Join our Greater Tampa Chapter on Saturday, March 13, for our 2021 annual meeting and board elections.

Surveillance and surveillance technologies have historically, and continue to currently, be disproportionally used against communities of color. Chad Marlow will discuss how modern surveillance technologies work, how they are used to expand the risks presented by racially biased policing, and why surveillance oversight efforts – like the ACLU's CCOPS effort – are critical to ensuring that technology cannot be used to thwart hard fought for 21st century policing reforms.

ACLU members will also have a chance to vote on candidates for the chapter board. Candidate bios can be viewed below. 

Chapter Board Nominations

2021-2022 Greater Tampa Chapter Board Slate - Full Bios

Tiffany Tammy Wally:

In my time at Florida State University, I focused my studies specifically on human rights abuses, research, and authoritarian regimes. After three years, I earned two Bachelor's of Science degrees: one in International Affairs (with a concentration in Political Science), the other in Sociology (with a Minor in Political Science). Since then, I've worked in local politics as a field organizer, a volunteer, and as a campaign manager. I currently work in administration at a local hospice facility while I prepare for the LSAT.

In addition, I live with multiple disabilities (cerebral palsy and legal blindness) that impact the regular goings on of my life - including the treatment of my person by both individuals and our government. I am intimately familiar with the discrepancies in care for the disabled in our society and the infrastructure of microaggressions that so many of us must navigate simply to exist. I believe that this grants me vital perspective to any group.

I've long been an admirer of the ACLU as well as nonprofits of a similar mission - those that defend our liberties, enshrined in our nation's constitution, from those who would benefit from their mitigation. As a person whose liberties are often quelled by these factions, I am proud and passionate to be involved in an organization such as the ACLU to ensure that our voices are heard and our liberties maintained.

Nina Borders:

My Name is Nina Borders and I am currently the President/ CEO of Pasco Pride, and work full time as a Clearwater Fire Rescue Firefighter Paramedic. I moved to New Port Richey in 2015, after leaving a 7-year career with the Orange County Fire Rescue Department, and 4 years with the Army National Guard. The Pulse Nightclub attack politically activated me in several ways, as a first responder to the massacre and a member of the Orlando LGBTQIA+ community. I joined Pasco Pride as the Vice President in its inaugural year to do everything in my power to fight for equal rights, especially in communities that need it the most. I took over as the President, shifting the focus from a fun, event-based organization to a social justice org that fights to change the material conditions of our most vulnerable. We attend school board and city council meetings and promote civic education and engagement through Lobby Days in Tallahassee. We have launched a scholarship and a campaign to pass a Human Rights Ordinance in Pasco County. In 2019, I was recognized as Watermarks Most Remarkable People because of my work on equal rights and social justice.

In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I became ill and was not able to return to work. I was forced into no-pay status because of the dangerous lack of sick time given to first responders and healthcare professionals. I became even more engaged in my union and organized my coworkers to help fight for other firefighter paramedics facing the same treatment. My coworkers and union then invited me to join their negotiations committee to fight for a better contract, and I have answered that call as well.

I feel deeply aligned with the work the ACLU carries out, and what they continue to fight for. I had the wonderful experience of working with some of your members during the BLM protests and the efforts to hold New Port Richey police accountable. I feel that I have a lot to bring to his organization, and I am thrilled at the opportunity to learn from your leadership experience. Most importantly, I admire the ambition and values that the organization stands for.

I am overjoyed at the opportunity to join this team that has been so successful at fighting oppression in our communities. Thank you for considering me, and I look forward to meeting all of you.

Samuel Ronen Goldstein:

I’m a long time organizer and activist in Tampa Bay, having worked in some capacity or another in every major county in the area. Throughout my nearly decade long career I’ve tried to be a jack-of-all-trades, showing up where help is needed for a variety of causes from grassroots political campaigns and voter registration drives, to protests of police violence, to removing trees from people’s homes post-hurricane. One of the most striking details of my time in the field is that the ACLU and its members have been there every step of the way, at almost every event I’ve taken part in or coordinated with, ensuring the protection of all rights for all people. I appreciate the organization for its ability to work powerfully within the system without ever compromising on its fundamental principles or abandoning those it fights for. I believe that my experience and communication skills are an ideal fit for the ACLU, which already hosts so many allies I have had the pleasure of working with and knowing over the years. 

Rodrick Colbert

Rodrick Colbert has been an ACLU member since 1997 (has the card as proof) and has been a Greater Tampa Bay chapter board member for most of that time. He currently serves as the appointed chapter Vice-president and chairs the Nominations Committee to vet potential new board members. During this time at the ACLU, he has been part of a large number of activities such as Banned Books Week, Voter Restoration Rights Workshops, ACLU local events, MLK Breakfast, and numerous chapter events and public forums.    He is a research and multimedia producer working for a number of local and internet-based clients since 2012. He is also a long-time Amnesty International USA activist having served on a number of its national committees such as a National Resolutions Committee, Special Initiatives Committee, and the Nominations Committee. He has an BA in International Affairs, Political Science Graduate certificate, and an M.Ed from USF with a concentration Instructional Technology. During his student years at USF, he was very active in many student organizations such as the College Democrats, Student Government, campus NAACP, Amnesty International, a brief USF ACLU chapter, Student Veterans Association, Freethinkers@USF, the USF Office of Multicultural Affairs, Black Graduate Student Organization, and the University Film & Video Association. He even created a Spring Break to Cuba program that existed for 3 years at USF.

He has been very involved in the local Tampa Bay filmmaking scene working with a number of local film production organizations, such as Wicked Window Productions, Tampa-St.Petersburg 48 Film Challenge, Tampa Film Society,  and the Tampa Bay Film Black Filmmakers Showcase. He is in his third-year of hosting a film festival dedicated to Sigmund Freud which he founded.He will be moving his weekly jazz music, Winelight: A Jazz Kaleidoscope, to an internet show. Plus, he will be hosting a radio show for the Tampa Bay Black Chamber of Commerce. He is also a fitness and martial arts enthusiast.

Join us for a special evening with Bree Newsome, activist, organizer, and artist, on Saturday, March 20! ACLU supporters across Florida are invited to join us for this special keynote address from Ms. Newsome.

Bree Newsome is a contemporary civil rights icon who first garnered national attention for her daring act of peaceful disobedience in June 2015. Following the brutal murder of nine Black parishioners at Mother Emmanuel Church in Charleston, S.C., Bree climbed the flagpole at the South Carolina statehouse and pulled down the Confederate Battle flag as a protest against racist symbolism. Her arrest galvanized public opinion and led to the permanent removal of the flag.

In this speech Bree Newsome will discuss how a triumphant act of civil disobedience can spark a movement and inspire others to embrace activism. Through her work as an activist and community organizer, she brings to light the importance of leadership development in building and sustaining social movements. An accomplished filmmaker and musician, Bree skillfully outlines the relationship between activism and art, captivating audiences as she describes in cinematic detail the heroic gestures of ordinary people on the front lines of the fight to end injustice and racial discrimination.

Following Ms. Newsome's presentation, members of the Volusia/Flagler Chapter will be invited to stay and participate in our annual Board Member elections.