About Shaquayah
Whether she was organizing violence prevention campaigns as a teenager, leading national initiatives as a collegiate student leader, teaching in classrooms or serving as an advisor in boardrooms: Shaquayah McKenzie has always been an acute systems thinker rooted in her own criticality, and intuitively sharp in organizing systems and people to help shape progressive impact. As a nationally recognized social entrepreneur, she provides advisory to global change agents working between academic, philanthropy, private and public sectors.
For over a decade, she's been an advocate, convener, educator, strategist, and sought after voice working to advance social innovations that enable justice, equity, diversity, inclusion and opportunity. As a speaker, her sharp commentary empowers others to have thoughtful examinations on the history of systemic disenfranchisement and maximizing efforts to forge a better world.
Shaquayah is CEO of Hutchinson and McKenzie Enterprises, a social ventures group named in honor of her late father and great grandfather who helped paved the way for her family’s American Dream, and currently serves as the Major Gifts Officer at Arts for Learning Maryland. She formerly served as an A4L MD Board member, the Director of Development & Operations for Carmelo Anthony's Foundation, Career and College Readiness Director for Baltimore Curriculum project, and Lead Teacher at the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women.
The first of her parent's children to attend college, Shaquayah made history as a student leader and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English & Philosophy at The National Treasure, Morgan State University. She holds a Master of Science degree in Education from Johns Hopkins University. She's also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a Teach for America Baltimore Alumnus and affiliated with several progressive groups.
She's been recognized as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Maryland by Women We Admire, 2023 Women's History Month "Ladies & Politics" Honoree by Black Girls Vote and Moet & Chandon, A Celebration of Resistance Activist Honoree by Motor House, The Daily Record's Movers and Shakers, HBCUBUZZ’s 30 under 30 and honored with several other awards. As a speaker she's been featured on CBS News, Fox News, BET, TV One, The Baltimore Sun, Chronicle of Higher Education, Black Star Network, and various national media platforms.
A proud first generation Jamaican-American, Shaquayah credits her faith + works to her family’s dedication to One Love and believing that anything is possible. For Shaquayah, that means leaving a better world to her children, Sage and Sian, than the one that she inherited.