Joi Edwards

Manager of Knowledge and Policy at Common Future

Joi is an award-winning human rights practitioner and collaborative thought leader with expertise in intersectional advocacy, gender and youth development, and feminine power. For over 10 years, she has brought diverse audiences, leaders, and executives together across sectors to seed both global systems-level and localized solutions that rectify injustices facing women, children, and people of color. Joi has previously managed large-scale children’s food justice and crisis response initiatives, in addition to human rights grassroots organizing efforts throughout the State of Florida. She was previously selected to lead the cultivation, investment, and dissemination strategy for various gender development projects alongside Indigenous communities in Morocco on behalf of Michelle Obama’s Let Girls Learn Initiative and in partnership with USAID and the US Department of State. She has also held leadership positions on both the Business Development and Thought Leadership teams for incubators and intermediaries focused on shifting power, choice, and ownership to BIPOC leaders innovating models that have the potential to close the gap on economic inequality in the United States. Now, as the Manager of Knowledge and Policy at Common Future, Joi is building a new body of work. Through the research, growth, and production of product pipelines, Joi weaves together stories, insights, and data that influence stakeholders and audiences to reimagine the US economy. In addition to leading special projects across teams, she is focused on building a knowledge bank for racial justice leaders and movement builders seeking tools, resources, and support for building a collective strategy for economic mobility. Her work throughout her career and within organizations and movements that also include the Movement for Black Lives, the United Way, Amnesty International, and UNICEF have driven and supported social and economic advancement for over 30,000 systemically marginalized women and children.

Vision Statement:

My vision for the UNA-NCA is to be a source and a space for cross-cultural unity, shared learning, and equitable growth for new opportunities to connect and collaborate, particularly across sectors in the capital region. Through the emergence of transformative solutions, the UNA-NCA is a body of diverse leaders with the capacity to metabolize a common theory of change—equitable transformation requires all of us. A resilient community requires change makers who lean on their collective strength as they seed, support, and strive for solutions that build a future truly fit for us all.