Akasha Lawrence Spence is an innovator, change agent, and intuitive strategist who puts community first. Her work serves as an incubator for economic justice and the creation of economic sovereignty and liberation in frontline communities. 

An emerging writer, Akasha’s work both essay and creative nonfiction explores themes of identity, belonging, and relationship to the state, in an effort to excavate the dynamic intersections between economics and social life and craft a path forward for a just future for people and planet. 

She is the CEO & Principal Strategist at Fifth Element Community Development and Consulting—fortifying historically marginalized communities through decision making power in public policy and the built environment.

Akasha has served her community as an Oregon State Senator and House Representative. Her collaborative leadership and strong advocacy background led her to create The Oregon Cares Fund for Black Relief and Resiliency. An unprecedented $62 million dollar fund for Black Oregonians, and the passage of the Economic Equity Investment Program, which has allocated over $20 million dollars in direct economic support to farmworkers, immigrant families, small businesses, BIPOC, and rural Oregonians amounting to over $100 million in historic investments in Oregon's most vulnerable communities. 

The work Akasha engages in, in community, in politics, and in business stems from her belief that when communities have ownership and control of their resources, they are more resilient, self-sufficient and dynamic. A platform she continues to champion through her civic engagement efforts as Board Chair of Neighborhood Partnerships, Vice Chair of Emerge Oregon, during her tenure on The City of Portland's Planning and Sustainability Commission, The Oregon Commission on Black Affairs, The Governors Racial Justice Council, The Business Oregon Commission, Next Up and Next Up Action Fund and the associate board of Business for a Better Portland.

Akasha has presented her at University lectures and workshops, her work has been featured in the New York Times, Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB),The Skanner and Willamette Week, and she has written Op-Eds for the Oregonian,  Statesman Journal, Pamplin Media, and other media outlets. 

Everything Akasha does, whether as an entrepreneur, advocate, policy maker, strategist, or community member is an act of liberation rooted in economic justice that is reparative, intersectional, and generative. 

Akasha was born in Brooklyn, NY and resides in Portland, Oregon.