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Welcome to my little corner of the interwebs. I am Elijah McKinnon; a BlaQ, non-binary, millennial from the San Francisco Bay Area living life and such as a #queerdragon in Chicago, Illinois. When I'm not dreaming I spend a majority of my time creating, sustaining and amplifying ways to mobilize ideas into action. I am a life-long entrepreneur that sees the world through a liberatory lens. As an artist, abolitionist and activist I strongly believe that we have all of the tools we need to break free from systems that have been designed to perpetuate harm. My curiosity encourages me to seek challenges, ask questions and draw conclusions. I'm deeply rooted in many different communities in an attempt to encourage resource sharing, meaningful relationships, generative conflict, restorative justice and equitable solutions. I only wear white and black, drink way too much coffee, love to travel and consume a lot of garlic, media and Black Feminist literature. Need more info and/or wanna start something meaningful? Read my full bio below to see if our values and intentions are aligned.

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Elijah is an award-winning entrepreneur, strategist and visionary from the future currently residing on planet earth.  They received a Bachelors of Science from the Art Institute of San Francisco in Marketing and Management with a focus in Campaign Development and New Media studies. In addition to serving as the Founder and Director of People Who Care, Inc., their independent consultancy and studio practice that works exclusively with nonprofits and grassroots initiatives such as AIDS Foundation Chicago, Northwestern University, Grindr for Equality, and many more; they are also deeply involved in queer, creative and philanthropic communities around the globe. Currently, Elijah serves as the Co-Founder and Executive Director of OTV - Open Television, an Emmy-nominated non-profit streaming platform and media incubator that supports the cultivation of equitable and sustainable careers in the Film/TV industry for storytellers marginalized by their race, class, gender, sexuality, disability and nationality.

They are constantly moving and shaking in an attempt to build meaningful relationships and encourage resource sharing. Elijah co-produced and starred in Chicago's #PrEP4Love campaign, an award-winning and groundbreaking globally recognized initiative; is the former Co-Founder and Development Director of Reunion Chicago, an exhibition space and project incubator prioritized for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC in creative roles; and is the co-founder and Head of Strategy of The Blaq Agenda , a social-experiment and collective indexing the intersection of Black and Queer experiences, identities and histories.

Elijah’s artistic practice and activism sit at the intersections of healing, wellness, race, sexuality, gender, new media and storytelling. Their work explores themes of space-making, liberation, and resilience as seen in their highly acclaimed web series, Two Queens in a Kitchen (S1-S3), a turn-to-relevance cooking show exploring art, culture and politics; their web series developed in partnership with University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill and Duke University, Good Enough, a limited digital series exploring coming out, chosen family, depression, HIV-prevention and sexual health; and THANDO, Elijah’s first feature- length film exploring black, queer vulnerability was written and produced in Johannesburg, South Africa. They are currently developing their next feature-length film, Nothing But Clarity Remains, a psychedelic love letter to Black virtuosity, queer transcendence, and trans sorcery, all set during a meditative long drive through the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

Elijah’s professional, artistic, and advocacy work has been covered by the Forbes, The Advocate, Chicago Tribune, Out Magazine, CBS, VICE, Pride, PBS  and many more publications. They have performed and exhibited work around the globe in spaces such as the Museum for Contemporary Art Chicago, Soho House, The Labia Theatre (South Africa) , Raúl Anguiano Art Museum (Mexico) and more.

Over the years, Elijah’s work ethic and commitment to equitable solutions have garnered awards and acknowledgements including but not limited to being one of dozen social entrepreneurs from around the globe to receive the 2023 Elevate Prize Foundation Annual Award; a finalist of the Grinnell College Innovator in Social Justice Prize in 2021; a recipient of the prestigious New Leaders of Chicago award by the Field Foundation of Illinois and MacArthur Foundation in 2020; acknowledged as New City's Film 50 Issue as one of the Top 10 of 50 individuals changing the landscape of film in 2019; and in 2016 Elijah was named “Top 30 Under 30 LGBT People" in Chicago, Illinois by the Windy City Times and was invited to the first African-American LGBTQ Education Summit at The White House under the Obama Administration.

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Photo: Austin Pope