Empowering Survivor Families: Jireh Shalom Foundation's Mission
Who We Are
Co-founder
Isa Farrington Nichols
Isa Farrington Nichols is the Jireh-Shalom Foundation founder, a non-profit charitable foundation providing “InPowerMent” resources for children, families, and communities in domestic violence intervention and prevention worldwide. She is an author and is publishing her first book Genesis: The Bullet Was Meant For ME, DC Sniper Story Untold. Currently, Ms. Nichols is the proud mother of two daughters and three granddaughters. She currently resides in Tacoma, Washington. She is a Servant Leader who provides leadership, economic development, and financial management to her community. She has co-established the Collaboratorium, a collaboration of organizations and professionals committed to the “InPowerMent” of children, families, and communities.
Co-CEO
Enako Major
Enako Jefferson is a crime survivor, mentor, and facilitator of the Jireh Shalom Foundation. She has spent over 20 plus years working with survivors of violent crimes and those responsible for harming others. For many years, her work consisted of working to improve the lives of families and communities impacted by neglect and abuse against children. As a Human Rights advocate and a natural bridge-builder, Enako skillfully holds space for survivors and responsible parties, seeing the need for legislative laws, resources, and support for both. Her work with those who were formerly incarcerated and crime survivors has provided her with the privilege, insight, and opportunity to collaborate with community-based organizations and legislators to inspire new legislative changes that benefit not only survivors of crime and their families but responsible parties and their loved ones as well. Her goals and passions are to continue to advocate for more trauma-centered services and a second chance for some of those who have been sentenced to Juvenile Life Without Parole and given extensive and/or extreme sentencing unfairly locally and nationally.
Enako’s deep-rooted faith has allowed her to let God transform her heart and stories of tragedies, brokenness, disappointments, sorrow, and suffering into serving those who harm and have been harmed with love, empathy, and humility. She is committed to educating others on the importance of advocating for fair justice and fair legislative laws, policies, and trauma-centered practices for all human beings. She views all these devastating tragedies as the loss of lives of not only the victims but also a loss to the community as well.
Enako continues to live her purpose and mission through her Human Rights advocacy work. One way she serves and honors those impacted by tragedy and trauma is through her annual “10-Days of Giving ” campaign for non-profits and individuals to commemorate her son, Jesse, and other family member’s tragic deaths. She is also a Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice California Chapter member and Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth (National Family Network Survivor member). She has strong affiliations and collaborations with Beautifully Scarred, St. James Community Church, Uniteeespeaks, DropLWOP, Maxine Mimms Academy, Win With Black Women, Empower You Edutainment, Riverside NAACP, and community support for the Los Angeles District Attorney Crime Survivors Advisory Board.
Enako is always grateful to share healing spaces with those impacted by trauma, especially those who service those who have harmed, and as she continues to give back, this continues her healing process. Enako’s story is a story of sorrow, suffering, and sunshine. She realizes that
” Healing is not a Solo Act” and that together, we are stronger, no matter where we are.
Consultant emerita
Maxine Mimms
Maxine Mimms is a retired educator, Founder of Tacoma Evergreen State College, Tacoma, Washington. In 2004. She later founded the award-winning Maxine Mimms Academies, a non-profit organization in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood, to serve youth expelled or suspended from public schools. With “Embrace the Indigenous Genius of Every Child,” the Maxine Mimms Academies successfully returned 550 middle and high school students to public school. They became the advocate for displaced youth and legislative bills that extended and expanded effective ways of educating children failing in public schools. The decrease in school to prison pipeline was realized through these efforts. In 2009 Mimms retired as Executive Director. She is currently a consultant for interdisciplinary curriculum design and education. She has provided leadership and guidance to public and private schools – including the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa and the Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts in East Orange, New Jersey.