Hodari Davis | Chief Innovation Officer

Fun Facts

Toured Spain in a small car with Nita Friere, the widow of Dr. Paulo Friere • Performed at the 25th Anniversary Celebration of the Zulu Nation • Jumped out of a plane with Poet & Playwrights Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Chinaka Hodge • Created the Oakland Youth Poet Laureate Program • Started the first known hip hop club in any public high school in the United States • Visited ancient cities and historic sites around the world • Key orchestrator & builder of the Youth Spoken Word Movement • Appeared in an hour long interview on National Television in Iran • Won an award from the World Health Organization • Performed for James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Jesse Jackson, Dr. Ben as a kid • Toured London with Olympic Gold Medal Winner and Black Power legend Dr. Tommie Smith • Survived a coup while studying with ballet Africaines in Guinea, West Africa • Taught Black Studies at Merritt College & Berkeley High School • Executive Produced two specials on HBO • Walked on the molten lava of an active volcano in Sicily • Produced multiple events at the Kennedy Center • Appeared in the film "Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme" as a Beat Boxer and MC • Traveled by bus over night from Kenya to Rwanda

Presented at the International Congress for Critical Pedagogy in Corinth, Greece • Immortalized in graffiti on a rooftop in Tripoli, Lebanon • Worked with Dine youth in the Navajo Nation to fight Type 2 Diabetes • Filmed music videos around the world • Featured in award winning documentaries about food justice • Produced over 40 festivals in cities across the United States