I’m Janna A. Zinzi (also known as jaz) and I’m passionate about:

• documenting and telling stories about cultural changemakers around the United States and the world.

• coaching and training communications professionals and entrepreneurs on how to strategically work with media.

• travel! Especially as a means of cultural connections to unite people and help the planet.

• dance as a form of healing and joy.

I have 20 years of experience in strategic communications and public relations working with foundations, non-profit organizations, artists and entrepreneurs. I have worked with Black Lives Matter and the Movement 4 Black Lives, the Aspen Institute, Girls for Gender Equity, Northwestern University, Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership, Sistersong, Beloved Community, Texas Civil Rights Project, California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, the New York Human Services Council and hundreds of other organizations providing media strategy, communications coaching and capacity building. I’m also an ongoing collaborator with Lightbox Collaborative and work with Reframe as a trainer and coach. I have landed placements in major media outlets including The New York Times, MTV/VH1/Logo, The Guardian, NBC News, USA Today, and Cosmopolitan among dozens of major news and culture outlets. I love training people to tell their stories powerfully and succinctly. 

I am also the co-founder and CEO of WanderWomxnTravels, connecting of women and nonbinary people of color with cultural and sustainable travel experiences. It is a home for travelers looking for community-based tourism and conscious travel perspectives, and who want customized itineraries and group trips. Because of my love of travel writing and natural curiosity, I am a travel journalist with bylines in Conde Nast Traveler, Essence, Travel + Leisure, Teen Vogue, The Daily Beast, Afar, Garden + Gun, PBS and more. I am also a published author and c0-editor of “The Echoing Ida Collection,” an anthology of cultural analysis by Black women and nonbinary writers, inspired by our journalist and activist foremother, Ida B. Wells-Barnett. I am a member of National Association of Black Journalists (NOBJ), the New Orleans Association of Black Journalists (NOABJ) and a former board member of the Los Angeles chapter (NABJ-LA).

I am also an Afrodiasporic dancer, and mixed media artist. I’ve been a dancer since the age of three; music and dance bring me the greatest joy and connect me with spirit. Being an ongoing student of African diaspora dance styles like Afro-Cuban, Haitian folkloric and Hip-Hop, I incorporate these influences into my classes and performances. As jazabel jade, my burlesque alter ego, I got my start on the stages of New York City in 2010 and since have performed all over the United States including the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas and Joe’s Pub in New York City. I was part of a movement of Black women and women of color performers creating more visibility for our aesthetic, our stories and our bodies. Some of my happiest memories are from teaching sensual movement and burlesque classes guiding other Black women, women of color, and non-binary or gender non-conforming people in activating and accentuating their self-love. I’m also really proud to say that my mixed media artwork has been part of exhibitions in Los Angeles, Mexico City and Tokyo with the Women’s Salon LA.

Lastly, I’m a proud life long forever New Yorker but currently I’m living in New Orleans, Louisiana — a place I love with my heart and soul. You can often find me riding my bike and singing loudly, laughing with loved ones, binge watching documentaries or Drag Race reruns, or dancing in random places like subway platforms or national parks.