Our Team

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Ashe Helm-Hernández
Ashe Helm-Hernández | Co-Founder & Project Director

Ashe is a queer southern Black butch with roots in Louisville, KY. Ashe most recently co-founded Tiger’s Eye Collective - a Queer Security: Cultural and Educational project. They have 20 years of experience in Human Right to Education advocacy, leadership development, and youth mentoring as a cultural worker and artist. Their background includes teaching adult education, youth advocacy and development, and community organizing. 

Ashe is currently the Senior Fellow of Philanthropic Organizing 
for Funders for LGBTQ Issues, a Philanthropic Serving Organization that works to increase the scale and impact of philanthropic resources aimed at enhancing the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, promoting equity, and advancing racial, economic and gender justice.   

Ashe formally served as the National Program Manager for GSA Network, a next generation LGBTQ+ racial and gender justice organization. Ashe’s cultural organizing background and their own political artwork has led them to co-create and co-curate a number of projects and practices of cultural solidarity with grassroots organizations AgitArte, Southerners On New Ground (SONG), the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights and the #NOT1MORE deportation national campaign (which evolved into the national organization Mijente). Ashe is passionate about the safety of all our people and curating safe spaces for trans masculine identified and genderqueer folks to connect, build collective leadership, and advance political unity across southern states, and across gender and sexuality.
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Kamau Pope
​  Kamau Pope | Leadership Team

Pope is a Black, queer, Transmasculine person born and raised in South Carolina. Though he was born in the small town of Aiken, the move to Charleston in 2012 gave him deeper understanding of community organizing. This understanding was found within Carolina Youth Action Project (née) Girls Rock Charleston where he was an organizer for two years. During this time he has also found a political home within Southerners on New Ground over the past three years. He joins Tigers Eye Collective with an excitement to bring tactical and training support and the willingness to learn and engage with new and old friends.
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Carter Hatchett
Carter Hatchett |Leadership Team

​Carter is a black, queer, Transman born and raised in Louisville, KY. He currently serves as the Diversity & Equity coordinator for Louisville Youth Group where he's working to foster his knowledge for community organizing & impactful engagement with youth. He is currently working on receiving his degree in computer information technology at JCTC which he plans to incorporate into his community work. He hopes to grow his knowledge & understanding of advocacy, personal development for the better development of the community. With his background in tech he will bring a more technology forward way of thinking to the holistic security nature of Tiger’s eye. 
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Rev. Shanea D. Leonard
Rev. Shanea D. Leonard |Leadership Team
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Rev. Shanea D. Leonard, B.A., M.Div. is a pastor, teacher, consultant, and community activist, and 21st Century abolitionist. Shanea is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries. A native of Philadelphia, they received their B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh and M.Div. from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Shanea has been serving communities and congregations in various capacities for over fifteen years. Pastor Leonard has done extensive work with urban areas to eradicate systemic oppression in the areas of race, gender, sexual orientation, and reproductive justice . Rev. Leonard believes that the Divine has given them a burden for people whom others have disregarded, oppressed, forgotten, or simply don’t even see. Shanea's current work in at the intersection of race & gender justice for the Presbyterian denomination. 
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Alexander Josiah Griggs
Alexander Josiah Griggs |Leadership Team
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Alexander Josiah Griggs is a proud Transman who began transitioning in 2014. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Music from Simmons College of KY in 2019 and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Alexander is an advocate and activist for trans and gender variant persons. He is a writer and an artist dedicated to the advancement of his community.
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​Mrs. Cherry Hussain  | Elder Advisor, Tiger's Eye Collective
Tiger's Eye Collective is a Queer Security Cultural and Educational project that seeks to engage our community in creating physical and community sanctuary. ​We were founded in direct response to the escalated, gender based violence of physical and political attacks against Black Trans/Gender Non-Conforming (GNC), Lesbian, Bi, Gay and Queer people in our community.

Self-Determining Spaces  

Creating the spaces we need to live, thrive, and be safe. 

Empowerment

We have the right to control our own destiny, life, and who we choose to love. 

Courage

Alice Walker reminds us, "We are not the first to struggle, to love, to die."

Peace

MLK said, " Peace is not the absence of tension." 

Safeguarding our LGBTQ Community

Direct Action Security Support
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Community Space
Security
De-escalation & Wellness Support ​
Technical Assistance 
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