Meet Our
Staff
Chokwe Pitchford
Executive Director
Guiding the Path to Progress
Chokwe Pitchford
Chokwe Pitchford was born in New Orleans, Louisiana; he moved to Benton Harbor in the early 2000s and graduated from Countryside Academy in 2017. Subsequently, Pitchford graduated from Lake Michigan College with an associate in political science; he has traveled the country organizing underserved communities and learning to listen to all perspectives, not just the loudest voices in the room. Chokwe has received many awards, such as Moody on the Market: 40 under 40, Spirit of Detroit Awarded by the Detroit City Council; he proudly serves on the board of The Ghostlight Theater, Southwest Michigan Community Action Agency, and as co-chair of Berrien County Alpact. Chokwe is also the executive director of Berrien Forward and Berrien Connection, a pair of sister nonprofits in Berrien County tasked with educating the community on the electoral process.
Charles Harttung
Field and Operations Director
Charles Harttung was raised in Dowagiac Michigan but always had friends and family in Berrien County growing up. From going to the movies in Niles to marching in the Blossomtime Parade to enjoying the beautiful local beaches, there were so many people and places to fall in love with here. He has been politically involved since 2018 where he learned the power of good organizing after seeing a measurable increase in voter turnout across the old 78th district. In 2020, he worked statewide with Michigan’s digital organizing team to reach voters during the pandemic. Recruiting and managing over a hundred volunteers, they collectively made over 100,000 voter contact calls and knocked over 25,000 doors, having a significant influence on voter turnout. In 2022, he was the West Michigan Regional Political Director with the State House Caucus where he managed twenty three state house races and all five of his major targets won their districts, playing a vital role in securing our legislature's first progressive majority. Now he’s brought all of that experience home to Berrien County to work with Berrien Forward. Aiming to unite our county by helping elect good people up and down the ballot, promoting public health, spreading awareness of assistance programs and employment opportunities to working families and by empowering the citizens through collective action.