Imani Black was born and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in Chestertown. Her
passion for restoration and conservation began when she was a young girl and she continues to
grow that interest in the rapidly growing shellfish aquaculture industry. After completing an
aquaculture training program at Virginia Institute of Marine Science in 2016, Imani worked on
oyster farms, nurseries and hatcheries along the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland. From
2018 to 2020, she was the Assistant Hatchery Manager of Hoopers Island Oyster Company,
having the opportunity to work in all aspects of shellfish husbandry and production.
Through her love and career within the industry, Imani realized how her own
demographic of women of color had been incredibly underrepresented and the least engaged in
the space. In July of 2020, Imani founded Minorities In Aquaculture, a nonprofit organization
that strives to empower and support underrepresented demographics (i.e women of color, women
in general, people of color, etc) in the aquaculture industry by providing opportunities such as
paid internships, technical skills training and career development resources.
Over the last 3 years, MIA has focused its efforts and resources toward specifically
supporting women of color in their aquaculture careers. In addition to developing and operating
the organization, Imani also obtained her Master’s degree in Marine, Estuarine, Environmental
Science studying Ecological Anthropology from University of Maryland’s Center for
Environmental Science. Overall, M.I.A has been recognized as an increasingly impactful
network focused on sustainable seafood education, aquaculture workforce development, and
active engagement approaches not only for the minority groups of aquaculture, but the industry
as a whole in its efforts towards a more diverse and inclusive workforce and field.