Estella Owoimaha-Church

Estella Owoimaha-Church was recently named a Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize Finalist (2017) and has since begun to work on a global stage. She holds an M.A. in education from Loyola Marymount University and a B.A. in African-American studies from California State University, Northridge. Owoimaha-Church teaches theater in Los Angeles, helping youth to employ performing arts as a community service tool. She is an education consultant, as well as a reading, curriculum, and pathway specialist.

As a full-time educator, Owoimaha-Church remains active with several community organizations, including Speak Truth to Power, training teachers in human rights and social justice education. She believes in the arts as a transformative tool and that, when paired with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the arts can be used to heal communities and build bridges on a global stage and cultivate youth into global citizens.

Owoimaha-Church was first introduced to STTP in 2012 at a performance of the Speak Truth to Power play written by Ariel Dorfman, and she produced the play for the community to commemorate International Human Rights Day in the fall of 2015. She regularly incorporates STTP defender stories, UDHR, and the STTP play into her classroom and continues to train fellow educators and artists in her region looking to propel the movements of human rights and social justice education.