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 born from her recognition of a significant disparity in the representation of Black and African American professionals within the U.S. innovation workforce. Her research and professional perspective revealed an urgent opportunity to expand access, participation, and advancement in both the study and practice of innovation.
Driven by a commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion across innovation, Dr. Ekundayo founded NSAAI in April 2022 to help bridge the gap between represented and historically underrepresented communities. Her vision extends beyond technological innovation to encompass the full spectrum of innovation across academic disciplines, industries, and professional pathways.
Through NSAAI, Dr. Ekundayo champions a future in which Black and African American students, scholars, and professionals are meaningfully represented throughout the innovation ecosystem. Her leadership is grounded in the belief that innovation is strengthened when diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise are not only included, but positioned to shape the ideas, solutions, and advancements that define the future.
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
Dr. 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 (UMES) where he has taught since 1996. His academic expertise spans Professional Development, Management and Organizational Behavior, Entrepreneurship, Supply Chain Management, and Strategic Management, and his contributions earned him IBM Faculty Awards in 2010 and 2011 through the UMES/IBM Academic Initiative. A respected university leader, Dr. Mitchell has served in numerous departmental and university leadership roles, including Chair of the University Senate and Faculty Assembly, and currently serves as President of the UMES National Alumni Association.
Prior to joining UMES, Dr. Mitchell served as an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Baltimore, and Coppin State University, teaching across business, management, finance, marketing, organizational assessment, and strategic planning. In 1986, he founded The Ansar Group, a general management consulting firm in Columbia, Maryland, where he currently serves as Practice Leader for Emerging Businesses, specializing in strategic planning and organizational effectiveness. His combined academic and consulting experience reflects a career dedicated to developing organizations, cultivating leaders, and advancing innovative approaches to business and management.
Dr. Mitchell views innovation as a catalyst for organizational growth, competitive advantage, and sustainable success. He emphasizes the value of innovative and creative thinking in helping leaders develop distinctive strategies, strengthen market position, and generate increased organizational value. Through his teaching, consulting, and leadership, Dr. Mitchell continues to champion innovation as a powerful tool for transforming ideas into meaningful organizational outcomes.
John Coleman, PhD
Board Advisor
Dr. John H. Coleman III is an Innovation Griot, systems engineer, innovation communicator, and community facilitator with more than four decades of experience addressing complex technological, operational, and organizational challenges. His multidisciplinary expertise spans engineering, management, and biomedical science, with distinguished experience across National Laboratories, the U.S. Air Force, and leading aerospace and defense organizations.
Dr. Coleman holds a Ph.D. in Engineering Management with a focus on innovation management and specializes in designing solutions that unite diverse stakeholders, disciplines, and systems. His work is grounded in the conviction that complex systemic challenges can be transformed through collective expertise, innovation, and community wisdom, a philosophy that led him to establish the Social Innovators for Americans Association (SIAA) in 2020.
Through SIAA and its Collaborative Innovation Network and Community Leadership Academy for Social Innovation (CLASI), Dr. Coleman develops methodologies that equip civic leaders and communities to design scalable solutions to complex social challenges. His signature contribution is translating the disciplined problem-solving principles of engineering into practical, replicable frameworks that enable communities to become architects of meaningful and sustainable 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.