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We encourage overall wellness through mental health awareness and counseling resources, and support queer black women in pursuing entrepreneurship, higher education, and financial independence.
Arijah Rashid
President / Event Director
Arijah Rashid is the founder of The Queer Black Women Alliance which originally started as a group chat to help queer black women build friendships and community in the Austin, Texas area. She is a navy veteran with seven years’ experience in executive, cyber security, and legislative administration. Advocacy has always held a special place in her heart as she served as a Suicide Prevention Advocate, Sexual Assault Prevention Advocate, and Multicultural Committee President at different duty stations during her military career. She is an aspiring criminal attorney and currently finishing her Bachelor of Arts in Government at The University of Texas at Austin. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, boxing, writing poetry, traveling, and binge-watching good television series. She is dedicated to fostering a safe space for queer black women and empowering them to become the best versions of themselves.
Annette Ngene
Secretary
Annette Ngene is dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ rights. As a black woman and straight ally, Annette recognizes the discrimination faced by the queer black women community due to their gender identity, expression, or sexual orientation. Annette is a Nigerian immigrant who has been living in the Austin area since 1999. She is an aspiring lawyer with 3 years of experience in the immigration law field. As a Junior Paralegal, at an Austin area immigration law firm, she has been able to assist extensively with providing affordable, and sometimes free, immigration related legal assistance to other marginalized communities. In her free time, Annette enjoys spending quality time with her family, traveling, and watching a good horror movie. As a board member of Queer Black Women Alliance, Annette Ngene is dedicated to advancing the equality, protection, and support of this community by assisting in the creation and maintenance of safe spaces that allow queer black women to thrive and achieve this goal.
Nekaybaw Watson
Treasurer
Nekaybaw Watson is a queer black woman that wants to challenge systems of oppression by assisting in building a safe community for others like her. She believes there are many different spaces where intersectionalities are weaponized or silenced to make others comfortable. She is a graduate from Texas A&M University where she received her Master’s in Public Health focusing on Community Health Education. She is most passionate about sexual, immigrant, and maternal child education and health and has worked with different organizations and administrative offices around Texas to find resources and access to healthcare for these groups. In her free time, she loves cooking, singing, hiking, and trying new things around the city. As a board member of Queer Black Women Alliance Nekaybaw is committed to being an outspoken voice that represents those who never feel represented, and she will work to create a safe and accepting space for all.
Micky James
Board Director / Community Relations Manager
Micky James is an experienced business leader with focuses in engineering, entrepreneurship, and health coaching. She graduated from Texas Tech University with her B.S in Civil Engineering. Micky is the Executive Director of BLQ Fitness, a movement dedicated towards empowering the Black community to take control of their health and well-being. Micky is a military spouse to her incredible wife and best friend, Layla Cunningham. As two Queer Black women that were connected through the organization, Micky and Layla are major advocates of diverse and inclusive safe spaces. In her free time, Micky loves trying new things and experiencing new places. She enjoys being active and spending time in nature from working out and martial arts to hiking and kayaking. As a board member of the Queer Black Women Alliance, Micky James is passionate about promoting love and equality while creating unity. She uses her voice to help encourage other women to find joy, peace, and pride in their identities and journeys.
Crystal Martin
Board Member
Crystal Martin is an accomplished business professional with over 15 years of experience in various industries such as wealth management, vacation rentals, and Wi-Fi technology. She’s led various projects, oversaw major company portfolios, and facilitated client engagement for optimizing product sales and strengthening company-customer relationships. Beyond her role, Crystal’s core value and mission is to support and uplift black voices, and to advocate for black people across intersectional identities. She held a leadership role within the Womxn of Color Collective, volunteered for Jane’s Due Process, and is currently a leader of the Black Employee network where she creates impactful programming to enhance the black experience. Crystal is both elated and humbled to be a board member of the Black Woman Queer Alliance. She has lived in Austin since 2018 and enjoys hiking, weightlifting, ax throwing, and spending time with friends and family.
Nneka Izagbo
Board Director
Nneka Izagbo is a Nigerian born and raised queer black woman who emigrated to the United States in 2016. Nigeria is known for being extremely homophobic and poses safety concerns for queer people, so finding community was almost non-existent. In her transition to the United States, she has been able to find camaraderie within The Queer Black Women Alliance which has in turn assisted her in living and loving openly in the best ways possible. Nneka is a four-year veteran of the U.S. Army where she specialized in supply chain and logistics and is currently completing her Masters Degree in Information Technology from University of Arkansas Grantham. She hopes to attain a postgraduate degree in the near future. She is a believer in higher education for all and is very passionate about the possibilities of assisting other queer black women to reach their highest potential by furthering education, building mental agility, and creating a safe and welcoming environment through the organization. Nneka enjoys hiking with her dog, cooking, organizing spaces, socializing, and networking on the weekends.