Angela Vanessa Gonzalez Chaverra
Angela works in the community development sector as the Co-founder and CEO of the Nzingha Akanforá Afro Women's Collective. For Afro-Colombians and others seeking to understand Afro-Colombian identity and promote social equity for all, Nzingha Akanforá Afro Women's Collective cultural education provider that organizes leadership training sessions on Afro-Colombian culture and the African Diaspora to raise awareness about their culture and ethnicity, focusing on youth empowerment, education, and diversity. Angela’s short-term aim is to find strategies to enable the company to be self-sustainable financially to expand its impact and projects. In the long term, the fellow aims to develop projects and mentoring programs for young Black people in Chocó and the Pacific Coast. The programs will involve local leaders, social organizations, educational centers, and mentors from diverse backgrounds to create a comprehensive, interdisciplinary experience. Coming into the YLAI Fellowship, Angela’s top business challenge is Finance, more specifically, acquiring enough resources to make the company self-sustainable. During the Fellowship Placement, Angela hopes to gain knowledge about past and present methods for empowering individuals of African descent. They also hope to learn how to obtain resources and create effective plans for project development.