Taja Lindley Email & Phone Number

United States

As the National Programs Director I am responsible for the overall direction and development of All-Options’ national programs, including the Talkline, Faith Aloud, and Pregnancy Options Workshops. I provide strategic leadership and supervision to other national programs staff, build relationships and represent All-Options in national networks, as well as offer insight and guidance to the organization as part of the Directors Circle.I currently supervise 3 employees: the National Programs Coordinator, Faith Aloud Manager, and National Trainings Manager.My core responsibilities include, but are not limited to:Program Direction and EvaluationStaff ManagementStrategy and LeadershipFinance and Fundraising

I am an interdisciplinary generative artist creating dynamic and iterative works designed to transform audiences and to shift narratives, culture and consciousness. I am most known for my performances, installations, and podcasting addressing state sanctioned violence, reproductive freedom, economic sovereignty, bodily autonomy and our relationship with the past. My work is often immersive, participatory, socially engaged, political and autobiographical. My mediums (to date) include film, memory, sound, dance/movement, text, personal archives, storytelling and discarded materials.My artwork has been featured at places like Spring/Break Art Show, Brooklyn Museum, Philbrook Museum, New York Live Arts, the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, Miami Art Week, House of Yes, Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX), the Gallatin Arts Festival at New York University, WOW Café Theater, La Mama Theater, in living rooms, classrooms, conferences and public spaces. I have received coverage in the New York Times, VICE, ELLE, Blouin Art Info, Art Zealous, Artnet News, ARTSY and more. My 2017 residency at Dixon Place Theater culminated in the world premiere of my one-woman show "The Bag Lady Manifesta" and has been presented at museums, galleries, theaters, universities, cultural centers and performance festivals nationwide. After my self-produced tour, I debuted her first solo exhibition "Re-Membering is the Responsibility of the Living" with three site specific iterations in Austin, Philadelphia, and Houston. In 2019 I was the inaugural Public Artist in Residence with the NYC Health Department and a 2020 A Blade of Grass Fellow working on a socially-engaged project to address the Black maternal health crisis in New York City. This work, alongside my longstanding and unwavering commitment to reproductive justice, led to my performance film "Pump & Feed" and a series of labor invoices addressing the under- and uncompensated labor of Black women.TajaLindley.com

Colored Girls Hustle®️ is the shelter and sanctuary for my self expression; a sacred portal and platform for my projects and collaborations in art and culture, and in movement building work.Colored Girls Hustle®️ creates art, experiences, presentations and products that bring value into people’s lives as well as shifts our narrative and relationship to work.Here, I (re)define "hustle" as aligning with purpose. My projects to date demonstrate and synthesize the multifaceted and dynamic nature of my skills and passions. Some notable accomplishments include:FACILITATION2015 - PRESENTI facilitate workshops for youth and adults about art and culture organizing, ritual performance, reproductive justice, healing justice, resilience strategies, and more. I also facilitate staff retreats and healing justice processes and workshops for movement building organizations nationwide.BLACK WOMEN'S DEPT. OF LABOR2020 - PRESENTA project and podcast examining the intersections of race, gender and the double entendre of labor: to work and to give birth. Formerly known as the Birth Justice Podcast NYC. Supported by Forward Together and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.THE COLORED GIRLS HUSTLE MARKETPLACE2018 - 2019A curated pop-up shopping experience featuring women-identified artists, creatives, and makers who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color with the intention to foster collaborative economic practices for and with women of color vendors. In two years, I curated 12 markets in Brooklyn and Manhattan, NY with 60+ women of color artists and small businesses. The CGH Marketplace was featured on NBC News, NY1, and News 12 Brooklyn.ON HER HUSTLE®️2012-2014, 2019This began as a series of blog interviews of women of color in my community and network who embodied the values, ethos, and mission of Colored Girls Hustle®️. In 2019 the Colored Girls Hustle Marketplace hosted a series of Black women led workshops in NYC for creatives and entrepreneurs.

New York, New York, United States

As a consultant with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in New York City, I've held several titles, including but not limited to:> Birth Equity Implementation & Community Engagement Consultant> New York City Standards for Respectful Care at Birth Training Specialist> Birth Justice Bill of Rights Coordinator Every fiscal year, my scope of work primarily supported DOHMH with incorporating a reproductive justice framework into a multi-year strategy aimed at improving the sexual and reproductive health of New Yorkers.In addition to drafting and reviewing internal and external presentations and documents for the Sexual and Reproductive Health Unit and for the Community Engagement Working Group, I co-facilitated a community engaged process to write, edit and design what is now known as the NYC Standards for Respectful Care at Birth. After the NYC Standards were launched, I co-facilitated virtual and in-person trainings about health equity, birth justice, and maternal health for healthcare providers, hospital staff and administrators participating in the NYC DOHMH Maternal Health Quality Improvement Network (MHQIN), as well as managed care organizations with members in the New York City area. I also supported DOHMH with visioning and editing companion documents and evaluations processes to support the adoption and implementation of the New York City Standards at birthing facilities citywide.

Bronx, New York, United States

Public Artists in Residence (PAIR) is a municipal residency program of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) that embeds artists in city government to propose and implement creative solutions to pressing civic challenges.In Spring 2019 I was selected to be the Inaugural PAIR at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to focus on maternal health in the Bronx.During my residency, I designed a Bronx Birth Justice Storytelling Deck and facilitated birth justice story circles with Bronx residents with the support and collaboration of community based groups and member-led organizations. I drafted a large scale public art storytelling project to engage local residents in an interdisciplinary human rights tribunal about maternal health in the borough, however, due to the pandemic, that project shifted into what is now known as the Black Women's Dept. of Labor.

In 2006 I was promoted from part-time staff to full time staff and supported Sadie Nash with coordinating the partnership program. This included hiring, onboarding and supervising all Partnership Faculty, conducting site visits and performance evaluations, soliciting and securing partnership sites with community based organizations as well as public and private middle schools and high schools in all five New York City boroughs.

New York, New York, United States

During my time as a part-time faculty member at the Sadie Nash Leadership Project, I taught classes in their award winning 6-week Summer Institute as well as their Partnership Program during the school year. I worked at their sites and institutes in New Jersey and across New York City.During the Summer Institute I was a Teaching Artist providing workshops and classes on performance and the art of step.For the Partnership Program during the school year, I developed young women’s leadership skills through the implementation of the Sadie Nash Sisterhood curriculum at high schools, high school equivalency programs and alternative to incarceration programs. I created curriculum and facilitated workshops on social justice, feminism, reproductive justice, education justice, sexual and reproductive health, college access and planning, and gender socialization.

New York, New York, United States

In the Fall of 2016, I was promoted to Senior Faculty at Sadie Nash Leadership Project. In addition to facilitating programs as a Partnership Faculty member, I supervised and provided technical support for other Partnership Faculty. This included conducting site visits, facilitating performance evaluations of Partnership Faculty, and leading monthly professional development meetings.

New York, New York, United States

As the Grassroots Fundraising and Communications Coordinator at Community Voices Heard (CVH), I was responsible for co-designing and implementing an individual donor program as well as developing and distributing all organizational communication materials online and offline. During my tenure, I coordinated and managed staff fundraising efforts, including the 15th Anniversary Gala at the Museum of the City of New York - an unprecedented fundraising effort that exceeded our original fundraising goal fivefold. A significant accomplishment for our first gala, featuring donations from the CVH low-income membership base as well as middle class and wealthy New Yorkers.

New York, New York, United States

Gail Aska [1945 - 2005] was a community leader, activist, and co-founder of Community Voices Heard (CVH). As a Black woman formerly on public assistance, she organized other people with similar experiences, namely low-income folks and communities of color, to fight for economic justice in New York City.In 2009 I was selected as the Inaugural Gail Aska Policy and Research Fellow at Community Voices Heard (CVH). My fellowship was designed to support the welfare and workforce community organizing campaign with policy research and legislative advocacy. I provided trainings and workshops to low-income members and leaders of CVH about national, state, and local policies concerning public assistance and economic justice; prepared members and leaders for press, public testimony, and legislative visits; and represented organizational and campaign priorities in coalitions and national networks.

New York, United States & Tamale, Ghana

The Third Millennium Foundation (TMF) Human Rights Fellowship was a fellowship program coordinated by Columbia University's Center for the Study of Human Rights. As a TMF Fellow, I was awarded a grant to support grassroots human rights efforts for one year, with 6 months in the Global North, and 6 months in the Global South. I chose to work with women of color led reproductive justice organizations, including the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (now the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice) in New York City and the Grassroots Sisterhood Foundation in Tamale, Ghana.With the National Latina Institute, I updated and drafted policy fact sheets and issue briefs, and monitored and analyzed federal and state legislation regarding reproductive health and immigration.With the Grassroots Sisterhood Foundation, I assisted with gender violence campaign and property land inheritance paralegal training for women; educated teen girls about reproductive health and rights, and leadership development; and drafted grant proposals, organizational reports, and surveys.

Washington, District Of Columbia, United States

The Kaiser Family Foundation established the Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholars Program in 2000 to honor the legacy of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan and develop leadership skills in health policy for a diverse and highly talented group of young people interested in addressing issues affecting communities of color and other underserved populations. The Program, based at Howard University, brought rising college seniors and recent college graduates to Washington, D.C., where they were placed in congressional offices to learn about health policy issues, with a focus on issues affecting communities of color and underserved populations.In 2007, I was a Barbara Jordan Health Policy Scholar and was assigned to work full time in Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) office where I wrote press releases, talking points, memos, op-eds, congressional records and letters to ranking officials, advocacy groups and constituents on the Congressman’s behalf concerning major foreign and domestic policies and legislation. I also had the opportunity to represent the Congressman’s interests in meetings with constituents and advocacy organizations.