Adana Wright is the Deputy Executive Director for Strategic Learning and Capacity Building at the New York City Commission on Gender Equity (CGE) where she develops and implements strategies and approaches to advance gender equity across NYC agencies and across sectors. Adana brings 15+ years’ experience in education, team building, and community engagement to this work leveraging her expertise in organizational development, intercultural collaboration, leadership development, and advocacy.
Before CGE, Adana served as the Director of School Operations a middle school in Brooklyn, where she spearheaded the school’s COVID-19 response and follow-up during the peak of the Omicron variant to ensure the health and safety of the community. Adana also served as the Director of Programs at One to World, an international nonprofit organization focused on advancing global collaboration and fostering intercultural understanding, where she cultivated strategic partnerships and designed global education-based programs for young New Yorkers as well as international students and Fulbright scholars. She has worked as a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant for several organizations.
Adana began her career of service and advocacy at community-based organizations as Curriculum and Outcomes Specialist at Global Kids in New York City, Curriculum Developer and Consultant for the Community Organization Resource Center working for youth migrants in Cape Town, South Africa, and Director of After School for an all-girls program in the Bronx. She earned her MA in International Affairs from The New School and her BA in Political Science from Saint Francis College.
Adana is a proud mother, partner, and New Yorker with Caribbean roots. Outside of work, Adana’s passions include traveling, community gardens, and boosting access to healthy eating through her social justice-based cooking classes and recipes of the African diaspora. In response to her personal journey, she has also committed herself to capturing and sharing stories of women and their experiences within the healthcare system.