Dr. Jotaka Eaddy
Speaking Truth to Power and Influencing Elections
“I stand on the shoulders of the powerful Black women that came before me, fighting for the change we all want to see.”
Dr. Jotaka Eaddy
Dr. Jotaka Eaddy is a globally respected strategist, activist, and changemaker whose two-decade career has shaped policy, empowered communities, and opened doors once closed to Black women across America. She is a daughter of the South, raised in rural South Carolina, where her moral compass was forged in the fire of early injustice. Even as a child, she understood what so many elders have taught: when you see wrong, you stand up.
And she did, again and again.
Dr. Eaddy’s life has been a master class in leadership and legacy. She made history by becoming the first Black woman elected as student body president at the University of S.C., a 213 year old institution that had never before seen such representation.
Her leadership did not stop at the academy’s gate. As Senior Advisor and Voting Rights Director at the NAACP from 2009 to 2014,she waged a righteous fight for our democracy. From restoring voting rights in Delaware to confronting voter suppression head-on in Virginia and beyond, she gave voice and power back to the people, especially those too often left out and locked out.
And when she entered the tech sector, she did not leave her values behind. In Silicon Valley’s executive suites, she became one of the few Black women to claim a seat at that table, and then she shook that table. She spoke truth to power, demanded diversity be more than a statistic, and built metrics into the bottom line.
Perhaps the most radiant expression of Dr. Eaddy’s leadership came in 2020, when she founded #WinWithBlackWomen, an intergenerational, intersectional network of Black women leaders from business, sports, movement, politics, entertainment, and beyond who stand united in support of Black women. This mighty sisterhood has done more than just uplift voices, it has changed the course of history. The network was instrumental in championing Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential bid, raising over $3 million for the Harris-Walz ticket and inspiring over 200 pro-Kamala affinity groups that collectively raised more than $20 million for the campaign following an historic zoom call with 44,000 participants and an additional 50,0000 on other platforms.
Additionally, #WinWithBlackWomen played a key role in supporting the confirmation of the nation’s first Black woman U.S. Supreme Court Justice, advocating for the safe return of Brittney Griner, and advancing the power and image of Black women in film, television, and culture.
#WinWithBlackWomen has garnered over 1 billion organic impressions on social platforms. That is nation-shaping, legacy-making work.
Dr. Eaddy continues her labor through Full Circle Strategies, offering wise counsel on policy, human rights, and equity to decision makers across the globe, from Geneva to Addis Ababa, from the United Nations to the African Union. She is not only a strategist and speaker. She is a global drum major for justice.
With courage, persistence and amazing grace, she continues to fight for:
• Racial justice and equity
• Human rights around the world
• Seats for Black women at the table in C Suites in Silicon Valley
• The expansion of voting rights
• The election of Black women up and down
ballots in the United States.
Lessons from Dr. Jotaka Eaddy’s life:
Her activism early in her life reminds us that one is never too young to do the right thing. She urges all women to believe these words in an African proverb: “Like the turtle, each of us must stick out our neck if we want to go forward.” The years she spent in a C-suite in Silicon Valley speak to Shirley Chisholm’s advice: “If there is no seat for you at the table, find a folding chair.”
Dr. Jotaka Eaddy’s founding and leadership of #WinWithBlackWoman is a testimony to what one woman can do to inspire, motivate, and activate thousands of women who share her unwavering commitment to equality and justice. As she said “You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”
Action Steps You Can Take:
Action Steps You Can Take:
Like Dr. Jotaka Eaddy, you can make a difference for women in the world around you. Your voice, thoughts and actions are powerful. Share your gifts and be a beacon to others.
• Whose voice are you amplifying?
• Where are women still absent and what are you doing to change that?
• What will you build that will outlast you?
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