Adaora Asala

founding director, QWOC+ Boston

Adaora Asala is a queer, afrofeminist Nigerian social commentator, community organizer, diversity consultant, and nonprofit social media expert. She has lived in New England for more than 10 years and identifies as an "iQWOC" due to her international/immigrant (queer woman of color) perspective. She is the founding director of QWOC+ Boston, the first LGBT social networking group for women-identified people of color in New England, and is known within the LGBT people of color community and across mainstream LGBT, feminist, and other progressive circles, for the fun, innovative and boundary-pushing strategies she's concept-ed to increase consciousness of diversity, unity, and pride within Boston's mainstream queer community. In addition to being recognized as a regional leader in local press, her steadfast vision, and consultative approach to community organizing and diversity has already proven itself in New England as evidenced by stories of LGBT folks of color emerging from parts of the city and state that the mainstream community had long ignored in their marketing and outreach campaigns. She makes her living as a software sales professional, is an avid video-gamer, cool kitty-owner, and a mean theme-party thrower. She blogs about diversity, event planning -- including how these two concepts are more connected than you think -- and technology at Spectra Speaks.