BMRC WELCOMES FOUR NEW BOARD MEMBERS

Amy M. Mooney is a Professor of Art History at Columbia College Chicago. As a former BMRC fellow, a reviewer of fellowship applications, and a sustained advocate for Black histories—especially in visual representation—Dr. Mooney is deeply invested in the archival collections and synthesis that define BMRC. She hopes to develop multiple pathways that leverage BMRC’s strengths to broaden access, expand scholarship, and diversify public engagement with Black visual culture.

Jeffrey L. Page is an Emmy-nominated, MTV VMA-winning director, choreographer, and cultural preservationist whose work treats Black performance as a living archive. He is the Founder and CEO of Movin’ Legacy, a BMRC member organization, where he leads The GRIOT Project and the film “Blues People,” translating oral history and embodied knowledge into consent-forward, community-accountable records. For three decades, he has conducted field research on traditional dance, masquerade, and ritual across Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau.

Jeffrey serves as Director of the Harvard Dance Project, Artist in Residence at Geva Theatre, and is a Fulbright Specialist. On the BMRC board, he hopes to help deepen frameworks for archiving embodied knowledge, strengthen ethical partnerships with communities on the continent and in the diaspora, and support models where artists, archivists, and scholars build living, accessible Black archives together.

Victoria Sockwell is a Chicago-based archivist, researcher, and writer dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Black histories. Her work centers the cultural memory,material culture, and lived experiences of the African diaspora, with a focus on liberatory archival practices and community-based preservation.

She currently serves as the Manager of Archives for Cook County Government, where she is leading the development of the county’s first historic archive. A trained sociologist and Black Studies educator, Victoria brings a restorative justice lens to both her scholarship and public programming, fostering spaces for healing, memory, and resistance.

Victoria's past associations include Borderless Studios, Hyde Park Art Center, Honey Pot Performance’s Chicago Black Social Cultural Map, the Silver Room, and the historic South Side Community Art Center.

Mark Payne, who fills the community member seat on the board is a Chicago-based leader with over two decades of experience in public service, community development, and civic leadership. He has worked across youth development, public safety, government, transportation, and nonprofit strategy. He currently serves as Executive Director of Public Allies Chicago, leading efforts to build diverse leadership pipelines and strengthen neighborhood-based institutions across the city.

Previously, Payne was the General Manager of Government and Community Relations at the Chicago Transit Authority and Executive Director of CeaseFire Illinois, where he strengthened the organization’s Violence Interrupter Program, raised approximately $7 million, and helped restore state funding to fully implement CeaseFire’s Violence Prevention Program. He also served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Public Safety for Mayor Rahm Emanuel and held roles at the Chicago Police Department focused on community engagement and public safety reform.

Payne is a fellow of the Annie E. Casey Children and Family Fellowship and was part of a 10-member U.S. delegation to South Africa that led to the founding of City Year South Africa. He has partnered with organizations including SCB Architects on the Red Line Extension Transit-Supportive Development Plan, Link Unlimited, and The Obama Foundation. His work has earned recognition such as a Chicago City Council Resolution for service at CTA, selection as a Crain’s Chicago Business Leadership Circle Fellow, and designation as a Franklin Project Fellow of the Aspen Institute.