Malika Harris

Executive Director

Malika Harris is the Executive Director of Building Beats, leading the organization into its next chapter with a deep commitment to youth development, creative culture, and education equity. Malika brings over 20 years of experience to the forefront of creative education, having served as a senior leader, educator, independent consultant, and community organizer within the nonprofit sector.

Throughout her career, Malika has held leadership roles at more than a dozen youth-serving organizations and New York City–based nonprofits. By aligning strategy with impactful programming, talent development, and strong operations, she has consistently expanded organizational capacity to increase access and opportunity for historically underserved youth. While serving on the board of the College Access Consortium of New York (CACNY), Malika founded the College Access Anti-Racism Coalition to advance equity-centered practices across the college access sector. She currently serves as an annual trainer for the Emerging Leaders in Nonprofit Management Program through the Partnership for After School Education (PASE), where she supports middle managers in developing equity-centered leadership and management practices.

Malika is an Education Pioneers alumna and holds a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from Stony Brook University, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies and Sociology from the University at Albany.

A proud native New Yorker and third-generation Bedford-Stuyvesant resident, Malika embodies the creative culture that Building Beats champions. She is an active DJ, a fitness enthusiast, and a Community Producer at BRIC Arts Media, as well as a 2024 graduate of BRIC’s Podcast Intensive. When she isn’t leading Building Beats, she can often be found exploring the city and doing what she does best—connecting people, ideas, and community.