NIJEEAH
Nijeeah Richardson (they/them)
I am a Black queer non-binary social worker born and raised in Charleston, SC. My Gullah Geechee roots in the South Carolina Lowcountry fuel my commitment to Southern grassroots organizing. I currently live in New Orleans and work remotely as the Sponsored Projects/Frontline Funds Associate at Southern Vision Alliance, a “grassroots intermediary” based out of Durham, NC.
I completed my Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) in 2015 and Master of Social Work (MSW) in 2017 at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. As an undergraduate student, I interned a LGBTQ youth center in Charlotte, NC called Time Out Youth. I then interned at the Freedom Center for Social Justice for my graduate field experience, also located in Charlotte, NC. Post graduate school, I returned to Charleston to work with youth as a behavioral interventionist at Justice Works Behavioral Care and to continue working as a co-founder and workshop facilitator with the Collective. From 2019 to 2021 I served as the Executive Director of We Are Family, a Charleston-based LGBTQI+ youth serving non-profit organization.
In 2018, I received the Community Pride award from Charleston Pride and was named South Carolina’s “Champion of Pride” by the Advocate. When asked what it means to be a champion, I stated that being a champion “isn’t just about winning — when we know the race is rigged. Rather, it’s the spirit that compels us to keep fighting for the liberation of all people.” As a member of the Collective, I bring my attentiveness to therapeutic communication and a hope that we will all cultivate our communication skills based on empathy and understanding for our different ways of knowing and navigating the world.
I completed my Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) in 2015 and Master of Social Work (MSW) in 2017 at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. As an undergraduate student, I interned a LGBTQ youth center in Charlotte, NC called Time Out Youth. I then interned at the Freedom Center for Social Justice for my graduate field experience, also located in Charlotte, NC. Post graduate school, I returned to Charleston to work with youth as a behavioral interventionist at Justice Works Behavioral Care and to continue working as a co-founder and workshop facilitator with the Collective. From 2019 to 2021 I served as the Executive Director of We Are Family, a Charleston-based LGBTQI+ youth serving non-profit organization.
In 2018, I received the Community Pride award from Charleston Pride and was named South Carolina’s “Champion of Pride” by the Advocate. When asked what it means to be a champion, I stated that being a champion “isn’t just about winning — when we know the race is rigged. Rather, it’s the spirit that compels us to keep fighting for the liberation of all people.” As a member of the Collective, I bring my attentiveness to therapeutic communication and a hope that we will all cultivate our communication skills based on empathy and understanding for our different ways of knowing and navigating the world.