Akailah Jenkins McIntyre is a native of Charleston, SC who began her career in research and education at Vanderbilt University. Her journey into social justice work began in a Sociology course that led to her interrogating her own lived experiences and the experiences of others. She went on to manage key programmatic and research aspects of multiple education research projects at the institution, resulting in two published works. Akailah earned both her Bachelor’s degree and Master’s Degree from the University.

Akailah went on to teach English to public high school students in both Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC before becoming a Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in independent schools. While there, she built key infrastructure and programming to scale implementation and measure the impact of equity and justice work at the organizations. She then went on to implement these skills at various nonprofits.

Akailah is a co-founder of an equity and justice consulting firm that centers the wellbeing and liberation of Black women. They consult for small and large businesses, nonprofits, schools, and Boards of Trustees. Akailah is pursuing her Doctorate in Education Leadership at the University of Southern California, and will graduate this year. She is an avid writer and loves to travel and try new foods. She lives in Southeast Washington, DC with her partner, Jordan, and her poorly behaved but loveable pups, Lando and Oshi. She believes that joy should be at the center of all that we do, and loves travel, time with family and friends, Pilates, and, of course, Target.