Nkechi Taifa

Nkechi Taifa is president and CEO of The Taifa Group LLC, convenes the Justice Roundtable coalition and serves as Senior Fellow for the Center for Justice at Columbia University. Over the course of her career, she has worked for the Open Society Foundations, ACLU, Women’s Legal Defense Fund, Howard University School of Law, National Prison Project, and Washington Office on Africa. She has taught popular seminars on Law, Race and Justice and has litigated high-profile civil and criminal cases as a private practitioner in DC and federal court. A passionate and visionary professional, Nkechi enjoys decades of experience as an accomplished justice system reform strategist and advocate. She excels at advancing creative, cutting-edge approaches that encourage out-of-the-box thinking and action.

The wealth of her experiences has allowed her to pursue justice from different vantage points –as a litigator, lobbyist, scholar, advocate, policy analyst, community organizer, convener, and grant-maker. She received her BA from Howard University, and Juris Doctor from George Washington University Law School.

Taifa is the author of a best-seller memoir, "Black Power Black Lawyer: My Audacious Quest for Justice," as well as three best-seller books for young people: "Shining Legacy: Storypoems for the Young, So Black Heroes and Heroines Forever Will Be Sung;" "The Adventures of Kojo and Ama;" and "Three Tales for Wisdom." She also co-authored "Reparations Yes," with Attorney Chokwe Lumumba and Dr. Imari Obadele. Her newest book, "Reparations on Fire: How and Why It’s Spreading Across America," was published in December 2022.