Gabriella Nelson is a mother, city planner, and curator focused on the confluence of urban policy, public health, and design. Gabriella is the Associate Director of the Voices for Health Justice program at Community Catalyst. In this role, Gabriella works to emphasize building community power at the grassroots level to make progress toward community-driven policy change at the local, state, and/or national level.
Before joining Community Catalyst, Gabriella advocated for best policies and practices in maternal-child health and early learning in Philadelphia. She believes the city is for everyone, especially for those who want to stay after bearing decades of disinvestment and devastation.
Gabriella has lectured widely on topics of maternal-child health, city planning, and advocacy, including at TEDxPhiladelphia. Gabriella is interested in redesigning cities, systems, and policies that oppress and work against the liberation of those historically left behind through the lens of care, radical imagination, and the practice of refusal. She identifies as a problem-solver, an inquisitive thinker, and a creative person whose experiences and opinions are deeply rooted in her womxnhood, motherhood, and Blackness.