Staff

Sekou Siby
National Deputy Director and HR Director
Siby leads the national staff to support membership operations, training and education programs, community and public engagement, as well as policy advocacy and organizational development. Under his leadership, ROC United is building worker power, and promoting policies that improve the lives of restaurant workers and their communities. Siby’s inspiring story tells a remarkable rise from his native Ivory Coast to New York City, where he survived the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He first worked as a cab driver, a cook at the Windows on the World, and then co-founded ROC United, managing and organizing major campaigns and bringing hundreds of restaurant workers to victory against wage theft and wage inequality. A polyglot — speaking six languages — Siby was featured in major national publications and television networks. In 2018, he was awarded the prestigious National Leading from the Inside Out Yearlong Fellowship by the Rockwood Leadership Institute. He holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix School of Business and is finishing up his doctoral studies at.
Al Chavez
National Deputy Director of Organizing and Campaigns
Alicia Renee Farris
National Deputy Director and HR Director
Raymond Pettit
Associate Director of Institutional Giving
Eva Putzova
Communications and Technology Director
Teófilo Reyes
Research Director
Board of Directors
Danya Cunningham
Woong Chang
Jennifer Herman
Abel Valenzuela
Mission
Who We Are
Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United is a nonprofit organization fighting to improve wages and working conditions for the nation’s restaurant workforce.
What We Do
We organize restaurant workers, employers, and allies around local, state, and federal policy issues to achieve our goals: raise the wage and labor standards in the restaurant industry and achieve economic, social, gender and racial justice.
Where We Work
We have local chapters in New York, Pennsylvania, DC, Michigan, Minnesota, LA, the Bay area … and a national team that supports the chapter-level projects as well national programs and campaigns.