THE PEOPLE POWERING THE JXN PROJECT

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The JXN Project is a research-based reparative historic preservation non-profit organization that is powered by two daughters of Richmond, who also happen to be sisters – Enjoli J. Moon  [left] and Dr. Sesha Joi Moon [right] – or more commonly called "The Moon Sisters". JXN has been highlighted PBS NewsHour, TIME, The Boston Globe, and 2021 Pulitzer Prize Winner Richmond Times-Dispatch and recently received VMFA's 2022 RVA Community Makers Award, Valentine Museum's 2022 Richmond History Makers Award for "Advancing Our Quality Of Life", and Historic Richmond's 2021 Golden Hammer Award for "Best Placemaking" – an honor also shared with Kehinde Wiley's "Rumors of War."

Enjoli is the Assistant Director and Director of Programming of The JXN Project. She is also the Assistant Curator of Film and Special Programs with the Institute of Contemporary Art at Virginia Commonwealth University and Executive Director of the Afrikana Independent Film Festival, which holds the distinct honor of being the first and only Black film festival in Richmond – hosting a variety of pivotal cultural figures such as Angela Davis and Nikki Giovanni. Although a grassroots effort, Afrikana has been hailed as the premiere space for Black arts and culture in the city – while quickly becoming the regional hub for Black indie cinema. She is also the founding chair of BLK RVA, a Richmond Region Tourism initiative designed to connect Richmond residents and visitors with Black-owned businesses in the area. She and her work has been featured in local and national publications, such as Style Weekly, Huffington Post, BET, Essence, Black Enterprise, Travel Noire, The Root and Virginia Currents on PBS. She was recently recognized as one of the 2021 "People to Meet" for Virginia Business Magazine and received the 2020 VCIC Humanitarian Award, as well as the 2020 Richmond Times-Dispatch Strong Voices Award. She is also the recipient of Style Weekly's Women In the Arts Award and Top 40 Under 40. However, her greatest accomplishment is being a mother to her son, Jonah – an artist and aspiring filmmaker.

Sesha is the Executive Director and Director of Research of The JXN Project. She is also the Chief Diversity Officer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology with the U.S. Department of Commerce, where she has received the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Bronze Award for Superior Performance, Commerce Spirit Award, and Spotlight on Commerce for LGBT+ Pride Month. She is a Senior Fellow of the Excellence in Government Fellowship with the Partnership for Public Service and Senior Research Fellow with The Conference Board’s Engagement Institute. Along with completing programs at the Harvard Business School and Cornell University, she received a Masters of Science from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs and Bachelor of Arts in Black Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University, as well as a PhD from Old Dominion University where her research focused on the role of intersectionality on the career mobility of women of color in the federal government. She is a member of the African American Federal Executive Association, Federal Chief Diversity Officers Steering Committee Council, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She also serves as a board member with the Commonwealth of Virginia's Criminal Justice Services Board and St. Jude 5K Walk|Run DC. She resides in Northern VA with her wife, Janice Pritchett, and cockapoo, Benji – but her heart is forever at home in Richmond.

In 2018, the Moon Sisters joined forces to create a travel series called A Blackass Field Trip, which are intimately curated excursions designed to educate Black people on the Black experience by exploring Black spaces across the Black diaspora that have influenced Black history – with direct ties to Richmond, VA. Past trips included the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and Legacy Museum in Montgomery, AL and the Whitney Plantation in New Orleans, LA – and a planned trip to Barbados was recently rescheduled due to COVID-19. 

Michon is the Director of Grants for The JXN Project. She is also a board member with the Commonwealth of Virginia's Criminal Sentencing Commission, City of Richmond's Community Criminal Justice Board, and Richmond Association of Realtor’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board. Her prior experience includes work as a Grants Manager and Administrator with the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants within the Executive Office of the Mayor with the DC Government and Director of Victim-Witness Services with the City of Richmond's Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration, Master of Public Administration, and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the Center for Public Policy within the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University. She hales from the West End of Richmond, VA and is married to August Moon – a proud product of Blackwell in South Richmond.

Nigel is the Operations Manager for The JXN Project. He is also Special Assistant to the Executive Director for the Afrikana Independent Film Festival. He graduated from the University of Miami in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Communications with a concentration in Motion Pictures. Beginning in 2017, he served a two-year term with the Peace Corps where he taught linguistic arts in Rwanda. Through his work with JXN and Afrikana, Nigel is using his love for storytelling and filmmaking to help ensure that the stories of historically marginalized communities are never forgotten or untold. He hales from the Southside in Richmond, VA.