Ananda Leeke

Her digital communications career was born during her tenure at the Hamilton Securities Group, Inc., a mission-driven investment bank and financial software firm that represented the Federal Housing Administration and launched a data servicing startup in public housing in Washington, DC. While at Hamilton, she spearheaded the design and implementation of the firm's intellectual property protection and contracts administration programs for Internet products and services. Her expertise in these areas allowed her to serve as a team member on community venture capital transactions in underserved communities. She also built, maintained, and conducted team trainings on intellectual property, Internet promotions, and privacy. She worked as the Knowledge Manager for e.villages, Hamilton's data servicing startup in public housing. In this role, she created, curated, and maintained content for an intranet which housed information, resources, tools, and best practices on community development, economic self-sufficiency, employment, financial literacy, housing, life skills management, micro-enterprises, and welfare reform. Her Hamilton experience launched her career as a business consultant who conducted trademark searches, prepared copyright registration and domain reservation applications, and provided legal disclaimer language for websites, products, and services. It laid the foundation for her work as an online columnist for the women's channel on NetNoir.com, a multimedia services company and website that focused on African American culture and lifestyle. She later tapped into her content creation skills to create blogs, podcasts, social media marketing strategies, and videos to market her art, books, coaching practice, and reiki and yoga services. As a result, she was able to utilize her expertise to launch and manage two tech inclusion initiatives: Digital Sisterhood Network, a women's media channel and online community, and Digital Citizenship Project. Also, she designed and managed the first-ever social media technical assistance and training program for over 25 affiliate agencies at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI). After leaving USCRI, she worked as a digital communications consultant, volunteered with the Obama White House and was recognized as a social media thought leader, and launched the first-ever social media and workplace mindfulness programs as the Digital Communications Director at Law Students in Court (now Rising for Justice). From 2001 to 2018, she served as an artist-in-residence for Smith Center for Healing and the Arts at Howard University Hospital (2003-2009) and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (2010-2018). Her mixed media collages, wire sculptures, and paintings have been exhibited in the Washington DC metropolitan area, New York City, North Carolina, and Kentucky. Several of her paintings decorate the covers of her books, Love's Troubadours, a yoga-inspired novel, and That Which Awakens Me, a mindful creativity memoir. Both books and her mindful technology memoir, Digital Sisterhood are available on Amazon. She is currently writing Thriving Mindfully as the REAL ME, a memoir about her mindfulness and wellness journey. She speaks at conferences, trainings, and events sponsored by the Allied Media Project/ZEAL Press, Association of Wedding Professionals, AT&T, Automattic, Big Bear Retreat Center, BlogHer, Body Connect Health Wellness, Community Associations Institute, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Eaton DC, Executive Women International, Holy Cross Hospital, Howard University, Insight Meditation Community of Washington, DC, Institute for Medicaid Innovation, Keela, Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media, lululemon, Marisla Foundation, Meetup/WeWork, National Association of Corporate Directors, Nonprofit Technology Network, Sigma Gamma Rho Soririty, Inc., Sisterhued, Smith Center for Healing and the Arts, Spelman College, The Conference Board, Unity of Washington, DC, Washington Hospital Center, Washington National Cathedral, Web of Change, and Wonder Women Tech Summit. In addition, she regularly shares her meditation, mindfulness, and social media on WHUR 96.3 FM. She received Acquisition International's Influential Businesswoman Award for the Most Caring Woman in Mindfulness Training and WeUpWomen's Adelaide Smith Award for her work in self-care and wellness in 2018. In 2019, she was selected by lululemon to serve as a lululemon luminary, received Acquisition International's Influential Businesswoman in Professional Development - USA Award, and was named a Well-Being Warrior by the Well-Being and Equity Bridging Network. She is a proud alumna of Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M. in Securities and Financial Regulation, 1991), Howard University School of Law (J.D, 1989), Morgan State University (B.A. in French, 1986), and Elizabeth Seton High School (1982). She earned the following certifications: 300-hour mindfulness teacher certification from the Engaged Mindfulness Institute (2018), Reiki master certification from the Reiki Lotus Healing Center (2008), and 200-hour registered yoga teacher certification from Flow Yoga Center (2006). She is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. She lives in Washington, DC. Learn more at AnandaLeeke.com. Share this: Print