The challenges of growing up black and female in apartheid South Africa have been the foundation of the Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu’s life. Those experiences taught her that our whole human family loses when we accept situations of oppression, and how hate and division injure us all.

The human rights activist’s experience ranges from being an economist and development consultant in West Africa to being a program coordinator for race and gender equity at the University of Cape Town. In addition, the Rev. Tutu has taught at the University of Hartford, the University of Connecticut, and Brevard College. She served as Program Coordinator for the Race Relations Institute at Fisk University, and was a part of the Institute’s delegation to the World Conference Against Racism.

Being the daughter of Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu has offered Naomi many opportunities and challenges. Perhaps one of the greatest struggles was the call to ministry. The call to preach and serve as an ordained clergy-person continued to tug at her, and finally, in her 50s, she responded and went to seminary. She is now an Episcopal priest who most recently served as Associate Rector at All Saints, Beverly Hills, and as priest associate at All Saints’ Episcopal, in Atlanta.

She started her public speaking as a college student in the 1970s when she began to speak about her experiences growing up under apartheid. Since then, she has become a much sought-after speaker by business associations, civic organizations, churches, and more.

The Rev. Tutu has established Nozizwe Consulting, which brings different groups together to learn from and celebrate their differences and shared humanity. She is the recipient of four honorary doctorates from universities and colleges in the U.S. and Nigeria. She has served as a curate at Christ Church Cathedral, as a Canon Missioner for Racial and Economic Equity, and as a Canon Missioner for Kairos West Community Center. She is a single mother of two daughters and a son.

The Rev. Tutu knew from the time she was young that she wanted to help change the lives of others and make a difference in the world. And that she has done.