Community Correspondents

Rasheeda Alford

Rasheeda is a native of the East Side of Syracuse, but has been working in the South Side community for several years. Although she has never formally written for a newspaper, she has been writing songs, poetry and short stories since grade school. Her interest in The Stand was sparked when she came across the newsletter and began attending journalism workshops. She has future goals of helping The Stand to continue to shed a positive light on the South Side community.

Brenda Billins Muhammad

Brenda is a consummate community volunteer seeking to serve the community as a true community conduit. She is dedicated not only to our community, but to our country as well. She has earned two President’s Volunteer Service Awards and a Certificate of National Service. Brenda is currently serving a second term of National Service as an AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) with Syracuse Habitat for Humanity.

Brenda is a graduate of Onondaga Community College and SUNY Institute of Technology. Brenda has excellent professional and educational experience in the areas of volunteer management, community organizing, non-profit management, disaster preparedness, business administration, homeownership education, foreclosure intervention and default counseling. She has recently acquired certificates from the Citizen’s Academy, NeighborWorks America Training Institute, FEMA and the Black History Preservation Project. Her plan of action is to attend town hall meetings, community events, workshops and share reports of the knowledge and resources that she secures with our readers. Brenda’s knowledge of our community and her varied experience will be a welcomed addition to The Stand.

Keith Muhammad

Keith is a servant leader who has worked in the public and non-profit sectors for more than 25 years. He is moved by the pain and suffering of people and is committed to bringing about social change and equitable participation of the disenfranchised.

Keith is from a family of activists. His father, Laymon Herring, was the self-educated publisher of the Syracuse Banner and Syracuse Crusader newspapers. He desires to walk in his father’s shoes by writing articles that speak truth to power, that address the needs of the people, that are thought provoking and entertaining. He became involved with the South Side Newspaper Project to improve his writing and to contribute.

He has written a few small articles. His work has appeared in The Syracuse Banner, Health Care Cost and The Final Call.

Katherine Hills

Katherine is a graduate of St. John Fisher College with a degree in Communication/Journalism. She currently works for News Channel 9, as part of the production crew and for Say Yes to Education. Her goal when writing is to help shed light on the dimly lit areas of our Community.

Glory Thomas

Glory is the mother of three and a grandmother of three. She has been self-employed and in business for more than 20 years. She is an accomplished published author and recently published a book titled “My Big Little Book of Spiritual Experiences.”

She now owns and operates a family day care. In her spare time, she enjoys giving helpful business tips to new business owners. Glory also enjoys sewing. She does some alterations and makes custom-made bereavement pillows. She considers herself a skilled professional because she has such diverse experiences in many different areas. Finally she was also a radio personality of Star time gospel hour on 1540 radio located in East Syracuse.

Miguel Balbuena

Miguel moved to Syracuse in 1990 and to the South Side in 2006.

He graduated from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs with master’s degrees in public administration and economics in 1992 and 1993, respectively.

He sees as his mission to give back to the community by empowering South Side residents and increasing their consciousness, especially in the areas of the environment and public health.

After writing fiction in the seventh grade, Miguel’s first foray in journalism came two years later as publisher and editor-in-chief of a high school newspaper. He reassumed his love affair with journalism in his freshman year in college at the Pontifical Catholic University as member of the editorial board of a magazine. He has also published an economics essay in the journal of a central bank of reserve.

Ruthnie Angrand

Ruthnie is the Resilient Youth coordinator at Dunbar Association, Inc. The Resilient Youth program is called “Each One, Teach One” and serves teenagers ages 15-21 years old. She has studied music and corporate communications outside Atlanta, Ga., at Brenau University Women’s College. She hopes to continue studying journalism at Syracuse University and sees participating at The Stand as a means to establish a more informed and aware South Side.

Jeremiah Howell

A long time resident of the area, Jeremiah is currently working as an environmental scientist in Syracuse. Jeremiah is a graduate of S.U.N.Y. College of Environmental Science & Forestry in Syracuse with a degree in Environmental Policy & Management.

An avid photographer, Jeremiah hopes to expand his ability behind the lens and contribute to community awareness through involvement with The Stand.