Waikinya Clanton

Heralded as one of the nation's most effective engagement strategists and brilliant political minds, Waikinya J.S. Clanton has served as senior advisor to some of the country’s top political leaders and is now championing for justice from the frontlines of injustice in the Deep South.

The former nonprofit executive led one of the nation’s premier organizations for Black women political leaders, the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women; and served as a senior advisor under two chairmen at the Democratic National Committee. As Executive Director, she successfully managed its majority-female staff, revitalized its training program for women in political, corporate, and nonprofit leadership, and created its signature STEM program for young girls, Girls, Gigabytes, and Gadgets.

Clanton, a seasoned chief political strategist is a nationally recognized leader, having been ranked as the 42nd most influential African American in the United States in 2022 by The Root, earning her acclaim among former First Lady Michelle Obama, tennis legend, Serena Williams, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown James, and former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, among served others. She is the recipient of the Action and Authority Award by Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network, the Christine Ray Davis Trailblazer Award by the Congressional Black Associates, and was named as one of the Top 50 Women in Business in the State of Mississippi by the Mississippi Business Journal.

In 2019, Clanton was recognized by the State of Tennessee as a Rising Star by proclamation and honored with the National Rosa Parks Day Award; selected as one of emPower magazine’s emPower Players of DC; was an inaugural recipient of Tougaloo College’s 40 Under 40 Alumni Awards; and named Outstanding Young Alumni by the United Negro College Fund.

Clanton is also the founder of Who’s Who of MS Women and is a Black Church Digital Equity Fellow with the Multicultural Media, Telecom, and Internet Council as well as a Public Policy Fellow with the Eric H. Holder Public Policy Institute at Tougaloo College.