Meet Nyeka

Nyeka Arnold is a sixth-generation Austinite, mother, student, and fierce community advocate. After experiencing firsthand the impact of housing insecurity, police brutality, and economic injustice, she founded The Healing Project in 2021 to help others navigate the same barriers she once faced. Through lived experience and leadership, Nyeka has built a grassroots movement rooted in dignity, equity, and access—one that empowers marginalized communities to heal and thrive.

A woman with long curly black hair is smiling and standing with her hands on her hips in front of a backdrop featuring the nonprofit Austin logo. She is wearing a white t-shirt that says "The Healing Project" with a graphic of a raised fist and a basketball, a black blazer, a smartwatch, a necklace, and has tattoos on her wrists.
A woman being interviewed outdoors by a news camera operator during a gathering or event with many people. The woman wears a white T-shirt with The North Face logo and black pants, and she is holding a microphone and a clipboard.

Meet Our Team

  • Woman with long black curly hair smiling, wearing a white T-shirt that says 'The Healing Project' with a raised fist logo, and a black blazer.

    Nyeka Arnold

    Founder & Executive Director

  • A woman with light brown hair wearing a yellow off-the-shoulder top and earrings, smiling in an indoor setting.

    Nikki Jones

    Outreach Coordinator

  • A woman smiling at the camera, wearing a white headscarf and earrings, with shoulder-length curly hair and a strap top.

    Zhane Brantley

    Events Director

  • A man standing outdoors in front of a wooden fence and green trees, smiling and wearing a white T-shirt with a red and black graphic and text, a gold wristwatch, and a necklace.

    Charles St Ann

    Communication Director

  • Aerial view of San Francisco skyline at sunset with tall skyscrapers, bridges, and the bay with boats.

    Don Franklin

    Treasurer

  • Woman wearing glasses and a white t-shirt with a logo and text, standing against a brick wall. The t-shirt features a design with a stylized heart, a pill, and the words "The Healing Project."

    Lori Smith Johnson

    Food Program Director

  • A woman with curly black hair, wearing a black hoodie, giving a thumbs-up gesture. She has a small nose piercing and is standing indoors in front of framed artwork on the wall.

    Naomi Arnold

    Community Engagement Coordinator

  • Le'andrea Bell

    Healing Closet Program Director

  • Gina Doe

    Gina Dowe

    Healing Navigator Program Director

  • Isis Green

    Isis Green

    Generational Health Program Director

  • Sarah Jacobs

    Volunteer coordinator

Weekly Food Pickups & Partnerships

Each week, The Healing Project picks up food donations from Costco and H-E-B as part of our mission to reduce food insecurity across Central Texas. These generous partnerships allow us to not only support our own community pantry, but also act as a distribution hub for several grassroots organizations that connect with us directly at the store.

Through this collaborative model, we help deliver food to partners like Urban Alchemy, serving unhoused neighbors in downtown Austin; Love Serve Feed, which provides food to individuals and families throughout the Round Rock area; and MomRise, a powerful Austin-based organization focused on supporting single mothers and children.

We also support transitional housing and reentry programs like A Season of Peace, and help launch or strengthen new pantries—such as My Seniors in Georgetown, serving seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities, and Keep Families Fed in Pflugerville.

With our combined efforts, we feed hundreds of individuals and families every week, creating a powerful network of care, nourishment, and dignity across our communities.

Press

  • A young woman with purple curly hair, wearing a light purple shirt, standing outdoors in a park with trees and houses in the background.

    The Austin Chronicle

    “It was her great-great-great grandfather, Rev. John Henry Winn, who founded St. John Freedom Colony in Austin in the early 1870s.

    Community leadership seems to run in the family – in 2021, still without a college degree, Arnold co-founded the nonprofit Healing Project.”

    Read More

  • Austin American-Statesman

    “Nyeka Arnold, Executive Director of The Healing Project, right, works at the food pantry at Black Mamas Village ATX which is in a building previously occupied by Whole Women’s Health abortion clinic in Austin Thursday May 23, 2024.”

    Read More
  • Group of protesters holding signs behind a black fence on a sunny day.

    KUT News

    “According to Nyeka Arnold, a community activist who organized the protest, residents were initially given no timeline for when the gas would be fixed. She said she was concerned about elderly and disabled residents who have been unable to take hot showers or cook.”

    Read More
  • Black Lives Matter protest with people holding signs, including one with a portrait of a Black man and the words 'Stop Killing Us' and '@AlphaKarris' in a park.

    Voyage Austin

    “I love my city and my people. This is where I was taught to survive and live.”

    Read More
  • Voyage Austin

    Voyage Austin #2

    Exploring Life & Business with Nyeka Arnold of The Healing Project.

    Read More

More of Our Community Partners

6 Generations of Strength in ATX

At the DAWA 5-Year Anniversary celebration, our founder Nyeka Arnold took the stage at the Long Center —a powerful moment rooted in six generations of strength. Her words didn’t just echo through the auditorium that night—they’re still resonating today. Honored to stand in community with DAWA as we heal the Hood, together.