Zulayka Santiago joined the NC Oral Health Collaborative as the Director in August 2015. In this role, Zulayka works to convene a diverse group of stakeholders committed to building health equity for all North Carolinians. Prior to joining the NC Oral Health Collaborative, Zulayka worked as an independent consultant, providing leadership, capacity building and technical support on various projects relating to social justice, philanthropy, cooperatives and community engagement. Zulayka holds a Master of Public Administration Degree from University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill with a Certificate in Nonprofit Management and received her undergraduate degree in Pan-African Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University. Zulayka was recently selected to be part of the inaugural class of the Leaders for Health Equity Fellowship Program through George Washington University.  She is also a part of the 06-08 William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations through the Wildacres Leadership Initiative and is a founding member of Earthseed Land Cooperative.