Chris Nickell is Deputy Chief of Staff for Senator Robert Jackson, who represents western Manhattan-—from Marble Hill to Chelsea—-in the New York State Senate. I've gotten to collaborate with Chris on a mutual aid network in New York City that Senator Jackson’s office is jump-starting; Chris approaches the COVID-19 pandemic and the response of mutual aid “from the perspective of a bilingual organizer and from a personal belief in the power of decentralized grassroots organizing."
Originally from Pittsburgh, Chris "grew up in the church," which they see as "a really shining example of a robust social network that can provide much needed support in difficult times." Chris is from "a household where my grandma kept all the ingredients for a cheese souffle ready for whatever family might have just experienced a loss, and she would have it to them that afternoon." Chris is also a classically trained tenor and holds a PhD in ethnomusicology from New York University, which informs how they listen and build community. Read the interview at www.civiclist.org
