Malika Kambe Umfazi

A native of Buffalo, NY, Takiyah Nur Amin is the daughter of Karima and the late Abdul Jalil Amin. Ms. Amin holds degrees from the State University of New York at Buffalo and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University where she served as a faculty member in the Department of History and in the Africana Studies Program. Ms. Amin also served as Outreach Coordinator for the Race and Social Policy Research Center and as Coordinator of Multicultural Programs at Virginia Tech, where she advised 22 student organizations and ran the daily operations of the Black and Multicultural Centers. Currently, Takiyah is pursuing a Ph.D. in Dance (concentration in Cultural Studies) and a certificate in Women's Studies from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Ms. Amin has been an active member of MKU Sorority, Inc. since 1999, holding numerous committee and Queendom-level leadership roles and developing a number of sorority initiatives. Beginning in the Fall of 2010, Takiyah will join the faculty in the Department of Drama and Dance at Colorado College as a Riley Scholar-in-Residence.

Beyond the walls of academia, Ms. Amin has always been very involved in the community. Currently, Takiyah is an active member of the Order of Eastern Star (Prince Hall Affiliation), the National Council of Negro Women, the National Association of University Women, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Sisters of the Academy and a number of professional organizations. Over the years, Ms. Amin has served as a mentor with the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program, as an English-as-a-Second-Language teacher for Somali-Bantu refugees in the New River Valley and as a volunteer with the Interfaith Food Pantry. Takiyah is also the creator of the program "Shop Talk: Taking Black Women's Health to the Streets" which brought health-related information into the community through partnerships with beauty salons, nail shops, barbershops and spas. Ms. Amin was also honored to serve the community and act as an ambassador on behalf of African-American women as Miss Black Virginia USA 2006-2007. As a titleholder, Takiyah competed in the Miss Black USA 2007 pageant in the Gambia (West Africa) where she placed in the top 15.

Takiyah is a much sought after poet, speaker and program facilitator. Her interests include studying Abrahamic faith traditions, working toward becoming a doula and childbirth educator, pageantry and enjoying contemporary fiction. Ms. Amin is the C.E.O./Founder of MalikaWear Online and C.O.O./Administrative Director of Danse4Nia Repertory Ensemble, a Philadelphia-based contemporary modern dance company. Additionally, Takiyah is a board member of "Heal A Woman to Heal A Nation" and Advisor to the Executive Director of the Miss Black Virginia USA Scholarship Pageant.