Michael Gilliland

Michael is the community organizer for Chattanoogans in Action for Love, Equity, and Benevolence (CALEB), a nonprofit built of member organizations including faith groups, labor unions and community organizations who seek for their members to have a greater effect in the public sphere. In 2018, CALEB launched the Hamilton County Community Bail Fund to secure jail release for pre-trial defendants. In 2019, they established the first Immigration Bond Fund in Tennessee.

Michael serves as the Board Chair for Chattanooga Organized for Action (COA), a local nonprofit founded in 2010. He has been involved in COA's efforts at affordable housing advocacy, research regarding local bank lending disparities and equitable development, as well as participating in "The People's History of Chattanooga" Project. A lifelong Chattanoogan, Michael serves as Vice President for the Orchard Knob Neighborhood Association.

Who inspires you? Why?

Courageous local leaders like Rev. Leroy and Gloria Griffith, retired ministers of Renaissance Presbyterian Church in the Westside. Their perpetual examples of love, respect, and a deep, proven and longstanding commitment to struggles for justice have meant so much to me and my wife. They're on a short list of people I consider saints in Chattanooga.

What inspires you to do your work?

I do this work because my friends and family need a city that includes them, where they can find housing that is safe and affordable, and where they can have a say in decisions that affect them.

What is one wish you have for Chattanooga?

That we build an economy that meets the needs of its workers and residents, moving away from a model of low-wage and precarious work for far too many in our community.