Nikishka Iyengar is a social entrepreneur, organizer and writer working on systems change at the nexus of community development, racial and economic justice, and climate action.

As founder and CEO at The Guild, Nikishka develops community owned models of land, housing and real estate as a means to build self determination for Black and other communities of color, and poor and working class communities.

Nikishka’s work has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and Nonprofit Quarterly. Her writing on issues of economic justice have been published in Next City, Bon Appetit, and other publications. She is also co-host and producer of Road to Repair — a podcast exploring our journey out of a “business-as-usual” economy toward justice, solidarity and collective liberation.

Nikishka is also an inaugural advisory board member at the Olamina Fund, a $40M fund working to address the racial wealth gap in Black and Native communities. She has previously completed fellowships from UC Berkeley’s Terner Housing Lab, Aspen Institute, and Common Future.

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