2019 Speakers

Khadija Garrison Adams

Storyteller. Bridge Builder. Advocate.

A lifelong builder of bridges, Khadija Garrison Adams is a brilliant curator of conversation who uses good words, better listening skills and a little bit of laughter to put people at ease while delivering hard truths like good medicine. She has a rare ability to cultivate empathy and vulnerability by modeling those traits in her storytelling. Khadija was a double major (Psychology/Religion) at Ohio Wesleyan University (2004). She then spent nearly a decade as a missionary through the Coalition for Christian Outreach, living and working among college students in Pittsburgh and later Columbus, Ohio.

Today, she crafts documents involving pending and passed legislation for the government. At the urging of the vibrant virtual community that Khadija has been shepherding through issues of race, gender and faith since the 2008 presidential election, Khadija launched her often viral blog, On the Neutral Ground, and her racial justice coaching business in 2019. In 2015, Khadija co-founded Black Lactation Circle Central Ohio, a 600- member in-person and online community serving Black pregnant and nursing mothers, birth workers, and health professionals. The group aims to empower women in Metro Columbus to meet their breastfeeding goals. When she's not trying to change the world, she looks for great ice cream places, laughs a lot, and watches hair and baking tutorial videos on Instagram. A proud New Orleanian, speaker, singer and mediocre knitter, Khadija, her husband, two daughters and their VERY affectionate Rottweiler live on an unexpectedly bucolic tract of land in Columbus, Ohio

Omar Durrani

Compassionate, Respectful, Confident

Omar Durrani MBA works as a financial analyst Monday through Friday. On weekends, he runs his own business, Mister Omar’s Chess Academy (Moca). 

When Omar began playing Chess at 8- he was self-taught and in 5 years he became Ohio Chess Champion at the tender age of 13 & ranked 3rd in Ohio. Before Omar could become a Grandmaster- his mother stopped his early Chess career & forced him to go to private school (St. Charles&Bishop Hartley) to focus on his grades & future. Later Omar went to OSU & WSU volunteering for the Obama Campaign  learning from President Obama to give back to his local community. What began as a simple after-school chess class developed into an official academy 7 years ago when local superstar David Chappelle enrolled his 2 sons & Moca taught in 3 Ohio cities. 

In 2017 & 2018 MOCA became undefeated 2time H.S Chess champions under Mister Omar’s tutelage. With his family’s counsel, the modern, business-savvy Durrani embarked on a journey to find his life’s purpose- Juggling his corporate career & his chess academy. His story will open your heart and mind to a traditional way of teaching our youth, life’s lessons through the Chess Board in this modern-day society. 

Julialynne Walker

Passionate. African-centered. Advocate.

From Columbus, Ohio Julialynne Walker has over 30 years experience working with movements for social change in Africa and the Americas, beginning with the civil rights movement, continuing with African liberation struggles and is still engaged in consolidating the Pan African Movement. Julialynne’s experience is with community, public and private sector organizations - domestic and international - managing projects and providing strategic planning and guidance in the areas of social development, change management (gender, diversity and inclusion), public policy and the African Diaspora in countries on three continents and the Caribbean.

Julialynne is passionate about the connections between healthy food, growing healthy food and marketing healthy food, especially within traditionally African-American communities as an outgrowth of her international public health and African Diaspora work. She is currently the Certified Market Manager Assistant for the Ohio Farmers Market Network, market manager for the Bronzeville Growers Market and manager of the Bethany Bronzeville Community Garden which services the 14 year old Community Lunch Program at Bethany Presbyterian Church.

She has facilitated a seven month course in urban farming sponsored by USDA/Farm Services Agency that addressed the existence of food deserts in Central Ohio and serves as a mentor to area gardeners. She also owns an online travel service, Crossing Cultures Travel and Tours, www.crossingculturestravelandtours.com/ and lectures/serves as a consultant on issues of the African Diaspora and urban farming to colleges and the community.

Julialynne’s local community activities include serving on the board of the Columbus Landmarks Foundation and the advisory committees for the Columbus Africentric Early College (only preK-12 school with an Africentric focus) and Columbus African-American Digital Collection for the Columbus Metropolitan Library. She is an active member of the Greater Columbus Growing Coalition and OEFFA (Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association) and attended the 2018 Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers Convention.

Julialynne has a B.A. (Black Studies) from the College of Wooster and a J.D. from Northwestern University.

Ojala "Ani" Mwalimu

Passionate. Dedicated. Educator.

Aní Mwalimu is an educator, artist, and entrepreneur who lives and works in Columbus, Ohio.  He earned a B.A. in Diplomacy and World Affairs with an Africana focus from Occidental College and an Ed.M. from Boston College in Urban Secondary Education.  He’s led several schools and taught history in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Ohio. Since 2009, Ani has served as Founding Chair of Pan-African Connections (PAC). 

PAC is an international experiential learning NGO, which leads high school study abroad and roots tourism trips to Ghana. Ani has studied and lived in Ghana and Brazil and speaks three languages, including Spanish and Portuguese.  He is a graduate of Ray Miller’s Progressive Leadership Academy as well as United Way’s Project Diversity Program.  He is also a founding board member of the Maroon Arts Group and served on Franklin County Children’s Services Citizen Advisory Committee.  

More recently, Ani launched Access Africana LLC which organizes tours for adults to Africa and the Diaspora.  He currently serves as Director of Youth Development at New Salem Baptist Church. His personal mission is to provide access for every Diasporan, both youth and adults, to visit the Continent.   

Dr. Donja Thomas 

Dedicated. Passionate. Liberator.

Dr. Donja Thomas is a passionate educator, activist, writer, scholar and Black studies curriculum developer from Columbus, Ohio who is committed to establishing learning spaces of introspection that generate more critical and expansive understandings about cultural consciousness, social justice and equity-focused research, teaching, and service. For over a decade, she has been engaged in creating classroom curriculums that center the use of cultural relevant and sustaining pedagogies, critical conscious literacies and the importance of employing curricular practices rooted in the Black experience (literary, historical & cultural) inside and outside the classroom, in order to advance Black Studies in K-12 schooling. She provides classroom opportunities for students that enhance their knowledge of the various contributions made to the U.S. and beyond by peoples of African descent. She also co-constructs with racially diverse student’s a safe space in which they can be open and vulnerable, honor their beings, and honestly critique constructs of race, class, and identity through examination of Black cultural and literary practices.

Fueled out of an honorable responsibility toward educating young people about the beauty and brilliance of Blackness, in 2009, she created ‘African American Voice, a revolutionary Black Literature and Black Studies class she continues to teach as a core English course at Gahanna Lincoln High School, where she currently also serves as a creative director and advisor for Gahanna Lincoln High School’s annual Black cultural program ‘Diaspora: Voices of an Ever- Changing America’. She is an avid advocate for young girls and boys throughout the city of Columbus engaged in creating, developing and supporting platforms focused on promoting self-love, resilience, positive thinking, cultural pride and leadership development in youth. She is also a proud wife and mother.

Hannah Mason-Macklin

Questioning. Empathetic. Inspired.

Hannah Mason-Macklin is the Manager of Interpretation and Engagement at the Columbus Museum of Art. As someone who lobbies for visitor-centered and inclusive approaches to museum work, Hannah asks the questions: How do museums reckon with the colonial foundations upon which they were built, and what role museums should play in our society today?

Dr. Christopher Brown

Quiet. Reflective. Unique.

Dr. Brown MD, MPH, FACP, FNKF is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University and  obtained a Medical Degree and Master’s in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He finished his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Nephrology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. 

Dr. Brown has used  his medical expertise in a variety of settings, including academia, rural and urban healthcare, public speaking and healthcare consultant.  

Dr. Brown has a history of serving the community and is a leader at the local, state, and national levels.   He is on the boards of the Resurrecting Lives Foundation, Isabelle Ridgeway Foundation, Minority Advisory Board for Lifeline of Ohio, Medical Advisory Board of the National Kidney Foundation, and Governor’s Advisory Committee for American College of Physicians.  His passion is engaging community members and organizations to promote healthy lifestyles.   

He is a graduate of the African American Leadership Academy and Columbus Medial Association’s Physician’s Leadership Academy.  He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc and a single father of two daughters. 

Christopher Hearn

Love. Servant. Leader.

Christopher Hearn is an artist, entertainment industry professional, and social impact advocate. Raised in the hip hop community of Columbus, OH, he learned that creativity and community need each other to thrive. His academic and musical skills resulted in a scholarship to New York University. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Music business in 2018, where he delivered the commencement speech at Yankee stadium. After graduating, Christopher founded the Columbus College Fund, with the goal of proving that a community can provide resources and support for its own members. After hosting the (Still) Black Today event series in Columbus in June 2019 to raise money for the Columbus college fund, he relocated to Los Angeles, California. In addition to developing his artistry, he is now working as event marketing and social impact consultant with entities who have strong cultural influences.