Meet Our Staff

A passionate and relentless individual, Lisa Perry believes in strengthening communities from within and cultivating stakeholders from our neighbors. As the leader of The Common Ground Project, she brings to the table a broad spectrum of skills — including constituency outreach, innovation, fundraising, & transformative problem solving. Her experience in the non-profit sector as the State Women’s Constituency Director with organizations like Florida For All and Florida Watch, coupled with her experience in the political arena as the former Regional Constituency Outreach Director for Andrew Gillum for Governor and Chris King for Governor, have given Lisa the tools to build both bridges and power in the direction of progress. Lisa looks forward to working toward the kind of hyper-local access to democracy that all Floridians expect and deserve.

Prior to joining The Common Ground Project, Matt served as a Legislative and Communications Associate with Faith In Public Life Florida, where he largely focused on expanding rights for the LGBTQ+ community, advocating for paid family leave, and opposing attempts to disenfranchise voters. At the moment, he is completing a master’s degree in Applied American Politics and Policy from Florida State University. Originally from Pensacola, FL, he currently resides in Tallahassee with his out-of-control book collection.

Sam(ira) Obeid is an internationally renowned spoken word poet and speaker on intersectionality, systemic discrimination, and resistance. For over a decade, Sam has been using spoken word to mobilize the local Tampa Bay community on issues such as gun violence, LGBTQ+ rights, abortion, racial justice, immigration, and youth voice. Sam previously served as the Program Director of Community Tampa Bay. Sam’s commitment to justice stems from knowing what it is to have one’s humanity revoked socially, politically, legally, and economically. She moved to the U.S. from India in 2007 where she earned her second and third master’s degrees in Multimedia Journalism and Women’s & Gender Studies, respectively.

Kai Tomalin is currently a student at American University in Washington D.C., where he is studying international relations with a focus in peace studies. He has participated in a number of protest movements around the nation, and is actively working to teach skills of non-violent self defense to historically marginalized groups. Kai has dedicated himself to a life of non-violence, and so he works hard to extend these principals into the work he does. Though his studies have brought him everywhere from the temples of Shikoku to the plains of the Serengeti, Kai is especially passionate about preserving and protecting democracy in his home state of Florida.