Leya Elias
Manager, Onramps
Programs
Passionate about unlocking transformational opportunities for BIPOC communities, Leya is an innovative strategist, coalition-builder, and lifelong learner with experience in co-designing, launching, and managing equity-driven initiatives.
Over the years, Leya worked as a strategy consultant, policy advocate, community organizer, and researcher committed to global racial justice. In each role, they worked to promote sustainable investments in economic and ecosystem-building opportunities for transformational development. Leya has collaborated with partners from Kigali, Rwanda, to Oakland, CA, to develop culturally-responsive, intersectional, community-led solutions to issues of economic inequity.
Most recently, Leya served as the Deputy Chief of Staff at Baltimore Corps, a racial justice-driven social enterprise connecting Baltimore-based talent to entrepreneurship and social impact opportunities. In addition to leading organizational development priorities, they managed the design, launch, and implementation of a multi-million dollar program cultivating Baltimore City's next generation of healthcare leaders. Leya also oversaw a diverse portfolio of strategic projects connecting Black innovators to capital and support resources.
Leya earned a B.A. in Psychology and African and African American Studies at Stanford University. Leya has been recognized for their leadership and commitment to community and social innovation as a J.E. Wallace Sterling Award recipient and a Truman Scholar.
Originally from southeast San Francisco, CA, with roots in Eritrea, Leya loves spending time with loved ones, community-building, storytelling, and music.
