The Commencement Speaker

Nzinga Shaw

Nzinga “Zing” Shaw joined The Recording Academy|GRAMMYS in 2023, serving as a member of the executive leadership team in the capacity of Chief Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Officer. She reports to the CEO and leads the company’s DEI Center of Excellence, focused to enable a more engaged global workforce, creating enhanced platforms to recognize the diverse array of musicians, songwriters, producers, recording engineers, and supports a more inclusive culture to best position the Academy to drive financial growth in underserved markets. Shaw supports all Academy affiliates including GRAMMY Museum, MusiCares, Latin Recording Academy, Latin GRAMMY Cultural Foundation, and GRAMMY Global Ventures. Additionally, she is a global DEI speaker represented by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the world’s leading speaker’s bureau that offers a comprehensive roster of the most acclaimed speaker clients whose topics include business, cultural commentary, print and broadcast media, wellness and inspiration, and the arts and entertainment.

Shaw has been recognized with numerous “40 Under 40” awards from the likes of Sports Business Journal, Atlanta Business Chronicle, The Network Journal, and PR Week. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Fisk University, the Board of Directors of ColorComm, the Board of Advisors of Arctos Sports Partners, the Board of Directors of The Veritas School of Social Sciences, a global advisor to Velocity Global and Tempus-Ex, and she was appointed by 39th United States President Jimmy Carter to serve a six-year term on the Board of Councilors of The Carter Center. Shaw is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, The Links Incorporated, Young President’s Organization (YPO), and a graduate of Leadership Atlanta and Leadership Tomorrow (Seattle)

Shaw received her Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her Bachelor’s degree from Spelman College. She was a study abroad scholar at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at Fisk University and teaches in the Honors Program in the John R. Lewis Social Justice Institute. In her free time, Shaw enjoys interior design, international travel, cooking and spending time with her husband Keith and three children, Lacy, Hudson, and Trey.