Malika Whitley

Founder and Executive Director, ChopART

Malika Whitley has a ten year background in arts curation and international relationship management and has worked on five different continents receiving praise from international governments and communities. In 2010, Malika founded ChopArt while living in Cape Town, South Africa and working as a marketing assistance for a recording studio. Upon moving to Hyderabad, India as an IDEX Fellow, Malika pursued intensive social entrepreneurship training as a Jagriti Yatra Fellow in order to grow the organization. Malika returned to the United States in 2012 and incorporated the organization as a 501c3 nonprofit. ChopArt has served over 40,000 youth worldwide since its inception and continues to grow locally and abroad.

Malika is frequently recognized for her leadership working with homeless youth and is the recipient of many honors including Atlanta Tribune’s “Young, Gifted, and Black” honoree, Creative Loafing Atlanta’s “20 People to Watch”, Atlanta Tribune’s “50 Under 50,” and Young Nonprofit Professionals Network’s “30 Under 30.” In early 2017, Malika has been selected by Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, to receive a one-year financial
investment in Sara’s sole and largest award from her foundation, and first major investment in the Atlanta community. Malika was also featured in an Adidas ad campaign “The Originators” and most recently, completed a TED Residency in NYC where she delivered a TED Talk.

Malika has a degree in International Communications, Cultural Relations, and Social Economics from Oglethorpe University. Malika’s passion is fighting for human rights and freedom in all its forms, and is committed to meeting this passion in all facets of her work.