Lesbian feminist, public health researcher, and women’s health advocate dedicated to advancing reproductive justice and community-centered care. She earned both her Bachelor’s degrees in Public Health and the History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health, as well as her Master’s in Public Health in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Yale University. Originally from Texas and now based in New York City, Alanah currently works in administrative and development support at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. She also serves as a Research and Writing Fellow with the Kuluntu Reproductive Justice Center. Guided by a belief that care is both a practice and a form of resistance, Alanah’s work bridges public health and Black feminist thought to reimagine collective well-being beyond institutional
boundaries.
Miyako Jones
Website Manager
Miyako serves as ZAMI NOBLA's website manager. She has been interested in website design since the age of 12 and has worked professionally in the field since 2016. For the past four years, Miyako has specialized in web development for healthcare. She has a B.S. and an M.S. in Computer Science, both from University of Michigan-Flint. Miyako enjoys sci-fi and fantasy, genealogy research, and spending time with her cat.
Wendy E. Belkin, JD, CPA
Decatur, Georgia
Bookkeeper
Wendy is a seasoned tax attorney and certified public accountant with nearly four decades of experience in tax law, accounting, and financial consulting. Based in Decatur, Georgia, she is the founder and principal of Wendy E. Belkin, Inc., where she has served individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations since 1985.
Wendy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Cleveland State University (1979), a Master’s degree in Taxation from Georgia State University (1982), and a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law (1985). She is both a Licensed CPA (Georgia License No. 005657) and a Licensed Attorney (Georgia Bar No. 047425), bringing a rare dual expertise to her practice.
With a strong commitment to ethical service and personalized financial guidance, Wendy has built a trusted reputation across Georgia.
Alex Smith-Perry
Administrative Support
Alex Smith-Perry is an undergraduate student at the University of Iowa, where he is on the Pre-Law track and studies Theatre, Journalism, and Religious Studies. He has a passion in advocating and working for others, and hopes to do so through ensuring that everyone’s First Amendment rights are being applied accurately and fairly, whether it be their right to publish an article or their right to wear a t-shirt with an expletive on it. Alex also has a love for the theatre, having been onstage numerous times, as well as having won awards for his work. As a Black Queer person from Atlanta, Georgia, going to school in Iowa has shown him first-hand the need for support of marginalized queer people, and the importance of uplifting every voice in the LGBTQ+ community.
Michelle Yadira Montalvo
Intern
Michelle is a graduate student at the Institute of Gerontology at Georgia State University and Vice President of Sigma Phi Omega – Alpha Omega Chapter; an academic honor society in the field of gerontology. As a queer Afro-Latina and care partner, her academic and advocacy work is rooted in a commitment to dignity, equity, and justice for aging BIPOC and queer communities.
Michelle is dedicated to educating marginalized communities about the legal tools that protect their voices, their chosen families, and their identities when they are most vulnerable. Driven by firsthand experience as a care partner and a deep commitment to social justice, Michelle brings both personal conviction and academic rigor to her approach in helping queer and BIPOC individuals. She is committed to ensuring that every individual; regardless of race, sexual identity, or background, ages with the dignity and respect they deserve.
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