Meet the Team

Salena R. Pryor

President

Ms. Pryor is a veteran of the CA Legislature for more than a decade. She first started in the Assembly in the capacity of Special Assistant, constituent communications liaison and finally served in a dual capacity role as Principal Consultant to the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC), and Executive Director of the California Legislative Black Caucus Policy Institute, the non-profit arm of the CLBC.

In 2013, Salena left the CLBC Consultant position to lobby in the third house where she worked on a myriad of issues. Most recently, Salena served as the Legislative Coordinator for the NAACP.

She brings her expertise, special skill set and contacts – both inside and outside of the Capitol - which assists her in obtaining necessary information to identify and effectively fight against policies that disproportionately impact African-Americans, and for policies that benefit them.

Dr. Dene Starks

Director of Education

Ms. Starks is an educator, author, and international speaker who specializes in working with other professionals to find innovative and sustainable ways to transform lives through teaching and learning. Because of her passion for education, Ms. Starks founded a Non-Profit called Diversif-I Education Group which promotes diversity through education by offering student and staff development programs, mentoring programs, and a host of other educational services to the underserved community.

To tackle the increase in suspensions among black and brown youth, Ms. Starks successfully partnered with local schools to implement behavioral coaching programs, developed site specific student development programs, and mentoring programs. Ms. Starks has a proven track record of building strong corporate and community relationships as well as creating and implementing innovative programs and services.

Ms. Starks serves as facilitator of governance workshops, leadership development programs, and strategic planning for organizations within the United States and abroad. Her professional experience includes developing community and economic development programs with a focus on student and staff development, workforce development, and compliance monitoring. In 2019, Ms. Starks was awarded with the Community Impact Award from the Sacramento Tapestry for her passion and extensive work transforming lives in the community.