About Us

We name, identify and engage the role of the emotional in upholding and dismantling harmful systems. We treat the emotional as structural, highlight the emotional work of each demographic, and use storytelling as a strategy for systemic change. We approach, treat, and engage racial healing at the systemic and institutional level, and connect it to individual action.

Our Team

Esther Armah

Founder and CEO

Esther A. Armah is a former international award-winning journalist, playwright, media communications lecturer, activist, author and international public speaker. Esther is creator of the racial healing roadmap, Emotional Justice; and author of ‘EMOTIONAL JUSTICE: a roadmap for racial healing’ a #1 New Release on Amazon for six straight weeks in the category General Sociology of Race Relations, and a Top Summer 2023 Pick by Stanford Social Innovation Review. As a journalist, Esther has worked in London, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. She has appeared on global media – MSNBC and CNN in the US; BBC in the UK; Channel Africa in South Africa. As a playwright, she has written five plays, that have been produced and performed in New York, Chicago, and Accra. As a global speaker, Esther has appeared on global stages from Ivy League academic institutions in the US, the United Nations, Social Justice Organizations in South Africa and the world of healthcare in the UK. Esther was the Spring 2022 Distinguished Activist in Residence at New York University’s Center for Black Visual Culture. She claims three cities in three countries on three continents as home: London, Accra, New York.

The Advisory Counsil

Our Advisory Council brings The AIEJ international leadership experience, fund-raising, economic, legal and media expertise.

Diallo Shabazz is a global education advisor, sustainability expert, and political activist. He specializes in restructuring and launching large-scale social impact initiatives, has held numerous senior level and executive positions across the corporate, government, and non-profit sectors. He previously served as Senior Director at the global tech company Infor, Chief Community Officer at the New York City Department of Education, and Chief Administrator of the District Council 37 Education Fund. Diallo is co-founder and board chair of Birthright AFRICA, a non-profit organization committed to providing a free educational trip to Africa for every Black student in the United States to discover their legacy of innovation.

Madonna Kendona is an economist with over a decade of experience working on issues of gender, social justice and economic development. Madonna was the Programme Officer for Special Initiatives at the African Women’s Development Fund, where she managed the organisation’s women’s rights advocacy portfolio covering 94 organisations in Africa and the Middle East.Madonna started her career at Ghana’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and has worked in both business and social worlds, as Head of Business Development for Cape Logistics, an energy infrastructure and consulting firm, as Lead Consultant at New York University’s Center for Technology and Economic Development and as Country Manager for Reach for Change, a venture philanthropist organisation that invests in early stage social entrepreneurs whose work impacts children. She resides in Ghana.

Rosalind Kilkenny McLymont has 30 years in the world of business journalism leadership. She is Publisher of Africa Strictly Business, an online portal providing content regarding the business of the 54-nation Continent. Rosalind is the Executive Editor of The Network Journal, a leading U.S.-based magazine for Black professionals and businessowners. She is a past fellow of the European Community Visitors Program.She provided entrepreneurship development expertise for the United Nations Development Program’s Africa Bureau; in Russia through the Alliance of Russian and American Women; and has served in various board director and advisory roles, notably with the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation and the Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. She is author of Africa Strictly Business, The Steady March to Prosperity. She has been featured on U.S. radio and television programs, and has received numerous awards and citations from professional, civic, cultural, and government entities. She resides in New York.

Gregory Reid is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Reid and Rodriguez, a New York law firm. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Counsel to the National Minority Business Counsel. Gregory has provided pro bono legal representation to opponents of the Duvalier regime in Haiti, the Mobutu regime in Zaire and obtained political asylum in the US for formerly persecuted political activists. Greg has received awards from state, county, and city legislative bodies in New York State, and local community organizations, The Boys and Girls Club of America for his humanitarian work. Greg is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the highest state and federal trial and appellate courts in New York State. Greg has practiced before the United States Bankruptcy Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and the New York State Court of Claims.

Kate Gardiner is the Founder of HXMXN and Grey Horse, a boutique agency building holistic communications for media brands globally. Gardiner’s work has reached millions across platforms including with PBS NewsHour, Newsweek - where she was the director of audience engagement -New York Public Radio, and Al Jazeera in Doha. Gardiner and her clients have won awards with the Online News Association and the Emmy's.She is a member of the 2016 class of Forbes' 30 Under 30, among other awards. Gardiner speaks about the role of women in the workplace, audience engagement strategies for small and midsized companies, and building community for specific, niche audiences. She resides in New York City.