KIAH MORRIS
Executive Director
Originally from Chicago, Kiah Morris currently lives in Vermont, where she served in the general assembly as a State Representative from 2014-2016 and 2016-2018. She is the first African-American and person of color elected from Bennington County and the second African-American woman to be elected to the legislature in Vermont history. In that capacity, she served on the House Judiciary Committee and Vermont Judicial Nominating Board and was co-chair of the tri-partisan Legislative Women’s Caucus. Her groundbreaking legislative accomplishments include passage and advocacy of low to no-cost contraception for all; removal of statutes of limitations for sexual assault; fair and impartial policing standards; creation of a multisector panel to address racial disparities in the criminal and juvenile justice systems in Vermont. She helmed the historic establishment of board and cabinet-level, director position to address systemic racism in state government; the establishment of the most comprehensive ethnic and social equity in schools bill in the nation and medical monitoring for victims of corporate pollution. Her story of success and struggle have been covered in over four dozen media outlets including CNN, The Huffington Post, New York Times, Washington Post, The Hill, Essence Magazine, Canadian Broadcasting Company, PBS, BBC Radio and Vice Media.
She is an award-winning, in-demand trainer, speaker and presenter. She provides consultative services, workshops and presentations on issues of diversity, equity and leadership for organizations across the globe. As co-owner of the TESA Collective cooperative, she manages marketing, communications, and strategic partnerships. She most recently served as the Director of the Vermont Coalition on Ethnic and Social Equity in Schools. She sits on the Board of United Children’s Services, is a Sisters on the Planet Ambassador for Oxfam America and is on the advisory councils for Emerge Vermont and Black Lives Matter Vermont.
Kiah also holds an accomplished artistic career as an actress of stage, film and television, spoken word performance, as a singer, dancer and arts manager. As an arts advocate with a passion for community-based art, she has produced numerous special events, concerts and art exhibits during her career. Her work focuses on amplification of voices of the oppressed, issues of human rights and social justice. She is also the author of a recently published book of poetry Life Lessons and Lyrical Translations of My Soul. You can reach her at kiah@radvt.org.