Zakiya Carr Johnson
“I believe that to dismantle anti-Black racism, we must remove structural barriers and recognise Black communities and Black women as valuable sources of strength, talent and ingenuity, and invest in them accordingly. ”
Zakiya Carr Johnson currently serves as a Professional Congressional Staff Member for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Lead on Western Hemisphere Affairs. Zakiya is a subject matter expert on social inclusion and global diversity with extensive experience in international development and global affairs. She has over 20 years’ experience shaping policy to include gender equity and racial equality considerations, building public-private partnerships and leading grant-making efforts for grassroots movements across Latin America and the Caribbean.
Zakiya founded Odara Solutions and co-founded the Black Women Disrupt Initiative to build bridges south-south-north, challenge existing narratives of poverty and exclusion and create economic empowerment opportunities for people of African descent. She served as senior advisor for the Race, Ethnicity and Social Inclusion Unit at the U.S. Department of State and as co-chair for the White House Interagency Committee on Gender-Based Violence Monitoring and Evaluation.
Zakiya spent three years in São Paulo, Brazil, as international/youth advocacy director with Geledés Instituto da Mulher Negra, advocating for the human rights of Afro-Brazilian women. She designs programs, conducts workshops, has written articles and speaks regularly on economic, social and cultural rights-based development, diversity, equity and inclusion and historically marginalised groups.
Zakiya is mother of two delightfully cheeky little ones, believes in food as resistance and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.