News

Rev. Al Sharpton announces the appointments of Rev. Steffie Bartley as interim NE regional director, Derek Perkinson as NYC Field Director and District Leader William Allen as Crisis & Service Director

NEW YORK, NY (February 12, 2019) — Rev. Al Sharpton today announced that Rev. Steffie Bartley, the senior pastor of New Hope Baptist Church and Director of NAN Newark Tech World, has been appointed Interim Northeast Regional Director of National Action Network (NAN), the organization he founded in 1991. Rev. Bartley is a well-respected clergy leader and also serves on the Juvenile Task Force for New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. He will oversee all of the Northeast Region Chapters of NAN along with NAN Newark Tech World, the Harlem NAN Tech Lab and the NAN Tech Bus, all initiatives through NAN to further technology in the community.

Further, Rev. Sharpton announced the hiring of Derek Perkinson and District Leader William Allen to National Action Network’s (NAN) New York office. Perkinson has been named NYC Field Director and Allen will assume the role of Crisis & Service Director.

Perkinson, who joins NAN from the Black Institute – a think tank and nonprofit advocacy organization – will oversee NAN advocacy and organizing efforts in all five boroughs, as well as the staff and volunteer leaders at the House of Justice and the individual New York City chapters. In addition to grassroots organizing, Perkinson comes to NAN with experience in campaign coordination, Criminal Justice Reform, Voting Right and community engagement.

As Crisis and Service Director, District Leader Allen will coordinate national crisis response and service efforts for victims of civil rights violations. He will oversee crisis operations for NAN’s offices in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, Detroit and Washington, D.C. and will ensure real-time monitoring of city and state services to protect against violations. Allen brings decades of experience in community organizing, advocacy and service to the underserved.

“Derek and William bring decades of experience to NAN and both have impressive records of results when it comes to advocating for underserved communities and agitating for change,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton. “We’re very excited to welcome them to the NAN team here in New York.”

Both Perkinson and Allen will work out of NAN’s “House of Justice,” the organization’s headquarters in Harlem.