About us
Who we are
We strengthen the organizations already rooted in their communities helping them create lasting change for women and young people.
Community Impact RVA invests in community rooted partners at home and across the globe strengthening their capacity to create lasting change for women and young people.
We don’t parachute in with solutions. We listen first, then build alongside partners, strengthening the skills, systems, and resources that fit their context.
Our approach
Our Vision
We invest in community rooted partners at home and across the globe to resource women and young people with safety that holds, skills that earn, and voices that shape their future.
Our Core Values
We listen first and follow local knowledge, prioritize those furthest from power, build trust through honesty and transparency, address root causes, and strengthen the skills, systems, and resilience that enable community rooted partners to build lasting change.
Our Mission
We strengthen community rooted partners at home and across the globe building their capacity to create lasting change for women and young people.
How We Work
We listen first to understand what partners need, stay long through ongoing coaching, peer learning and adaptive support, and follow their lead, bringing tools and frameworks together with their wisdom and priorities to build what works.
Meet Our Founder
Dr. J. “Les” Redfern, Jr.
Founder & Director
Les has a deep sense of justice, especially for vulnerable communities and those furthest from power. He is passionate about helping women and young people find their voice and their power to shape their own futures.
For more than 30 years, Les has worked in nonprofit leadership, helping organizations strengthen their capacity, build sustainable resources, and deepen community and stakeholder engagement. His work has taken him across the United States, Central America, Africa, and Asia, where he has partnered with community-rooted leaders working to create lasting change.
Through this experience, Les saw a persistent challenge: frontline community organizations are often the most trusted and effective partners in their communities, yet they frequently lack access to the funding, systems, and networks needed to grow and sustain their impact.
He founded Community Impact RVA to help change that—investing in community-rooted partners at home and around the world and strengthening their capacity to turn local vision into lasting, measurable change.
Outside of his work, Les enjoys discovering new places, cultures, and cuisines. He is happiest adventuring with friends and getting into a little mischief with his grandkids.
Our Leadership
Meet Amma
Board Member
For Amma, bridging cultures isn’t just a passion it’s personal. Raised in Ghana and shaped by her journey to the United States, she has spent her life using storytelling, food, and community experiences to bring people together.
She creates space for real conversations and for voices that often go unheard, connecting immigrants and longtime residents and turning everyday moments into opportunities for learning, connection, and belonging.
Amma founded Culture Encounters after recognizing that her community needed more than multicultural events. It needed a place where people from all backgrounds could show up fully, without explanation.
Based in Richmond, she continues to build bridges through community, culture, and meaningful human connection.
Amma Gatty
Dalaina May
Meet Dalaina
Board Member
Dalaina grew up overseas and has lived in 5 countries on 3 continents. When she moved to Indonesia, she finally found her home. She holds a BA in Intercultural Studies from Biola University and a MA in Global Leadership with an emphasis in Children at Risk from Fuller Seminary.
After supporting the local staff of a safehouse for trafficked teen girls in Bali, she realized that there was a need for an organization providing similar support for the entire Indonesian anti-trafficking community, and Dark Bali was born.
Meet Cindy's
Board Member
Cindy’s professional background is diverse and multi-sectoral. Her entrepreneurial endeavors include founding and leading two successful small businesses in personal services and marketing of niche products. She spent ten years in Indonesia where she was introduced to and became active in anti-human trafficking programs. Most recently, she served as the Co-Country Director of Indonesia with an international peace and community development NGO overseeing human resources and finances until the end of 2024.
She is trained in dyslexia interventions and has over 20 years in education teaching K-12 in the United States and Indonesia. Her educational leadership experience included serving as the Director of a Day School and as a board member of a Christian Academy. She continues to live out her passion for education and service as a Children’s Director at a church in Virginia.
Cindy is a nature lover, enjoys cooking, exploring, and traveling.
