Olajumoke Obayanju, Esq.

Olajumoke “Jummy” Obayanju is the Director of the National Racial Equity Initiative (NREI) for Social Justice at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc. (CBCF). Passionate about racial justice, leadership development and educational equity, Ms. Obayanju is a skilled strategist, facilitator, educator, and lawyer. She oversees and manages the NREI to maximize its visibility and sustainability; ensures the implementation of program objectives and initiatives; and focuses on advancing racial equity, human rights, education, and economic development opportunities for the African American community.

Prior to joining CBCF, Ms. Obayanju was the Racial Justice & Juvenile Defense Fellow at the Georgetown Juvenile Justice Clinic & Initiative where she worked to improve the systems D.C. youth encounter through policy reform, developed resources to help juvenile defenders incorporate racial justice arguments into their youth advocacy, and created training materials on strategies to identify and correct racial bias. Ms. Obayanju also served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Craig Iscoe in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Ms. Obayanju began her career as a middle school teacher in Charlotte, NC, where she taught 8th grade math and Algebra. In her first year, she led 96% of students to pass their End of Grade test and 93% of students to a 12.5% growth average.

Ms. Obayanju received her B.A. in Communications from Howard University, her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School, and her LL.M in Advocacy from the Georgetown University Law Center. In 2016, she was awarded the GW Law BLSA Herbert Henderson Justice & Advocacy Award for her dedication and pursuit of social justice, community service, and advocacy for black law students; and the Michael Dillon Cooley Memorial Award—voted by her law school classmates—for sharing most generously her time, compassion, and vitality to aid the intellectual and spiritual growth of fellow students.

Ms. Obayanju currently serves as President of the GW Law Association of Black Law Alumni, member of the Alfred Street Baptist Church Governance & Legal Committee, and sits on the Board of Directors for the Educate ME Foundation. She is a current member of the Maryland State Bar.