Iya Kemba Mchawi  is a Yemoja priestess. She was initiated in 1990 by her godparents, Iyalorisas Mama Stephanie Weaver and Mama Monique Robinson. Her experiences growing up with her parents, Iyalorisa Mama Oseye Mchawi, a prominent figure in the Orisa community, and her father Baba Basir Mchawi, a longtime community activist, sparked her to write her inaugural book, Growing Up Yoruba: A teen guide for practicing the Yoruba Lucumi religion, which loosely chronicles her personal intersections between the religion and Black nationalism. Iya Kemba has worked in education for over 30 years as a teacher and educational specialist, and holds a bachelor's in English, a master’s and an educational specialist degree in Educational Leadership, and a second master’s in Africana Studies.