Akua Hill has worked as a city-builder and community advocate for over a decade and has extensive experience leading collaborative initiatives, designing equitable processes, and implementing transformational community-centered strategies.  Her work is deeply rooted in values of justice and liberation, as she has dedicated her career to dismantling systemic barriers and applying creative and innovative alternatives that reimagine what healthy, inclusive, thriving communities can look like. 

Akua is currently the Director of Arts and Culture at the Gilbert Family Foundation where she  drives forward key initiatives to strengthen Detroit’s creative cultural landscape. In this role, her passion for the arts and deep understanding of cultural ecosystems intersects with her skills and experience as a community builder to actively support the creation of equitable and inclusive arts and culture programming in Detroit neighborhoods. 

In her previous role as the Capacity Building Director for Community Development Advocates of Detroit (CDAD), Akua’s work focused on strengthening neighborhood power through transformative community-centered processes. In collaboration with key community partners, Akua was responsible for developing a comprehensive technical assistance system to support the capacity building needs of community development organizations across the city of Detroit. She also co-authored the Rest and Liberation Initiative report and aided the Kresge Foundation and Co.Act Detroit in building more accessible, equitable and trust-based philanthropic practices for their grants programs. 

Prior to making Detroit her home, Akua was responsible for leading various educational advocacy initiatives in New York City and Newark, NJ. She worked closely with students, families, community partners and elected officials for the attainment of strategic advocacy goals focused on the equitable distribution of educational resources. Akua has facilitated a wide range of community informed planning projects  – from working on Mayor Karl Dean’s Child and Youth Master Plan for the city of Nashville, Tennessee, to guiding local community organizations in Bahia, Brasil through a process of evaluating and improving their engagement practices.

A native of Harlem, New York, Akua holds an undergraduate degree in Human & Organizational Development and a Masters degree in Community Development & Action from Vanderbilt University. She is an alum of the Economic Justice Alliance of Michigan fellowship and was selected as one of the emerging leaders for Bank of America’s 2018 Neighborhood Builders Award. She has completed Everyday Democracy’s Institute for Community Change Leaders and the Advancing Racial Justice in Organizations training at the Interaction Institute for Social Change. Akua is a natural convener and connector who also enjoys history, teaching yoga, hiking, and spending time with loved ones.