LEAD ORGANIZER, ST. JOE COUNTY

Rev. Andre Stoner was a Mennonite pastor in St. Joe County for 17 years and worked for Mennonite Church USA for seven years, heading denominational peace and justice work and leading ecumenical relations.

Rev. Andre grew up in a working-class Mennonite family in neighboring Elkhart County. He previously worked as an organizer for the Near Northwest Neighborhood in South Bend, with a focus on addressing lead poisoning in the neighborhood.

Rev. Stoner has grown our St. Joe County chapter to 20 congregations. He recently led the statewide “Call for Care” campaign which succeeded in securing $100 million in new funding for a statewide mental health crisis response system. Rev. Stoner has over 8 years of organizing experience in St. Joe County and has been trained with the Midwest Organizing Cohort as a lead organizer.

LEAD ORGANIZER

Garrett Blad has over 10 years of organizing experience with local and national organizations. Since graduating from Notre Dame in 2015 with a degree in Environmental Science and Sustainable Policy, Garrett has been a leading voice for young people in the fight for climate justice.

In his previous role as Civic Engagement Director with Faith in Indiana, Garrett played a key role in expanding Faith in Indiana’s organizing work to run the largest volunteer-led voter engagement program in the state. He has helped over 200 leaders across the state, mostly young people and people of color, to take leadership roles in their communities from precinct captain to city councilor.

Garrett is currently leading a statewide campaign to make housing more abundant and affordable across Indiana. In this role, he helps build grassroots power, develop local leadership, and advance policies that expand housing opportunities for working families and future generations. Drawing on more than a decade of organizing experience, Garrett continues to support communities across Indiana in creating a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous future.

ORGANIZER, SOUTH BEND

Dion Payne-Miller grew up in South Bend, Indiana. Dion knew early on education was the key to improving his life. He was always told by his family you can do anything you put your mind to and Dion understood education was his ticket to for a better life.

As a student at Holy Cross College Dion became Student Body president. In his campaign he ensured students that he would make sure their voices were heard to the administration about student life at Holy Cross College.

After serving as student body president, Dion wanted to make an impact on his community and give back so he became a high school basketball coach where he mentored students on and off the court. Next, he became a college student assistant of the Girls basketball team at Holy Cross College and the Head Coach of the South Bend Table Tennis Center.

He serves on the board at Kern Road Mennonite church and is president of the Black student association. The common denominator of all these experiences has been developing relationships.

ORGANIZING FELLOW, PORTER COUNTY

Serena Fugate grew up in Valparaiso, Indiana. She graduated from Boston University in 2025 with a masters degree in social work where she specialized in justice and trauma. Serena was unique in her desire to use her social work degree to make change at the policy level. Attending one of the few universities in the country where she was able to major in macro social work, her degree was tailored for community organizing and community development. 

Since embarking on the path of social work, Serena has worked as a legal advocate at a domestic violence shelter, where she helped community members navigate the legal system. In her most recent role she worked as the Housing Services manager for a non-profit that provided housing for those who had previously been experiencing homelessness. These roles reinforced for Serena what she already knew, our structures in place are broken. 

Through much lived experience of her own, Serena has been inspired to empower others to find their voice and know their worth. She has been organizing with the Porter County Chapter of We Make Indiana for over a year now. During this time she has worked with other community members to advance a campaign to make housing more abundant and affordable. The work done in this campaign has contributed to Valparaiso redoing their unified development ordinance and their comprehensive plan.

Serena has hopes that one day in the near future people that give back to their communities in Valparaiso will also be able to afford to live here as well. Serena is excited to create real social change for not only those in her community but for every Hoosier.