Tales of the Field: Tonya Gayle, Executive Director of Green City Force and advocate for economic justice for young people of color

Tales of the Field is a podcast series which gives voice to social activists and social innovators who work in and with their communities to create social impact and sustainable change. They share with us their work in the field - where they  tackle complex social issues and aim to create sustainable change and social impact. At its core, their work is human-centered, systemic and always informed by a deep understanding of the context and people’s lives.

In this episode, we talked with Tonya Gayle, Executive Director of Green City Force (GCF) and an advocate for economic justice for young people of color. She led GCF’s development team from July 2014 to September 2020 when she became GCF's Executive Director. She is a board member of The Corps Network focused on national service, and Environmental Advocates of NY focused on environmental justice. Prior to joining GCF, Tonya served in public-private partnerships at the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) and the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Career Program. Tonya is a member of The New York Women’s Foundation Circle of Sisters for Social Change, a graduate of Wesleyan University, and a native Brooklynite. She is an associate producer of the 2006 documentary The Perfect Life featuring young adults from Harlem.

Co-conception and Voice: Melchior Tamisier-Fayard

Co-conception and Production: Anne-Laure Fayard

Sound design, Music and Post-production: Guilhem Tamisier

Artwork: Jyoti Tamisier-Fayard