Woman in Charge

Keisha (kay-isha) Nzewi (en-zay-we) is a co-founder and Woman in Charge of Black Californians United for Early Care and Education, and President of the Mt. Diablo Unified School District Board. With vivid memories of her family raising money for Jessie Jackson’s run for president, going to the voting booth every election as a child, and watching Eyes on the Prize every February from its debut for at least 3 years after, Keisha couldn’t help but to spend her career standing up for what is right and just. After spending a year as a VISTA volunteer organizing and training communities to use data to advocate for what they need in Sacramento, CA, she worked for several years as an alcohol policy advocate. At the American Heart Association, where she worked as Director of African American Programs and Advocacy Director, she worked on policies such as tobacco control, menu nutrition labeling, and the Affordable Care Act.

She then took her advocacy, policy and community organizing expertise to the Alameda County Community Food Bank, where she organized community members around anti-hunger and anti-poverty issues. After 7 years, she joined the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network as the Director of Public Policy. At the Network, she honed her child care policy expertise, in an environment and culture that prioritizes being anti-racist. Because of the support of the Network, and the courageous fellow co-founders, Keisha is the first leader of BlackECE.

Keisha earned her BA in Social Welfare from UC Berkeley, where she played piccolo in the Cal Band. She earned her Master of Public Health from San Francisco State University. Keisha is mom/dance mom/stage mom to a Sophomore musical theater artist, and wife to a geologist.