Shontay Barnes, born and raised in Buffalo, NY, has a deep passion for Western New York. She is a community organizer, having dedicated years to the leadership teams of Black Love Resists in the Rust and Showing Up for Racial Justice Buffalo. She enjoys building deep connections with local groups involved in community care, racial justice, abolition, arts & culture, and recreation.

Professionally, Shontay has a background in program evaluation. After graduating from the University at Buffalo with a Master's in Psychology, she has led several evaluation projects for reentry programs, treatment courts, and youth programs. Shontay places a strong focus on participatory evaluation, engaging organizations in the strategic process of identifying their goals and developing measures of progress. She has a rich history of academic and applied research, as well as qualitative and quantitative data analysis and reporting.