Waikinya Clanton

Waikinya Clanton-Biography State Director/ Mississippi State Office
Waikinya J.S. Clanton is a gifted, young trailblazer that is a highly sought after strategic, political and campaign investments advisor and community engagement strategist. Clanton currently serves as the inaugural state director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, the first in the organization’s 50-year history.
As State Director, Waikinya has led the charge through the newly initiated SPLC Advocacy Institute, a community leadership program designed to strengthen and support communities by educating and empowering emerging activists, and advocates. She is also an active member of the Mississippi Rapid Response Coalition— a community of frontline community activist and advocacy led organizations providing direct assistance to residents impacted by the Jackson Water Crisis, as well as the Mississippi Donor’s Alliance and the Mississippi Criminal Justice Funders’ table.
Having previously served as Senior Advisor to the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Executive Director of the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women as well as a Congressional aide to Congressman Bennie G. Thompson, Waikinya has dedicated more than a decade of her career to public service and leadership. Clanton is most commonly known for her role as the chief architect of the leading democratic organizing campaign -- Seat at the Table, a program that galvanized thousands of Black women throughout the country to secure key electoral victories in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Careers as the brainchild of NOBEL Women premier program for training young girls for careers in STEM- Girls, Gigabytes, and Gadgets (3G).
As a fierce warrior for equity, equality and acceptance, Clanton helps and has helped to advise the social impact strategy of companies like the international beauty brand, Sephora Nextdoor and other key clients. She has also consulted, advised, and directed major tech and media conglomerates around philanthropic giving totaling more than $3Million in support of voter engagement programs; and led and coordinated the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign, Take The Shot for the Win, in partnership with the Black Women’s Health Imperative as well as the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) which specifically targeted Black women and their families.
Waikinya is a graduate of the historic Tougaloo College. In additional to her degree from Tougaloo, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with an emphasis in Pre-Law, Waikinya also holds a master’s in business administration, and certifications in Strategic Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University and Campaign Management from the Campaign School at Yale University. She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. where she serves at both the local and National level.
She is the recipient of many distinct awards and honors including the inaugural Tougaloo College’s 40 Under 40, The Root 100 Top Influential African Americans, the Judge Constance Slaughter Harvey Champion Award, and being named as one of Mississippi’s Top 50 Women in Business by the Mississippi Business Journal. Clanton was recently chosen as an Eric H. Holder Public Policy Fellow of the Reuben V. Anderson Social Justice Institute, is a member of the Mt. Able Missionary Baptist Church in Canton, MS and Founder of Who’s Who of Mississippi Women.