Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Affiliations
Certification
Languages
Interests
Timeline
Hobbies and Interests
Publications
CONSULTING: SELECTED CLIENTS
Selected Speaking Engagements
Generic

Nyasha Laing

New York,NY

Summary

Narrative change leader with experience in creative engagement, human rights, and social impact partnerships

Overview

23
23
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Impact Producer

Red Owl Partners
07.2020 - Current
  • Cofounder of boutique company working with filmmakers, media entities and social justice and educational institutions to expand the distribution of high-quality films and secure social impact partnerships. Build campaigns, secure financial resources, and design impactful marketing and educational tools to facilitate dialogue and reach decision-makers. Lead strategic planning, contract review and weekly time reconciliation enhancing overall organizational efficiency. Conduct business development and manage client relations for the WORLD Channel, The Grab (Magnolia Pictures), The Cost of Inheritance (PBS/WORLD), Storming Caesars Palace (PBS), Belly of the Beast (PBS) (Emmy) and other films reaching millions of viewers and supporting successful Emmy and Oscar wins and nomination.

PT Communications Director

Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity
07.2020 - 09.2023
  • rLed communications strategy for a national network of Black social justice leaders. Designed collaborative cross-departmental narrative initiatives for this training intermediary. Developed and produced the How We Breathe podcast reaching thousands of listeners

Senior Communications Associate

International Center for Transitional Justice
02.2018 - 08.2019
  • Spearheaded communications initiatives and 3-year strategic plans, including storytelling for justice campaigns and high-level fundraising events in NY. Supervised staff and interns in production of editorial deliverables spanning reparative justice initiatives in ten countries, ensuring institutional alignment for all messaging. Produced thought pieces, documentary films, and art/storytelling campaigns to advance racial reconciliation, youth and women’s participation, and accountability for mass human rights violations.

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Africana Studies/Sustainability

John Jay College of Criminal Justice
01.2014 - 06.2017
  • Taught interdisciplinary courses exploring critical race studies, civil rights history, and environmental justice.

Strategic Communications Consultant

NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund
06.2015 - 01.2016
  • Served as media liaison for complex federal and Supreme Court civil rights impact litigation cases and public interest coalitions involving national policing reform, voting rights, and diversity in higher education.

Founder

The Global Parish Project & Youth Voices
06.2009 - 01.2014
  • Founded and ran a community-based organization that built the creative expression and leadership skills of over 1,000 at risk youth ages 14-22. Raised over $300,000, cultivating national and multilateral partners, such as the U.S. State Department and UNDP.

Deputy Registrar and Legal Officer

Belize Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Attorney General
05.2008 - 06.2011
  • Ratified international human rights treaties, monitored human rights conditions country-wide and facilitated treaty reporting trainings for officials. Negotiated bilateral agreements. Managed the Belize Intellectual Property Office overseeing the country’s intellectual property registrations. Adjudicated trademark disputes.

Contract Attorney

CUNY Immigrant Rights Project, ACLU, Amplify, Dewey Leboeuf, LLP
02.2006 - 04.2008
  • Contracted house legal services and pre-trial due diligence. Handled IP licensing and compliance matters. Managed legal services at immigration clinic at La Guardia Community College overseeing all applications to adjust status.

Assistant General Counsel

Seedco & the Non-Profit Assistance Corporation
07.2004 - 10.2005
  • Served as in house legal counsel under supervision of General Counsel, negotiating agreements, handling HR matters and business affairs. Advised executive team on organizational restructuring. Oversaw federal compliance and agreements for complex community development transactions and loan funds promoting neighborhood revitalization.

Corporate Associate

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP
09.2002 - 06.2004
  • Drafted multi-million-dollar credit and collateral agreements and documentation for corporations, trusts, and private equity funds. Facilitated closings for low-income housing transactions involving complex tax incentives.

Education

JD -

NYU School of Law
New York, N.Y.
01.2002

BA - History

Yale University
New Haven, CT
01.1998

Skills

  • Advanced Excel
  • Advanced PowerPoint
  • Adobe Premiere
  • Self-publishing and production
  • Project management
  • Cross-cultural communication

Affiliations

  • NYC Hub Steering Committee
  • Oceanic Global
  • Director, Creative Action Institute
  • Formerly, Director, National Institute of Culture and History of Belize

Certification

Bar Admission New York

Languages

Conversational and Business Spanish
Rudimentary French

Interests

Outdoors, Jazz, Yoga, Creative Writng

Timeline

Impact Producer

Red Owl Partners
07.2020 - Current

PT Communications Director

Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity
07.2020 - 09.2023

Senior Communications Associate

International Center for Transitional Justice
02.2018 - 08.2019

Strategic Communications Consultant

NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund
06.2015 - 01.2016

Adjunct Assistant Professor, Africana Studies/Sustainability

John Jay College of Criminal Justice
01.2014 - 06.2017

Founder

The Global Parish Project & Youth Voices
06.2009 - 01.2014

Deputy Registrar and Legal Officer

Belize Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Attorney General
05.2008 - 06.2011

Contract Attorney

CUNY Immigrant Rights Project, ACLU, Amplify, Dewey Leboeuf, LLP
02.2006 - 04.2008

Assistant General Counsel

Seedco & the Non-Profit Assistance Corporation
07.2004 - 10.2005

Corporate Associate

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP
09.2002 - 06.2004

BA - History

Yale University

JD -

NYU School of Law

Hobbies and Interests

jazz singing, yoga

Publications

  • Publications
  • Youth Participation and Skills in Leadership Programs (British Council, 2021)
  • Columbia’s Truth Commission Prepares to Embark on the Extraterritorial Truth-Telling Process (ICTJ, 2018)
  • A Legal Framework for Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Cultural Expressions, &Genetic Resources in the Caribbean (2011)
  • Shadow Report to the High Commission for Human Rights on the Status of Afro descendant Persons in Belize (2011)
  • Media
  • Producer/Director, Kumina Queen (2022), Punta Soul (2008)
  • Writer, African Redemption, The Life and Legacy of Marcus Garvey
  • Field Producer, Reparations, Not Deportation (Redfish Media)
  • Contributor, Redfish Media, Tell Them We Are Rising (PBS)
  • Contributor, Yes Magazine, BBC World Service, Arise TV, Amsterdam Newss
  • Creator of the How We Breathe podcast for BOLD

CONSULTING: SELECTED CLIENTS

  • ITVS (Documentary Film Funding)
  • Panel reviewer for ITVS 2025 Open Call finalists.
  • Consultant and Writer, British Council
  • Building Movements Campaign – Youth Violence and Leadership in Central America and the Caribbean (2020 - 2021)

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • SXSW
  • Yale University
  • NYU
  • Schomburg Center for Research
  • Art Museum of the Americas

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