Ayo Banjo
Project Director @The Village Project, Inc
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WORK HISTORY
Project Director @The Village Project, Inc
Lead the strategic design and implementation of high-impact behavioral health and youth development programs serving BIPOC communities across the Central Coast. • Oversee a cross-functional team of 20+ professional staff, student ambassadors, and community partners, ensuring program excellence, operational efficiency, and mission alignment. • Spearhead initiatives that integrate mental health equity, cultural responsiveness, and trauma-informed care into community engagement and service delivery. • Strengthen cross-sector partnerships with county agencies, school districts, and nonprofits to expand access to culturally relevant mental wellness services. • Drive internal leadership development and performance culture across teams while supporting organizational scaling and visibility. • Represent the organization in regional coalitions and public forums, advocating for policy and systems change at the intersection of health equity, education, and social services.
EDUCATION
University of California, Santa Cruz
Bachelor of Arts - BA, Politics
ABOUT AYO BANJO
Ayo Banjo is a Project Director, strategist, and cultural leader shaping the future of youth mental health and next-generation leadership. Described by UCSC Magazine as “a model of effective leadership,” he has built his career around one guiding principle: leadership is not about titles, but about creating spaces where others can thrive.As Project Director of The Village Project’s Stigma Reduction Campaign, Banjo leads a team of youth ambassadors, clinicians, and staff in designing community-driven approaches to mental health. From launching spoken word events and ambassador-led campaigns in schools, to shaping countywide stigma reduction strategies, his work centers youth voices as the drivers of systemic change. Under his leadership, the program has become a statewide model for culturally responsive, early intervention mental health initiatives.Banjo’s leadership journey began at UC Santa Cruz, where he made history as the youngest—and first freshman—student body president. There, he spearheaded initiatives that secured over half a million dollars in housing support for low-income students, expanded Pan-African service access, and authored “Higher Education’s Black Agenda,” research that reshaped UC system-wide funding priorities for Black student success.Today, his focus is on defining a new blueprint for leadership and wellness. His writing—including his widely shared op-eds on men’s mental health—pushes public dialogue toward compassion, responsibility, and systemic solutions. His voice bridges community organizing, policy innovation, and cultural storytelling, offering a model of leadership that is as practical as it is transformative.Banjo has advised on climate equity policy as part of the Santa Cruz Climate Action Task Force, advanced statewide legislation expanding student mental health access, and built coalitions across civic, nonprofit, and political arenas. Yet, he continues to see leadership not as personal achievement, but as a collective practice: the work of equipping others to lead, to heal, and to imagine.Ayo Banjo is building an ecosystem where leadership, mental health, and cultural power converge—anchoring his work in the belief that the next generation deserves not only a seat at the table, but the tools to build new ones.
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