Jenessa Jimoh
Executive Director | Diversity. Inclusion. Values. Action. Inc. (D.I.V.A.) & Ignite! Utah: A Program of the Utah Donor Collaborative
Jenessa Jimoh believes in democracy, and as executive director of Ignite! Utah, she’s building that same confidence in Utah’s next generation. After a robust civics education in Northern Virginia ignited her passion for inclusive governance, this first-generation college graduate from Westminster University now pursues a professional MBA at the University of Utah while cultivating the next generation of community leaders.
“Community organizing, movement-building and policy advocacy have long been led by women and especially by Black women,” she says. “Advocacy isn’t just something I do — it’s in my bones.”
Before Ignite!, Jenessa founded the nonprofit Diversity. Inclusion. Values. Action. Inc. and spent six years developing expertise in community-based research and grassroots organizing that centers marginalized voices. As a descendant of one of Utah’s pioneering Black families, she carries forward a legacy of generational activism and coalition-building.
