Akua Hill serves as the Gilbert Family Foundation’s Director of Arts and Culture, where she drives forward key initiatives to strengthen Detroit’s creative cultural landscape. Previously, Hill served as the Capacity Building Director for Community Development Advocates of Detroit (CDAD), where her work focused on building neighborhood power through transformative community-centered processes. 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. A native of Harlem, New York, Hill has worked on various educational advocacy initiatives in New York City and Newark, NJ,.
Hill holds a bachelor’s degree in Human & Organizational Development and a master’s 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. Additionally, Hill was part of Everyday Democracy’s Institute for Community Change Leaders cohort and completed the Advancing Racial Justice in Organizations training at the Interaction Institute for Social Change.
