About the Good Trouble Circle

Core Team Member

Joycelyn Alsup spent her career in the classrooms of Middlesex County, New Jersey — shaping young minds and building the kind of patient, persistent commitment to community that only teaching can forge. As a proud member of the NAACP, her dedication to civil rights and equity has never been confined to the classroom.

She understands that the work of justice is generational — that what you plant today determines what the next generation inherits. She brings to GTC that long view, along with a quiet, steady conviction that justice is worth showing up for — every time, without exception.

FOUNDER

Born and raised in St. Michaels, Chris Esters grew up knowing that community isn’t something you find — it’s something you build. After a distinguished career in higher education fundraising at Howard University, Elon University, and American University, she returned her full energy to the Eastern Shore to do exactly that.

The Good Trouble Circle is the culmination of that journey. A proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and a candidate for the Queen Anne’s County Democratic Central Committee in June 2026, Chris lives by one conviction: good trouble isn’t just a slogan. It’s a way of life.

Core Team Lead

Ed Esters came to Queen Anne’s County the way many do — by falling in love with the Eastern Shore and never looking back. A native New Yorker and retired U.S. Air Force veteran, he built a distinguished career as a professional project manager across logistics, construction management, and telecommunications before trading the pace of city life for the waters of the Chesapeake.

What Ed brings to the Good Trouble Circle is exactly what any movement needs: the discipline to plan, the experience to execute, and the conviction that the work matters.

Core Team Member

Lauri Fitz-Pegado has spent her life crossing borders — literally and figuratively. A retired U.S. Foreign Service officer who represented American interests around the world, she brought the same discipline and cultural intelligence home to Kent Island six years ago and never looked back.

A classically trained ballerina who continues to teach dance in Washington D.C., Lauri understands better than most that great performances — on stage or in civic life — require preparation, precision, and an unwavering commitment to the work. She brings all of that to GTC, along with a global perspective that Queen Anne’s County is fortunate to have.

Joshua Freeman is a Queen Anne’s County native who went out into the world — the Oregon Legislature, Capitol Hill, the Maryland General Assembly — and brought it all back home. A political strategist and public servant with a journalism degree from Morgan State University, Joshua now serves in the Moore–Miller Administration, where he works to advance policy on child poverty and economic mobility across Maryland.

He’s also a veteran of the campaign trail, including Jesse Colvin’s 2018 congressional run. Now he’s running closer to home — as a candidate for the Queen Anne’s County Democratic Central Committee in June 2026. At GTC, Joshua brings the kind of experience that turns good trouble into good policy. Ask him what matters most, and the answer is the same as it’s always been: the Eastern Shore, and the people raising families here — including his own.

Core Team Member

Roxanne Hollis never had to be convinced that Queen Anne's County was worth fighting for — she was born here. For 21 years she served as an Administrative Assistant at Queen Anne's County High School, becoming a steady, trusted presence in the lives of students, families, and staff alike. She understands something most organizers take years to learn: real change starts with the people already in the room.

She knows this county's children, its families, and its pressure points — because she has spent a lifetime paying attention to all three. She shows up for this community the way she always has — consistently, wholeheartedly, and without fanfare.

Core Team Member

Jim Hynson knows Queen Anne’s County the way only a lifetime of service can teach you. A retired engineer with Delmarva Power, he has served on the housing authority, planning and zoning, and numerous other county boards — building an understanding of how QAC works that few people can match.

When GTC needs to know how something gets done in this county, Jim knows. And when it needs someone who has earned the trust of this community over decades, Jim is already in the room.

Core Team Member

Pastor Emanuel Johnson arrived in Queen Anne’s County as a newcomer — but he came with something invaluable: the knowledge of what it takes to organize a community from the ground up. Forged through years of civic and community work in Somerset County, that experience now serves GTC and the people of QAC.

As pastor of New United Methodist Church in Chester — the home of GTC’s first candidate roundtable — he is already building the bridges that make good trouble possible.

Core Team Member

Sonnie Kelly is a proud product of Queen Anne’s County — and Queen Anne’s County knows it. A tireless community organizer with deep roots across the county, Sonnie has an extraordinary gift for getting people in the room. If you found your way to GTC, there’s a good chance she had something to do with it.

A candidate for the Queen Anne’s County Democratic Central Committee in June 2026, Sonnie brings to GTC what no training can teach — the trust of the community she’s spent a lifetime serving.

Core Team Member

Elaine McNeil has spent 12 years as Chair of the Queen Anne’s County Democratic Central Committee — which means she has spent 12 years doing the unglamorous, essential work that keeps democracy functioning at the local level. A retired educator who gave her career to QAC’s public schools, she came to this county from Australia and made it her home and her cause..

What Elaine brings to GTC is institutional knowledge that can’t be bought or borrowed. She knows the history, the landscape, and the people — and she knows how to get things done. That’s invaluable.

Core Team Member

David Turner is a Queen Anne’s County native who left the Eastern Shore to conquer boardrooms — and came back to make sure his home county gets what it deserves.  A Delaware State University alum, David sharpened his edge at global giants like AT&T, Bank of America, and IBM before returning home with a mission. 

Today, he’s a force in land development and community investment, leveraging his seat on a bank board, former US Chamber of Commerce Board, and the former Chairman of DSU Board of Trustees to bridge the gap between market capital and local potential. At GTC, David provides a combination of local roots, financial acumen, and executive reach that opens doors others can’t. David knows what this county is capable of. He’s betting on it.