Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari

Co-Executive Director of the New York State Alliance for Quality Education (AQE)

Zakiyah Shaakir-Ansari is the Co-Executive Director of the New York State Alliance for Quality Education (AQE), the leading statewide organization that has been fighting for educational justice in New York State. Zakiyah is a Black, Muslim woman born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, who cares deeply and fights hard. Zakiyah is the mother of 8 children and a grandparent of 5. Zakiyah has dedicated 25 years of her life to the fight for educational justice and ending the oppression of Black and brown people.

Zakiyah sits on the board of the Institute for Educational Leadership, the Schott Foundation for Public Education and Broadway Advocacy Coalition.

Zakiyah was a 2024 honoree for the Broadway Advocacy Coalition's first Artivism Ball. She was named one of City and State magazine's "25 Most Influential in Brooklyn" and made their Above and Beyond Gen X. power list. Zakiyah volunteers her time with the Gathering for Justice, Justice League NYC and is the rapid response coordinator for the Resistance Revival Chorus. Zakiyah is a Senior Fellow for Racial Equity at the Atlantic Institute.

Zakiyah is also a fashion designer and entrepreneur. In 2024, she launched Designs by Zakiyah LLC. Zakiyah has a long history of combining her advocacy and activism with her fashion.