Rianna Eckel

Rianna joined the Advance Maryland team in January, 2023 as a Program & Media Associate. Rianna works with our partners to shape strategy and develop compelling visuals for social media to bolster visibility and engagement to win on important progressive legislation. Rianna moved to Baltimore in 2016 to work for Food & Water Watch, and was the lead Baltimore organizer on the successful campaign to ban fracking in Maryland. She organized and lobbied for environmental justice and renewable energy bills in Annapolis for four legislative sessions, and notably played a key role in passing Senator Washington’s bill to remove water bills from the tax sale foreclosure process in Baltimore, where people were losing their homes or churches for unaffordable water bills. Additionally, she worked to pass a charter amendment to make Baltimore the first major city in the country to ban water privatization, and to pass legislation through the Baltimore City Council to create a comprehensive water affordability program. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, she helped form and co-chaired the national Utility Justice Coalition, which passed a national moratorium on utility shutoffs in the Heroes Act relief bill. Rianna transitioned from organizing full time to do graphic design and communications work to support movement organizing and completed the Graphic Design for Organizing Apprenticeship Program with Social Media Technologies in 2021. She is passionate about bringing together her commitment to justice, love of art, and skills as an organizer to create powerful design for lasting change. She prioritizes ethical storytelling, action-driven messaging, and accessible, impactful design. Rianna loves making art especially mosaics, ceramics, and linocut printing, exploring Baltimore with her dog, Beluga, and organizing for racial justice with Showing Up for Racial Justice Baltimore. She is a candidate for the Maryland Institute College of Art Graphic Design M.A. ‘24.