Traciana Graves | Speaker - Singer

Traciana Graves’ personal experiences, and those of the people closest to her, have formed and driven her passion to use her voice to make change in the world and inspire others to do the same.
Growing up in the shadow of bullying, constant taunting and ridicule was like growing up in a warzone. Every morning as she walked out the door to school, Traciana wondered what she was going to be insulted for, from her glasses to the way she dressed. She sustained herself by studying the lives of heroes who used their voices to take a stand to empower themselves and others, including Dr. King, Gandhi, Josephine Baker and Anne Frank, to name a few. These leaders encouraged Traciana to develop her own authentic identity and voice. However, her charismatic stepbrother, Joel Harris, was not as fortunate. During a hazing incident at his college, Joel was brutally killed. Hundreds of bystanders witnessed the violence without stepping in or speaking up.

When Joel died, Traciana became determined to develop her individual voice to use it as a vehicle for change—just as so many of her heroes had done in times of adversity. As Traciana has come to reclaim the full power of her voice, she has chosen to use it in incredibly powerful ways as a speaker, singer, educator and author. She is an internationally acclaimed singer and has toured as a background vocalist for artists such as Celine Dion and six-time Grammy award winning Steel Pulse. A veteran educator, Traciana taught and consulted with New York Public Schools for nine years. Traciana has served as a speaker and consultant for over one hundred Fortune 500 companies (including Forbes Magazine, Goldman Sachs, UBS and Mount Sinai Hospital) and colleges (such as Columbia University, City College of New York and Lehman College) throughout the United States.
Since 1995, while touring and speaking, Traciana has worked with children in foster care, incarcerated individuals and inner city youth in the US, France and Africa. In 2008 Traciana founded Songs for Life and Change, an organization that empowers children facing adversity to create change in their lives while fostering self-esteem and community-building through pen paling, social media, songwriting and service. In 2009, she founded Project Bully Free Zone, an organization aimed at creating safe, productive and sustainable bully free schools, college campuses and workplaces.

Traciana Graves is a graduate of Georgetown University with a degree in languages and international studies. She also holds a certificate in organizational coaching from New York University. For more information on Traciana and her organizations, visit www.projectbullyfreezone.com and www.songs4lc.com or email her at traciana@tracianagraves.com