Dr. Sesha Joi Moon
Friday April 17 at 7:00 PM
The Walter W. Craigie Speaker Series
PRESENTS
Dr. Sesha Joi Moon
SPEAKING ON
Declarations of Independence:
The Story of a Black Founding Father
$25
Includes a pre-talk reception with a chance to meet the speaker.
Reception begins at 5:30 PM. Beer, wine, and light hors d’oeuvres.
Doors open at 6:45 PM for seating | Talk starts promptly at 7:00 PM
Kick-Off The Skipwith-Roper Homecoming Weekend with The JXN Project
Currently, Dr. Moon is the Chief Impact Officer for Girl Scouts of the USA. Prior to GSUSA, she was appointed as Chief Diversity Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 117th & 118th Congresses by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She also served in the Office of the Secretary and U.S. Patent & Trademark Office at the U.S. Department of Commerce — concluding her tenure as inaugural Chief Diversity Officer at the National Institute of Standards & Technology. Upon departing the Federal Government, Dr. Moon served as Chief Brand Strategist for the National Campaign Co-Chair, Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, for Harris for President and Executive-in-Residence with Leader Stacey Abrams' American Pride Rises through her non-partisan consultancy — Moon & Associates, LLC.
In addition to executive leadership programs at Harvard University, where she received the DEI Pioneer Award, Dr. Moon earned a Ph.D. in Public Administration & Policy from Old Dominion University, as well as a B.A. and M.S. from the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs from Virginia Commonwealth University — where she became the first Black queer woman to establishment an endowment in university history. Her and her family also maintain endowments at Virginia Union University, Virginia State University, and Richmond Public Schools.
Dr. Moon is also Co-Founder of The JXN Project, which has been documented by 2021 Pulitzer Prize Winning Richmond Times-Dispatch and is a grantee of the Mellon Foundation, Dominion Energy Foundation, Airbnb, and Nike's Jordan Brand. The project has received the American Association for State and Local History's 2022 Leadership in History Award, as well as the 2025 Changemaker Award by Initiatives of Change United States, 2022 RVA Community Maker Award by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2022 Richmond History Maker Award by the Valentine Museum, and 2021 Golden Hammer Award for "Best Placemaking" by Historic Richmond. The project recently opened an exhibition at the Library of Virginia titled "House to Highway: Reclaiming a Community History" as part of "The Skipwith-Roper Homecoming" for America 250 and is developing a film in partnership with PBS NPR VPM titled "Declarations of Independence."
Dr. Moon, who has appeared in Forbes, ESSENCE, and CNN, was recognized at the United Nations as “100 of the Most Influential People of African Descent" in 2023 and was named "2023 Top 40 Under 40" by PBS NPR VPM’s Style Weekly — and Axios named her and her sister as the second "Most Powerful Richmonders of 2022." She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and has served on the Board of Directors with the African American Federal Executive Association and Commonwealth of Virginia's Criminal Justice Services Board as appointed by the 73rd Governor of Virginia.
Dr. Moon resides between Washington, DC and New York, NY but hails from Richmond, Virginia as the proud daughter of Dr. Michon Moon and the late August Moon.
House Rules for Historic St. John’s Church
We encourage masks but they are no longer required.
Seating is first come, first served. Tickets are required.
There is no food, drink, gum, candy, strollers, backpacks or firearms permitted inside the church.
Bags larger than 16 x 16 x 8 are prohibited inside the church. Any and all bags are subject to inspection. Please leave backpacks and bags inside your vehicle as we have no place to store them.