As VP, People & Operations, Odiaka Gonzalez develops and leads strategy for organizational culture, performance management, employee engagement and retention, career development, compensation, and benefits for Global Citizen Year. Prior to joining Global Citizen Year, Odiaka served as Executive Director for Oakland Leaf, a nonprofit that cultivates community transformation through creative education for youth and families. Odiaka has a long history with nonprofits and socially conscious organizations. He spent six years with Revolution Foods as the Director of Training. During this time, he helped scale the company from serving California schools to serving schools nationwide. Before Revolution Foods, Odiaka spent nine years with Playworks, a national youth development organization, developing and training staff, creating curriculum, and supporting the growth of the organization as the East Bay Program Director. Odiaka is a compassionate and thoughtful leader that focuses on the learning, development and growth of his team to reach their full potential. He has been recognized on national platforms for his leadership, being selected to participate in Pahara NextGen, Allstate Greater Good, and Aspen Ideas Festival.
Odiaka was raised in Atlanta, Georgia in a household centered around art, creative expression, and community service. He graduated from Morehouse College with a BA in psychology. He is a father of two beautiful girls, and he tries to find time to to DJ, take pictures, play soccer and read.
