Nyia Hawkins is an impact strategist, storyteller, and investment professional working at the intersection of economic justice, arts, and culture. She serves as the Investment and Portfolio Coordinator at Chordata Capital, where she focuses on values-aligned investment strategies to support non-extractive finance and community wealth-building initiatives. Her work emphasizes investments that help create equitable financial systems that center justice, empower marginalized communities, and build community wealth.
She is also an Impact Strategist for AmbitioUS at the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI), where she supports innovative models and partnerships advancing financial self-determination for artists, creative entrepreneurs, and cultural communities historically excluded from wealth-building opportunities. AmbitioUS is a time-limited, pooled research and development fund bridging institutional funders, private philanthropy, and grassroots economic changemakers.
Nyia is the creator, host, and producer of The Soul of Capital podcast, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and created in collaboration with the Center for Cultural Innovation. The podcast introduces listeners to alternative economic models and the changemakers leading them. With nearly 20 years of experience in journalism, including a decade focused on business and economics, Nyia brings her storytelling expertise to the world of impact investing and philanthropy. She holds an M.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and a B.A. in American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
