Jasahn Larsosa

Jasahn Larsosa is a community and social justice organizer; Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility (IDEA) leader; and nonprofit executive serving as Executive Director for GreenLight Fund Detroit. As a nonprofit leader, Jasahn has attracted more than $10 million for advocacy, economic opportunity, safety net, youth leadership, research, and social justice initiatives. As a community organizer, he has mobilized over 15,000 volunteers to advance local agendas. As an IDEA and justice facilitator, he has trained or coached over 10 thousand corporate and community leaders across the U.S. and in 90 countries. As a proud mentor, Jasahn has fast-tracked more than a dozen people into social justice, nonprofit, corporate, government, and elected leadership.

Most recently, Jasahn served as Founding Director of Advocacy, Equity & Community Empowerment for the Detroit-based and nationally renowned civil rights and human services organization Focus: HOPE, where he provided overarching leadership to return this $27 million/175-person organization to preeminence as a racial justice leader which advocate for systems change and centers equity. He is a published researcher, serving as Principal Investigator for two major projects with the University of Michigan Schools of Education (CREATE Center) and Public Health as well as Wayne State University School of Social Work for dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline harming Detroit youth and to promote positive economic, workforce, and mental health outcomes for Black youth in workforce programs. He also co-authored a resource guide for inclusive and accessible elections in partnership with Detroit Disability Power. Jasahn is a trusted member of the Metro Detroit community, which is where he was born and where he and his wife Krystal are raising their three daughters.

Jasahn is also formally incarcerated due to the devastating War on Drugs which disproportionately imposed social, emotional, environmental, and economic impacts on the Black community. Jasahn earned his Bachelor’s degree from Ball State University while incarcerated in Indiana through an extended education program, studying Communications, History, and Counseling Psychology. But Jasahn’s lived experiences inform his understanding of the importance of strategic and equitable investment for repairing the harms of unjust systems. He’s driven in his role as GreenLight Fund Detroit’s Executive Director by a belief that Detroit, as the nation’s largest majority Black city, has an opportunity to serve as a global model for racial, economic, and social justice. Jasahn is a member on several boards. He enjoys reading, writing, outdoor activities, camping, and exploring the country with his family in their RV.