Born and raised in Bed Stuy Brooklyn and on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Ayoka has spent her life fighting to improve the conditions for poor and working-class communities of color like the ones she was raised in. She has over 30 years of experience working with young people, organizations and communities to fight for social and community change. Ayoka has consulted and worked with a wide variety of local and national organizations including, Black Lives Matter Global Network, Causa Justa: Just Cause, Center for Young Women’s Development, Center for Third World Organizing/CTWO and the Black Organizing Project. Ayoka served as adjunct professor in the Metro Academy for Success program at San Francisco State University from 2017-2021. In May 2016, she completed a Masters of Divinity at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA. Currently, Ayoka serves as the Vice President of Operations for the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice. She lives with her son Khalil in West Philadelphia.
