2025 - 2027
Inaugural Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors are comprised of those committed to supporting global black cultural studies everywhere.
Adegbite, Ayodeji
Ayodeji Adegbite is a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the History Department at Brown University. He is a historian of Africa and its diasporic communities, focusing on the history of science, medicine, technology, and the environment, spanning precolonial to postcolonial periods.
Ajibade, Mayowa
Máyọ̀wá Ajíbádé is a literary scholar. He is an assistant professor of Africana Studies at Brown University. He studies twentieth and twenty-first century African literature-in-English and African American literature with a focus on instances of black experimental writing.
Akyea, Akornefa
Akornefa Akyea is a Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and performer. She received her bachelor’s degree in music from Columbia University and worked for various arts organizations in New York City including WNYC at New York Public Radio, Afropop Worldwide and BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). In 2022, Akornefa embarked on a 19-city North American tour with renowned Ghanaian artist, Ata Kak, singing backing vocals and playing keys and bass guitar. In April 2025, Akornefa self-released her debut EP titled “Worth It,” which she wrote, performed and produced.
Olaniyan, Olabimpe
ọlabimpe is a multidisciplinary artist, consultant, designer and producer. ọlabimpe is a lifelong student and cultural preservationist committed to creating more broadly accessible learning environments that live at the intersection of spirituality and philosophy. ọlabimpe received their B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and has worked as a corporate experience design and analytics consultant at Accenture and Tata Consultancy Services. In 2021, ọlabimpe co-produced the internationally and celebrity cast audioplay musical FELA! Ten-Twenty, a reimagining of the original Tony-winning Broadway Show, FELA!, reframed against the backdrop of the #EndSARS movement against police brutality in Nigeria.
Olaniyan, Moji
Moji Olaniyan directs the institutional effectiveness office at Global Studies University in Sharjah, UAE. She holds a Juris Doctor degree in law from the University of Richmond in Virginia. She has over twenty years of experience in higher education academic affairs, student academic support, and student affairs, having held senior administrative positions at Cornell University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, the California State University at Sacramento, and the University of Virginia. She designed, and secured over $100k grant to run, the African Storytelling on Wheels (2007-2010) outreach initiative through the African Studies Program at UW Madison.
Ajibade, Folarin
Folarin Ajibade is an Assistant Professor of African History at Bard College. He writes and teaches about everyday life, urban belonging, and popular culture in Africa. His current book project is a social and political history of gambling in urban Nigeria from the 1880s onward.
Akinwole, Tolu
Tolulope Akinwole is an Assistant Professor of African Literatures and Cultures at the Univeristy of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. His research interest revolve around African literatures and screen media, global Black literatures, and critical and cultural theory. He is an associate editor of African Writer Magazine.
Gbogi, Tosin
Tosin Gbogi is a literary scholar, linguist, and poet. He is an Assistant Professor of
English at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. His research focuses on African and
African diaspora literatures, poetry and poetics, and hip-hop and popular culture.
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Olaniyan, Bola
Bola is Program Director of Wisconsin in Washington at UW-Madison, where she leads a semester-long experiential education program where student cohorts intern and take courses in Washington, DC. She teaches career development seminars and serves as a lecturer at UW-Madison. Bola is also a partner at Shiso Consulting LLC which is focused on equity work. Her interests and experiences are experiential education, early-career talent development, and equity-centered programming. She previously served as Executive Director of The Sadie Collective, focused on inclusion, access, and opportunities in the social sciences.
Vakunta, Linda
Dr. Linda Vakunta: Dr. Vakunta is a Deputy Mayor of Madison. Dr. Vakunta has more than a decade of experience in grassroots community engagement and program development, monitoring and evaluation work. She is co-founder of Bright Start-Sierra Leone which equips young people with 21st century skills. She holds a PhD in Environmental Studies, a master’s degree in Rehabilitation Psychology, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Executive Administrative Officer: Moji Olaniyan
Website Editor: Benjamin Heidke