Niyonu Spann

Niyonu Spann (she/her/hers) – Lead Teacher
Niyonu Spann is a member of Chester Monthly Meeting of Friends (Quakers) in Chester, PA. She is a singer-songwriter, organization development practitioner, coach, and mom/grandmom of three amazing sons and three delightful granddaughters! Niyonu designed and led the first Beyond Diversity 101 Intensive in 1999 after some 10 years of facilitating “diversity workshops” and becoming dissatisfied with the pattern of measuring “success” by how guilty the white folks ended up feeling; and on the other side, if the people of color got sufficiently in touch with their pain and expressions of anger? In creating BD101, Niyonu moved beyond that cycle. She now refers to her work as Training in Whole-System Liberation. Her work centers heart-knowing, radical truth-telling, and somatic wisdom.

Upcoming Programs by Niyonu Spann

Beyond Diversity 101 – Whole System Transformation Series

Also With Dr. Darya Funches , Zhenevere Sophia Dao and Dr. Jamila Lyiscott

March 18 - 22, 2027

A four-part workshop series focused on cultivating the capacity to consciously interrupt patterns of oppression, recognize energetic shifts within systems, and move skillfully with emerging possibilities to create transformation within organizations, communities, and ourselves.