Meet the Team

  • blackmoses@cta-usa.org

    Black Moses, a native of New Orleans, is a community organizer, educator, and activist. He graduated from Tulane University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Africana Studies, and Xavier University’s Institute for Black Catholic Studies with a Master's in Black Catholic Theology.

    Black Moses was a member of the first CTA ReGen cohort in 2018 which began his involvement with CTA.

    A decade of community organizing in New Orleans working with communities to shift power inspired Black Moses to change gears and teach Africana history in New Orleans to high school students.

    He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Administration degree at the University of New Orleans.

  • christopher@cta-usa.org

    Christopher Ortiz is a bilingual, first-generation Ecuadorian-American born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has been an organizer since high school, inspired by his parents who were involved with their neighborhood association. Christopher has worked as a youth coordinator at an up-and-coming organization called Agents of Change. He was then hired as the Latino Organizer for the same neighborhood association from my childhood, CANDO (Central Area Development and Neighborhood Organization), where he worked for more than four years organizing diverse, intergenerational communities.

    In his spare time, he enjoys writing and is currently working on his first novel. He also enjoys video games and creating in a variety of art forms.

  • jason@cta-usa.org

    With over 10 years of experience in faith-based advocacy, activism, and organizing, Jason is passionate about working for justice and peace on a wide range of issues, such as democracy reform, economic justice, immigration and refugees, and the environment. He holds a master's degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University where he concentrated on the areas of genocide prevention and refugees.

    Jason has led and contributed to various campaigns and initiatives that mobilize people of faith across the U.S. to raise their voices and take action on urgent matters. As the longtime Director of Campaigns and Development at Franciscan Action Network, he co-led the Faithful Democracy coalition, was a steering committee member for the People's Climate March, and worked on a number of high profile campaigns including the Freedom to Vote Act, Fast 4 Families for Immigration Reform, Nuns on the Bus, SB5/Issue 2 in Ohio, and climate actions around the Pope's visit to the U.S. As a freelance writer and consultant, he devises and implements rapid response petition and e-mail blast campaigns for Faithful America and other partners. He also writes op-eds and articles for local and national media outlets, such as The Hill, Religion News Service, Washington Post, U.S. Catholic, and his hometown Toledo Blade, on topics of interest for the Catholic community, politics, and current events.

  • tamar@cta-usa.org

    Tamar has a long history with CTA and social justice activism. Her former church (St. William) in Louisville, KY was a strong supporter of CTA in its early days. Tamar went to a CTA conference in 1996 and was hooked from the start. She was so energized that she started a local chapter and began service on the board in 2001. In 1999 she met her husband-to-be, Tom Yager, in Chicago at a Next Generation Retreat. They married in Louisville in 2006. She continued to serve on the CTA board until 2015.

    Tamar lives in Front Royal, VA, and is very active in community activities, including serving on the United Way board and town committees. She attends Our Saviour Lutheran Church where she is a worship leader, serves on the church council, and co-chairs the fellowship committee.