Meet Our Team

For general questions, please reach out to us at info@paulimurraycenter.org

Angela Thorpe Mason | she/her
Executive Director

Angela M. Mason (nee Thorpe) is a cultural heritage leader, public historian, and scholar based in Durham, North Carolina. For a decade, she has worked to share stories of the Black Southern Experience, and to amplify histories of marginalized communities, in archives, museums, and historic sites.

  • Angela has experience in cultural resource management, organizational development, community programming, strategic planning, and communications. She attended the University of Florida, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in African American Studies. She pursued graduate studies at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she earned a Master of Arts in History with a concentration in Museum Studies. Most recently, Mason served as the director of the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission. In this role, she transitioned the Commission from its position as a program of the North Carolina Arts Council to an independent division of the North Carolina Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. Angela’s values are rooted in community care, equity, and honesty.

    Angela’s work to reconsider the social impact, and economic possibilities, of heritage resources, spaces of remembrance, and sites of impact led to her being selected as a member of Leadership Raleigh Class 43, and an inaugural cohort member of the Association of African American Museums and Howard University School of Business Advance Executive Training Program for museum leaders.

To request Angela as a speaker for your keynote, panel discussion, or address, please submit this request form. Please send all media interview requests to our Communications Manager.

Requests to connect directly with Angela can be made at info@paulimurraycenter.org

Calvetta Watlington | she/her
Managing Director

Calvetta is a nonprofit leader, hailing from Alamance County with over 13 years of experience serving victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, creating safe healing spaces for individuals.

  • Calvetta received her bachelor's in Social Work with a minor in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her unwavering commitment to equity, inclusion, and belonging has been the driving force behind her work. Calvetta's extensive expertise in the realm of capacity building, program development & implementation, and strategic planning has consistently empowered organizations to achieve their vision and deliver high-impact community outcomes.

    Calvetta's multicultural heritage, an amalgamation of Native American and African American identities, not only enriches her perspective but also accentuates her approach to leadership. As a proud citizen of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, she intertwines traditional wisdom with modern strategies to lead with a unique perspective. Over the years, Calvetta has championed projects that prioritize community engagement and collaboration, showcasing the power of community-driven initiatives. Passionate about nurturing individuals on their unique journeys, Calvetta embodies the belief that when we discover and embrace our personal strengths, we possess the potential to uplift and transform entire communities.

Requests to connect directly with Calvetta can be made at info@paulimurraycenter.org

Christen Ruiz | she/her
Development Director

Christen is soft-spoken yet passionate about advocacy and connection in her community work. A native Michigander, Christen earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Jazz Studies and Arts Administration at Wayne State University in Detroit. While there, she worked with organizations like the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Jazz Festival, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan focused on resource development and community engagement.

Connect with Christen at development@paulimurraycenter.org

  • After relocating to Arizona and accepting a position with the University of Arizona, she collaborated closely with the Fort Mohave (Pipa Aha Macav) and Hualapai Tribes on issues of food access, education and food security. Now that she and her husband are in North Carolina and closer to friends and family, she has dedicated her time and attention to volunteer education work and community advocacy opportunities focused on care and equity.

    Whenever possible, Christen loves quietly satisfying her curiosity with books, gardening, and road trips around the East Coast with her husband.

Kristin Hauser | she/they
Communications and Programming Manager

Kristin Hauser is a nonprofit leader holding a Bachelor's in Pastoral Leadership and a Master of Divinity. Kristin started her career in youth ministry, journeying alongside young people as they explored faith, identity, and community. With over a decade of experience in nonprofit work, she’s passionate about creating accessible spaces where folks feel welcomed, valued, and seen. A lifelong writer, Kristin enjoys helping others connect with new ideas and perspectives through storytelling.


Connect with Kristin at communications@paulimurraycenter.org

  • In her spare time, Kristin is an utility player for the Durham Fruits (Durham’s queer Sandlot baseball team), a member of the Durham Next Community Advisory Council, and a volunteer little league coach. Kristin is also a big fan of the NY Heights!

Majesty Royale-Jackson | they/he
Executive Assistant

Majesty Royale-Jackson is a Durham-based multidisciplinary artist, producer, and arts administrator whose work bridges performance, public history, and community engagement. They bring experience in project coordination, communications, event production, and organizational support to their role as Executive Assistant at the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice.

Requests to connect directly with Majesty can be made at info@paulimurraycenter.org

  • Majesty holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and has worked across nonprofit arts, higher education, and independent cultural spaces. Their creative practice explores Black, queer, and Indigenous histories through movement, sound, and digital media. They have presented work at venues including New York Live Arts, The Painted Bride Arts Center, and Hayit Heritage Center.

    In their free time, Majesty enjoys perusing digital archives at public libraries, writing about Black American sonic traditions, and singing to their cat, Wakanda Psyches.

Danielle Buckingham | she/her Public Historian

Danielle Buckingham, affectionately known as Dani Bee, is a Chicago-born, Mississippi-raised writer. She was most recently a Black Joy Reporter for Reckon News where she uplifted the stories of Black writers, artists, and changemakers across the country. A 2021 Lambda Literary fellow, Dani’s work has been published in Midnight & Indigo Literary Magazine, MadameNoire, Raising Mothers, and elsewhere.

Requests to connect directly with Dani can be made at info@paulimurraycenter.org

  • She earned a Master of Arts in both Sociology and Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi where she collected oral histories on Black Queer Millennials from or living in the American South. Dani currently serves as a Prose Editor for SISTORIES, a queer Black feminist/womanist literary magazine. When she isn’t writing or being a full-time cat parent, you can find her chatting about everything from books to spirituality on her youtube channel.

Ilana Adlee | they/she/he
Program Associate

Ilana Adlee (they/she/he) is passionate about how advocacy of intersectional identities and experiences can foster more inclusion within queer spaces and communities. A native North Carolinian, Ilana was born and raised in Wendell.

Requests to connect directly with Ilana can be made at info@paulimurraycenter.org

  • They’ve earned a Bachelor’s degree in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship from University of North Carolina at Asheville. Ilana is enrolled in the Master’s of Education program at North Carolina Central University where they are studying Higher Education Administration with a focus on intersectional student development.

    After relocating, they started working in numerous creative arts spaces across the Triangle. They have worked at Duke University for four years, starting in the venues department and currently working in the Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity as the Staff Specialist. As an Afro-Indigenous and queer woman, Ilana has enjoyed facilitating educational training and initiatives that promote cross-cultural humility. 

    Ilana’s favorite things are making crafts, thrifting and rewatching all the seasons of American Horror Story and Glee.

Lourdes Cantu | she/her
Program Associate

Lourdes Cantu is a community organizer, social activist, and historian dedicated to preserving and sharing the stories that shape our understanding of civil rights and social justice. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in History at North Carolina Central University, where her research examines the evolution of Civil Rights Unionism in the Southeast and the historical marginalization of Black and Brown women’s voices within Civil Rights and Economic Justice movements. Central to her work is the belief that a true understanding of the full human experience requires the inclusion of women’s stories in history.

  • As a Graduate Researcher on local and intercollegiate research grants, Lourdes has traveled extensively across North Carolina, deepening her expertise in the state’s origins and its pivotal role in the nation’s labor and civil rights history, knowledge she brings directly to her work in public history and community education.

    Lourdes is equally committed to empowerment beyond the archive. A Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, she is active in founding GLOSS, a women’s grappling organization that uplifts grappling women of all ages, sizes, ethnicities, and cultures, and she teaches free self-defense classes to communities of women who might not otherwise have access to this training. Her work reflects a throughline that connects her academic and professional life: expanding access, amplifying underrepresented voices, and building community strength. In her downtime, she enjoys camping, kayaking, hiking, and spending time with her dog, Bianca.

Brandie Ragghianti | she/her
Exhibits Associate

Brandie Ragghianti (she/her/hers) is a public historian, certified public librarian, and religious educator. She began working with the Center as a contractor in 2019 and joined our staff in June 2026.

Requests to connect directly with Brandi can be made at info@paulimurraycenter.org

  • Brandie earned an undergraduate degree in Public History with a minor in Music from East Carolina University and later obtained a graduate degree in US History with a concentration in Museum Studies and a Master of Library and Information Studies, both from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Outside of the Center, Brandie is a founding member of QAMP, a grassroots organization that develops a summer day camp and other programs for LGBTQ+ youth in southeastern North Carolina.

    Brandie was raised in a small, rural town in southeastern North Carolina and is a proud queer southerner. She shares a home in Wilmington, NC with her spouse, two wild and wonderful children, and two mischievous cats.