Meet Our Team
Monique Ekundayo, PhD
President
Founded by Dr. Monique Ekundayo, a Ph.D. in Business Management specializing in Strategy and Innovation, the National Society for African American Innovators (NSAAI) was established as a result of the jarring discovery that only 2.9% of those who identify as Black and African American, in the US workforce, represent the population of workers within the Innovation profession.
Her inspiration was then sparked to create an organization that would reduce the gap in the study and practice of Innovation between the represented majority and the un/underrepresented Black/African American minority. The incorporation of NSAAI was founded in April of 2022.
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Leading with a personal conviction that in addition to the liberal arts disciplines, STEM disciplines, including but not limited to innovation: technological and non-technological, should also be fully immersed in socio-demographic diversity and inclusion. Dr. Ekundayo leads NSAAI intending to penetrate the Education and Profession of Innovation with a percentage of Blacks and African Americans equal to their counterparts.
Toyia Caise, DBA
Vice President
Dr. Toyia Caise, a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) in Leadership, is the CEO of Upward Solutions, LLC, Owner/Executive Baker of Side Piece Café, a corporate professional in Financial Management, and was a former unique appointee leader for the State Government. Dr. Caise also holds a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace certificate from the University of South Florida Muma College of Business.
A servant leader of Jesus Christ, a wife, and a mother of four, Dr. Toyia Caise has also served in ministry and as a former Executive and Trusted-Advisor to the Board of Directors at the Oliver Community Center, a non-profit organization. A published author, Dr. Caise, has a written submission in the Business Management Research and Applications (BMRA) journal: A January 2024 Cross-Disciplinary Journal, and co-authored a manuscript titled "Exploring the Impact of Micromanagement Leadership in Remote Work Environments." She also has a journal planner titled "Take Care of You – A Self-Care Guide", equipped with reminders, checklists, and prompts for daily life tracking. Watch for the releases of her upcoming books: “Credit Relaunch: It's Not Too Late”, "Saved, Now What?", and "Cooking it Up with Sugar, Butter, & Love."
When asked what Innovation meant to her, Dr. Toyia Caise expressed that as we evolve in life, we undergo Innovation by reinventing ourselves. Innovation is an essential component of critical observation and thinking. The more we observe, the more opportunities unfold by which we rethink ideas and develop new problem-solving approaches, making innovative solutions key in today's world.
Bryant Mitchell, PhD
Board Advisor
Bryant C. Mitchell is an associate professor of management and freshman advisor, in the Department of Business, Management and Accounting at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore located in Princess Anne, Maryland. From 1996 to present, Dr. Mitchell has taught courses: in Professional Development; Management and Organizational Behavior; Entrepreneurship; Supply Chain Management; and the department’s capstone course, Strategic Management. In addition, he received two IBM faculty awards in 2010 and 2011 for his work with the UMES\IBM Academic Initiative. In addition, Dr. Mitchell has served on a variety of departmental and university committees including the chair of the university senate and faculty assembly. He is currently the president of the UMES National Alumni Association, head coach of the UMES Cub football team, and chair of Hawks for Football, Inc. (www.umeshawksforfootball.org).
From 1986 to 1990, Dr. Mitchell was an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Baltimore, and Coppin State University, where he taught courses in Introduction to Business, Management, Finance, Marketing, Consumer Behavior, Business Policy, Organizational Assessment, and Planning, Budgeting and Control. In 1986, Dr. Mitchell founded The Ansar Group; a general management-consulting firm located in Columbia, Maryland. He is currently the Firm’s Practice Leader in Emerging Businesses, with an emphasis on Strategic Planning and Organizational Effectiveness.
​Sharing his sentiment on why Innovation is important, Dr. Mitchell quotes the Emeritus Newsletter and states that “Thinking innovatively or creatively can help managers and executives develop unique marketing campaigns to help them stand out. Also, formulate promotional and advertising strategies that will help in increasing market share and revenue, giving the company a competitive advantage.”
Harold Lundy, PhD
Board Advisor
Dr. Harold Lundy, Jr. is an assistant professor of Management & Accounting in the School of Business and Industry at Florida A&M University. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Master of Accountancy (MAcc) degree. Lastly, he holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration.
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Dr. Lundy has corporate work experience in the oil & gas, financial services, non-profit, and health care industries. He worked for one of the Big Four accounting firms as an auditor for Fortune 500 companies. At the same accounting firm, he additionally held a position in the tax department filing tax returns for corporations, partnerships, S-Corporations, and LLCs. His business acumen as resulted in Dr. Lundy serving as a management consultant to a top U.S. Department of Defense contractor. In recent years, he has been a Chief Business Advisor for a software company and advisor for a startup firm in the entertainment industry. Dr. Lundy has received an award for winning a business plan competition sponsored by the U.S Department of Commerce-Minority Business Development Agency. Additionally, Dr. Lundy is qualified to teach two disciplines at the collegiate undergraduate level: Management and Accounting.
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Dr. Lundy views innovation has a cornerstone tool for improving the plight of our communities. Donald F. Kuratko, Distinguished Chair of Entrepreneurship, has stated that innovation principles have been researched and they can be learned. People are inherently creative but lack awareness of how to harness their ingenuity towards greater prosperity. As a business professor I encourage students to master innovation in order succeed in entrepreneurship. Rosenbusch et al. (2011) noted that innovation is the process by which entrepreneurs convert opportunities into marketable solutions. It is the means by which they become catalysts for change.
Bakari Powell
Director of Operations
Bakari Powell is a Biological Engineer specializing in Hydrology, Hydraulics, and Innovation. A proud graduate of North Carolina A&T State University with a degree in Biological Engineering, Bakari currently serves as an Engineering Specialist III at the South Florida Water Management District, where he helps design and optimize large-scale water resource systems that protect communities and ecosystems across Florida.
Driven by a passion for innovation and guided by a purpose of service, Bakari sees every challenge as an opportunity to create something meaningful. His expertise spans hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, geospatial analysis, data visualization, and environmental systems management — skills he applies not only in engineering but also in his entrepreneurial and creative endeavors.
Beyond his professional work, Bakari is an inventor, author, and founder who uses innovation as a tool to uplift others. He is the author of Think Different: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building the Next Apple, the creator of ZION, The YouCare 1, and The G.I.A. Fund — a scholarship fund dedicated to honoring his late sister. A true believer in continuous growth, Bakari combines his love for engineering, technology, and human connection with his faith in Christ and creativity to inspire others to think differently. Outside of his professional and entrepreneurial pursuits, he enjoys basketball, swimming, exploring nature, traveling, and mentoring young innovators. His guiding belief is simple: Innovation is not only about creating — it’s about impact.
What is Innovation?
Amabile (1996) reasoned that the Theory of Creativity and Innovation explained how innovation fosters creative ideas within an organization. Creativity by individuals and teams is presumed to be a starting point for innovation, but successful innovation depends on several factors, including but not limited to ideas that originate elsewhere.
Antov (2022) observed that while innovation is usually associated with scientific and technological dimensions, innovation today is a complex process that cannot be limited to the technological side alone. As the innovation paradigm shifts from a closed innovation model to an open one, 21st-century organizations must also consider non-technological innovations as a broader and widely accepted concept, study, and practice of present-day innovation.
Come innovate with NSAAI.