Kelsey Coleman is a Regional Organizer for the Southern Labor Youth Movement (SLYM), a student organization preparing young people to build political power in the South via organizing campaigns and political education. Inspired by the Black and worker power movements of the South, Kelsey helped found SLYM in February 2025 because she understood the urgent need to challenge the power of the wealthy interests that have dominated the South for so long, including the biggest employers and universities. Kelsey joined the labor movement in 2021 as a student worker at the University of Maryland College Park, fighting for a $15 minimum wage on campus with AFSCME Local 1072. She’s a DMV native and is currently based in Durham, NC.