Founder, director of Make the Road passes reins of group to deputy director

The director of a working-class Latino advocacy group is stepping down after a decade at the helm.

Sara Cullinane, the director and founder of Make the Road New Jersey, is stepping down after 10 years, according to the group. Nedia Morsy, MRNJ’s deputy director, will replace her in March.

“I’m proud to step down in a moment of strength at the organization, and to hand Nedia the reins,” Cullinane said in the email. “As immigrants and working-class people of color face unprecedented threats, I am confident that our team is ready to take on the challenge. And it’s more important than ever to stand and build a movement together.”

Cullinane called Morsy, the daughter of immigrants from Peru and Egypt, “instrumental” to the growth of MRNJ.

“Morsy brings more than 10 years of social justice leadership—she began at the organization as a volunteer and member, then was hired as the organization’s first youth organizer and then organizing director, where she led some of MRNJ’s most successful campaigns—ranging from including youth in the $15 minimum wage hike to securing financial aid for immigrant students recipients and winning a fund for excluded workers,” Cullinane wrote.

Cullinane said MRNJ has a staff of 40 with more than 6,000 dues-paying members.