About the Author
Professor Verda H. Olayinka has been a Lifetime Scholar in Africana Studies and a self-made student of Cultural Development.
Verda H. Olayinka was inspired to write, (2016) Activating Social Solutions: Essential Keys to Progress after observing the nationwide “Occupy” and “Black Lives Matter” Movements. She was concerned that folks were demonstrating and returning home to social conditions that were the same as when they left. The book attempts to cultivate another strategy for developing Change Agents and Social Solutions Groups that would meet in a safe space, and work with people they already know, to plan and execute local change projects. Activating Social Solutions…provides the ground work in understanding and applying social science skills in order to reinforce and ensure focused continued success.
In her professional role as Culture Broker, Professor Olayinka assisted individuals and families who were not able to navigate social welfare systems for themselves. Her expertise includes a working knowledge of policies and procedures required for the quality provision of healthcare. She has been a Cultural Consultant since 1987, providing social science solutions in community, education, public health and integrated healthcare.
Ms. Olayinka spent twenty years as an Evaluator, including ten years with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene as City Research Scientist II, developing Behavior Change strategies for HIV Prevention, Healthcare Improvement, and Community Well-Being.
She continued her dual career track as Online Adjunct Professor at SUNY’s Empire State College, Center for Distance Learning, teaching: “The United States Health Systems”, “Roots and Routes of African Diaspora Resistance,” and “The African-American Experience.”
Professor Olayinka earned a Dual Degree in Sociology and African-American Studies from Brooklyn College in 1974 and a Master of Professional Studies from Cornell University in 1985. Communication research provided her with functional skills in Community Research and the Psychology of Behavior and Attitude Change.
A cumulative thirty-four years in Human Services Management in public and integrated health care for family and community well-being enhanced her expertise via community-based initiatives and understanding of the challenges of documenting effective program planning, development, and implementation.