meet our team
Our multidisciplinary team works to ensure community voices remain central to everything we create.
Governing Board
FullCircle is led by Executive Director Karen Routt, a governing board which meets every two months, and co-founders Julia Michaels and Mike Wittenstein.
Karen Routt
Executive Director
Julia Michaels
Co-Founder
Mike Wittenstein
Co-Founder
Michael Olorunninwo
Startup and Investor Strategy
Pedro Berto
Finance and Investor Strategy
Candace Randolph
Marketing and Communication
Caroline Mbuvi McCoy
Philanthropy & Strategy Leader
Robert Baker
Attorney
Stewart Hubbard
Risk Management
Dr. Carolyn Somerville
Professor at Hunter College
Claudia Porto
Museologist at Brazil's Chamber of Deputies
Ed Johnetta Miller
Smithsonian Textile Artist
Irapuã Santana
Attorney & Author
Shamichael Hallman
Director at Urban Libraries Council
Janelle Guillaume
Former Fundraising Research Intern
Kathryn Smith
CEO & Founder of Walton Birch
Maria Moraes Robinson
CEO of Holonomics
Nicole Hu
Co-Founder & CTO of One Concern
Thais Rosa Pinheiro
UNESCO Afrotourism Consultant
Simon Robinson
CEO & Co-Founder of Holonomics
Dr. Tonia East Phanor
Founder of Excel Communication
Washington Fajardo
Architect & Urban Planner
Brazil’s Museum of the Republic
Ileomolueoxum House of Orisha
National Network for Afro-Brazilian Religions and Health
Roots 101 African American Museum
Emory University Goizueta Business School
Techademies
Develop for Good
Association of African American Museums
Websummit
Festival of the Diaspora
HOPE Global Forum
Black Ancestries
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How can I get involved?
Please donate to support our work or contact us directly with ideas, questions and feedback!
Contact for inquiries: info@experiencefullcircle.org
How do you define the various African Diasporas?
The world has seen many migrations over history, forced and voluntary. Descendants of enslaved Africans are one diaspora, spread mostly throughout the Caribbean and the Americas (including the USA). Other African diasporas include more recent, voluntary migrants and their offspring, who live all around the world.
How are FullCircle and KinFinity connected?
FullCircle, a 501(c)(3) non-profit created in 2021, aims to digitally connect the global African diasporas, both culturally and as markets for goods and services. As a first step, we are creating a for-profit social benefit entity, KinFinity, to offer an app to be used by African-American families as they plan and document their family reunions.
We seek donors for FullCircle and investors for KinFinity. More information coming soon.
Contact for inquiries: info@experiencefullcircle.org
What was the inspiration?
As she wrote a bilingual blog about Rio de Janeiro’s urban issues, Julia Michaels became aware of the city’s African past. Rio received about 2 million of the 5 million enslaved Africans taken to Brazil. Thus it is the most important port in diaspora history (the future USA received 400,000 enslaved Africans, total). When Julia suggested a larger venue to a Rio museum founder, that founder made a bigger suggestion: connecting all the places in the world involved in enslaving and trafficking Africans, from the 15th to the 19th century.
In 2020, Julia mentioned this stirring idea to her old friend and Atlanta resident Mike Wittenstein, lamenting the impossibility of making it real during the pandemic. “Why not do this digitally?” asked Mike. Thus FullCircle was born and the two friends, who had studied Portuguese together in Rio de Janeiro in 1978, became co-founders. Karen Routt joined the team in 2022 and became Executive Director.
Who has FullCircle previously worked with?
FullCircle has notably co-hosted webinars with Brazil’s Museum of the Republic and exhibitions with Roots101. See more of our past collaborators below:
Where is FullCircle based?
FullCircle is based in the USA, but has partners located around the world.
Support our Mission
Help FullCircle by donating our getting involved. Your vested support drives every stage of Fullcircle’s development!