Jakada Imani

Jakada is a spiritually-rooted coach and trainer with more than 30 years of experience working in racial, social, and economic justice movements. Prior to stepping into the CEO role, Jakada was a senior coach and leadership team member at The Management Center, where he supported clients including Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight and the California Immigrant Policy Center. He previously served for six years as Executive Director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, taking over from the center’s founder, Van Jones. In his 13 years there, he served as the lead strategist for some of the organization’s most high-profile campaigns and was a lead team member in the successful efforts to stop the construction of one of the nation’s largest juvenile halls—an enormous “Super Jail for Kids.” He also led two successful statewide ballot measure campaigns (No on Prop 6 in 2008 and No on Prop 23 in 2010). Over the last three decades, Jakada has worked on a range of issues, including racial and economic justice, workers’ rights, tenant organizing, and green jobs. In 2013, he received a ChangeMaker Fellowship from Pacific School of Religion, where he served for two years leading a center for spiritual and social transformation. He is blessed to share his life with his partner Laura, and their blended family of 6 powerful and creative children.