Allyn Maxfield-Steele

Allyn Maxfield-Steele is a thirty-six-year-old white man raised in Texas, Germany, and North Carolina. He was born into a family of educators, secretaries, farmers, salesmen, social workers, and small-town Protestant church folk of the southern Piedmont. He once had the opportunity to live and learn alongside human rights organizers and community leaders from the Assembly of the Poor in Northeast Thailand. That experience transformed Allyn’s understanding of the power and purpose of education. Since 2002, his movement work has included international solidarity struggles, education, and organizing work in South Carolina and a range of support for front-line struggles throughout the South and Appalachia.

In 2010, Allyn received an invitation to participate in Highlander’s leadership programming. He later joined Highlander’s Board of Directors, where he met and worked closely with Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson, who later invited him to join her in serving as Highlander’s co-executive director. An ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Allyn has served congregations in Alaska and Tennessee. Allyn earned degrees from Wofford College and Vanderbilt Divinity School, where he met his spouse, Erin, an Episcopal priest. They live in western North Carolina.

Ten Things I Can’t Do Without

1. Chances to learn new things
2. Free art exhibits
3. Introvert alone time in my garden
4. Opportunities for quality time with close friends and family
5. Serendipitous encounters with the Divine Spirit
6. My vintage ergonomic Fissler spatula
7. Sunglasses
8. Snuggles with Johann, my dog
9. The love and support of my partner, Erin
10. Belly laughs