Candice is the founder and CEO of Edutainment for Equity. She holds a Masters in Education from San Francisco State University and a Bachelors in Sociology from UC Berkeley. She has 25+ years of experience in the field of technical assistance, Professional Development, Youth Development and Anti Racist Practice. Candice is also an award winning artist who has toured extensively around the world. She is the Cultural Strategist for the Department of Race and Equity in the City of Oakland. She is a highly sought after leader In the field, and has worked extensively in and with the City of San Francisco. She is the volunteer Operations Manager of the award winning performance ensemble Young, Gifted & Black. She is also a mother of two young boys.
Candice Wicks-Davis | Chief Executive Officer
Runs marathons • Took off by herself in Cuba • Loves off roading • Has performed in 7 countries • Touched Prince's hand at a concert • Completed a two week long speaking tour in Iran • Swam around a sand dune in the Indian Ocean • Taught Afro-Latino History • Took a boat ride on the Nile River • Got lost walking the streets of Barcelona ...on purpose • Facilitated three trainings in three states in three days • Took a bus from Uganda to Rwanda • Survived the canopy walk at Kakum National Park in Ghana...three times • Got on a rowboat in Malta and had lunch on a random island • Has performed and recorded music in 7 countries making music with local artists • Has been interviewed on International TV broadcast all over the Middle East and Africa • Was featured in AfroPunk • Was the artist in residence for the International Congress on Critical Pedagogy & Transformative Leadership at the University of Malta • Opened for the Roots at the Mountain Winery • Received the Distinguished graduate student award • Collects owl figurines and pineapples • Was named a 2017 Woman to Watch by KQED • Wrote a song for UNESCO's Women in Africa curriculum • Lead singer of beat boxing band Antique Naked Soul • Loves vintage clothing • 2017 Cubena McClure Arts and Culture Award recipient • Co-wrote a hip hop seder for the Contemporary Jewish Museum
Awards
Distinguished Graduate Student Award, San Francisco State University, 2010
Roots Fellowship, Department of Children Youth and their Families, 2009-2010
Artist in Residence, International Institute for Critical Pedagogy and Transformative Leadership, University of Malta, 2013
Winner of the Deli Magazine Artist of the Month Poll, 2015
RAW Natural Born Artist, 2014
KQED Women to Watch, 2017
Flying Under the Radar Fellowship: Brazil, 2016-17
Cubena McClure Arts & Culture Award, 2017
City of Oakland City Council Proclamation, 2022
Certificate of Honor from the Board of Supervisors, San Francisco, 2022
Certificate of Honor from the San Francisco Mayor’s Office, 2022
Special Projects
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Women in Africa Curriculum Module, Songwriter for Wangari Maathai Module
Contemporary Jewish Museum, Hip-Hop Seder, Co-writer and performer
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts: Bay Area Now 7 Festival selected artist, Body Politic Think Tank Artist and Urban Futures Think Tank Artist
Volunteer Program Manager of award-winning youth performance ensemble, Young Gifted & Black of Oakland (Yerba Buena 100, 2019)
Curriculum
The Revitalizing Education and Learning Program Manual
Experiential Activities to Introduce Identity, Culture, Class, Gender and Inclusion
Leaders of Today: A Ten Step Implementation Guide to Design Youth Leadership Programs
Youth on Fire: An Educator’s Guide for Youth Led Social Transformation
Teaching Resiliency: An Educator’ Guide for Teaching Socio-Emotional Learning
The Art of Being of a Black Man
Hodari Davis | Chief Innovation Officer
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 and 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 in 1992 • Visited ancient cities and historic sites around the world • Key orchestrator and builder of the Youth Spoken Word Movement • Appeared in an hour long interview on National Television in Iran, about the struggle and plight of African American people • Won an award from the World Health Organization for The Bigger Picture Campaign • Performed for James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Jesse Jackson, Dr. Ben, and a host of others as a founding member of Young Gifted and Black • 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 and Berkeley High School • Executive Produced two specials on HBO • Walked on the molten lava of an active volcano in Sicily • Produced multiple events at and with the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts • Appeared in the film "Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme" as a Beat Boxer and MC • Traveled by bus over night from Kenya to Rwanda • Knocked on doors for Dr. Pedro Noguera to be elected to the Berkeley School Board • 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 in multiple countries around the world • Featured in award winning documentaries about food justice including “In Defense of Food”, and “Globesity” • Produced over 40 festivals in cities across the United States
Hodari is the Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) and a Partner at Edutainment for Equity. He holds an MAr in Education from San Francisco State University and another MA Educational Administration from Sacramento State University. He is currently a Doctoral student at UC Davis in the School of Education. He has spoken and presented at conferences all over the world. He is the former National Program Director of Youth Speaks and Executive Producer of the Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival. He is the Founder and Executive Producer of the Life is Living Festival. He is also a founding member and Emeritus Artistic Director of the award winning youth repertory group Young Gifted and Black. He is a researcher and former creative director of the award winning public health campaign The Bigger Picture. He is an afro Futurist, working as a Foresight Essentials Faculty Member at The Institute for the Future. Hodari is a member of the inaugural class of inductees into the Bay Area Hip Hop Archives.
Zakiya is a co-founder of nationally recognized projects Impact Hub Oakland, Grind for the Green, Hack The Hood, Earthseed Consulting, and a Former fellow of Green For All and Bold Food. She was also a founder and the Chief Education Officer of Hack the Hood, a technology program for low income youth of color and winner of the 2014 Google Impact Challenge. She has been a leader in both the Green Movement and the in the movement for Technology, and currently works as a life coach and consultant for Black Women around the world.
Zakiya Harris | Senior Facilitator
Octavia Butler Devotee • Student of Metaphysics • Steward of 1st Permaculture Center in Sonoma County • Published Author • First concert was Prince Purple Rain Tour • Expat • Priest of Oya • Spiritual Midwife • Co-Creator of New Paradigms • Vintage Fashion Lover • Life Coach • Mother of a Teen • Savory > Sweet • Extraterrestrially Curious • Detests The Mundane • Sci-Fi Aficionado • Hermit • Lover of Luxury • Performance Artist • Outdoor Enthusiast • Waterfalls > Oceans • Award Winning Spiritual Entrepreneur • Organized First Solar Powered Hip Hop Concert in San Francisco • Start -Up Founder • Exceptionally Gifted At Doing Things That Have Never Been Done Before • Destroyer of the Status Quo • AfroFuturist Agent of Change.
Ikera Davis | Director of Young Gifted and Black
Traveled and performed at Emancipation Day Ceremonies at Cape Coast Dungeon in Ghana West Africa two times • Founding Member of YGB Oakland, The Black Sheroes and Black Gold • Attended Black Studies Department at Berkeley High School founded in 1968 • Has held professional photo shoots with artists and at events around the Bay Area • Received two AA degrees in Social Justice and English respectively • Director of Young Gifted and Black since 2018 • Performed for many iconic Black heroes and sheroes including Nikki Giovanni, Alycia Garza, Danny Glover, Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Talib Kweli, KRS One, Erika Huggins, and a host of others – hosted and performed on stage at Emancipation Day Ceremonies in Trinidad and Tobago
Ikera is a founding member of Young Gifted and Black of Oakland and has worked as a director of the program for the past six years. She has been involved with the program since she was in 5th grade, and is the grand daughter and daughter of YGB co-founder Laroilyn Davis, and YGB Artistic Director Hodari Davis. Ikera has worked for several other social justice and education organizations including Kingmakers of Oakland, and African American Female Achievement. More information can be found at proud2beblack.org/team
Bayana Davis | Operations Manager
Bayana is Operations Manager at Edutainment for Equity. Born and raised in Oakland, CA. she has a B.A. in English-Creative Writing from Mills College and is a co-founder of Black Nerds Create, a collective that produces content through the lens of critical and creative fandom. She is a writer, reader, and podcaster deeply rooted in fantasy and science fiction storytelling and Afrofuturism.
Has attended and led panels at fan conventions and conferences across the world • Stood on the top of an active volcano at 11 • Watched the Lord of the Rings trilogy (extended editions) 15 times in one year • Inaugural Brave New Voices Fellowship recipient • Worked for Young Chicago Authors and helped organize Louder than a Bomb Poetry Festival • Edited a magic-themed anthology featuring all-Black authors • Served as staff for the Brave New Voices Festival for 6 years • Shook the hand of Amiri Baraka at 14 • Stood at the door of no return in Ghana, West Africa • Big sister to 5 siblings • Hosts a podcast that highlights Black fantasy authors • Owns over 400 books • Went to the Renaissance World Tour twice • Was featured on NPR