Curriculum Vitae

SHORTER BIO 

DR. TOKEYA C. GRAHAM (she/her) is a multi-award-winning educator, writer, entrepreneur, and community activist/volunteer who advocates for racial equity, literacy, and community care. She is owner of Soulstainable Living LLC, an equity, education, and leadership consulting firm. Dr. Graham holds degrees from Monroe Community College, SUNY Brockport, and the University of Rochester. A Rochester, NY native, she is married with three adult children and one grandchild.

For more information, visit https://linktr.ee/TokeyaCGraham

LONGER BIO

DR. TOKEYA C. GRAHAM (she/her) is a multi-award-winning educator, writer, entrepreneur, and community steward who advocates for racial equity, literacy, healing, and community care. Graham’s desire to create a better world compels her to work on behalf of historically excluded citizens to create access and equity. 

Additionally, Dr. Graham is the founder of Soulstainable Living LLC, an equity, education, and leadership consulting firm. She is also a well-respected anti-racism educator and community activist working on behalf of those who have been pushed to the margins. A dynamic keynote speaker, workshop presenter, and motivational guide, Dr. Graham’s messages have been widely praised by engaged audiences.  In Spring 2024, she will debut Soulstainable Living Presents “The Black Healing Project,” an ecosystem of wellness for Black communities. The multi-dimensional project will incorporate wellness practices and Black joy focused activities to build places for healing. 

Dr. Graham is a committed volunteer who donates time, money, and other resources to many community organizations. She volunteers/ has volunteered at many community-based organizations, including: The Avenue Blackbox Theatre, Roc Women's Business Center, Legislative District Committee #25, The Hub585, Writers & Books, and Women’s Foundation of Genesee Valley, among others. Dr. Graham's philanthropic endeavor CharityROCs is a community-giving initiative which connects people in need with resources. Over the first year of the pandemic, her social media campaign "Anybody Got a Dollar?" raised over $12,000 to help people in the community meet basic needs.

Dr. Tokeya C. Graham holds degrees from Monroe Community College (AAS, Human Services), SUNY Brockport (BS, English-Creative Writing), and the University of Rochester (MA, English and EdD, Educational Leadership-Higher Education), and a Diversity and Inclusion certificate from Cornell. A Rochester, NY native, she is married with three adult children and one grandchild.

For more information and/or to support Graham’s work, visit https://linktr.ee/TokeyaCGraham

SHORTER ARTISTIC BIO 

TOKEYA C. GRAHAM (she/her) is a word-wrangling warrior woman who talks to trees and walks among the stars. She is a universal educator who sees  the planet as her classroom. Her purpose in this life is to make the world better, all ways and in all ways. Graham uses words, sounds, images, pauses, and utterances to communicate her soul's desire. She is grateful for art because it makes her believe in all that is necessary to be a human in this life.

To learn more about her universal flow, visit https://linktr.ee/TokeyaCGraham

LONGER ARTISTIC BIO

TOKEYA C. GRAHAM (she/her), founder of Soulstainable Living LLC, is a dynamic educator with a passion for community connection and care. Graham’s earliest memories are of writing to express her feelings. A thoughtful, creative child, she combined her flair for writing with her desire to create images that looked like the people around her. The earliest seeds of her artistic endeavors intertwined with her desire to be a beneficial presence in her community. Graham’s flair for storytelling threaded through her work in her community. Graham has been well recognized and awarded for her artistic, academic, community, and professional work.

Graham’s first company, T. Cornell Writing Resource, provided writing assistance and editing services for professionals. Soon after, she began a personal blog, “Soulstainable Living” that ran weekly on the Democrat and Chronicle’s HerRochester digital platform. Graham’s academic work, “I’m Not Your Mama, Do Your Work: The Plight of the Black Female Academic” was included in Laboring Positions, Black Women, Mothering, and the Academy. Graham’s work has also appeared in local and national publications.

Graham founded We All Write, a writing collective of dynamic Black women educators, activists, and creatives. Their performances ignited the stages of local and state-wide venues, including community based organizations, academic institutions, and artistic venues. Their signature piece, BirthWrite, excited audiences during the 2017 and 2018 Fringe Festival at Lyric Theatre and at Geva Theatre’s Fielding Stage. A special performance was held at The Avenue Blackbox Theatre, which served as the group’s home base. For over 15 years, Graham has been an English professor, teaching Composition, Literature, and Creative Writing courses.

Graham’s work centers on community care, healing, and equity. Her next endeavor is The Black Healing Project which is an ecosystem of healing for Black people through creative and cultural expressions. As part of this new work, Graham has launched Soulstainable Living: The Magazine. All of her work is intended to dismantle historical systems of erasure and center Black voices. Her most recent work, I Pink TF Not, was Graham’s debut one-woman show which explored her experiences navigating her breast cancer diagnosis. For this performance, Graham was an Artist in Residence at The Avenue Blackbox Theatre.  A Rochester, NY native, Graham is a wife, mother, and grandmother. Her family is her bedrock of support and love.

To learn more about her universal flow, visit https://linktr.ee/TokeyaCGraham