Meet Toni Blackman

 About Toni Blackman

• Toni Blackman is a multi-passioned social entrepreneur, award-winning artist, and cultural leader whose work sits at the intersection of communication, creativity, wellness, and global social impact.
• She is the first official U.S. Hip Hop Ambassador, appointed by the U.S. State Department, and has traveled to 51 countries speaking, performing, and facilitating workshops that use Hip Hop as a tool for leadership, diplomacy, and transformation.
• An Echoing Green Fellow alum and Open Society Institute (Soros) Fellow alum, Toni has spent more than two decades designing innovative, culture-rooted frameworks for education and empowerment.
• She is the creator of Cypher pedagogy, a participatory methodology influenced by Afro-diasporic traditions and Hip Hop culture, which has shaped a generation of educators, scholars, and artists worldwide.
• Toni is the author of Wisdom of the Cypher, a book exploring the spiritual, communal, and practical power of the Cypher as a model for communication, healing, and collective leadership.
• She is also the founder of Speak With Ease, a communication and public-speaking platform serving leaders across the nonprofit, education, arts, and corporate sectors.
  
• Her clients and collaborators include schools and universities from Howard to Harvard, major cultural institutions such as Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center, and global brands including Hallmark and Coca-Cola.
• She recently served as a rap and spoken-word coach on the Emmy Award–winning Disney+ series The Crossover.
  
• Toni’s current offerings include the Self Love Meditation Project, a Self Love Journal, and an e-book chronicling her personal journey recovering from severe reflux. She is also actively collaborating with musicians in Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, and Paris and working with coaching clients.
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