Meet our Writers

At SWLI, our writers—staff, interns, fellows, and community contributors—share thoughtful perspectives on formation, well-being, faith and integration, leadership development, and empowering the next generation. Explore their work and the ideas shaping our collective growth.

Founder & CEO

Grace Adofoli

Grace is an award-winning global speaker, advisor, coach, and consultant with over a decade of experience shaping transformational change across 30+ countries in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Her work bridges strategy and soul—guiding leaders and organizations to design sustainable, people-centered pathways that create measurable and lasting impact.

A modern-day tentmaker—balancing professional excellence with vocational purpose—Grace weaves together vision and vocation, conviction and craft. Rooted in integrity and sustained by purpose, her leadership integrates international relations, organizational strategy, emotional intelligence, and responsible management into a holistic approach that elevates both people and institutions.

Known for building bridges across cultures and contexts, Grace walks alongside leaders as advisor, coach, mentor, and partner—empowering them to lead from the inside out with courage, wholeness, and clarity. Her deepest aim is to awaken a kind of leadership that not only achieves but transforms; leadership that leaves the world stronger, more ethical, and more human.

Inaugural Writers and Thought leaders

Ariel Okamoto

Ariel Okamoto is a writer with 15+ years of experience in fundraising, development marketing, and communications, supporting nonprofits ranging from grassroots groups to national and global organizations. Outside the sector, she has published an article about high school ministry in YouthWorker Journal and personal essays about her Japanese American heritage in Nanka Nikkei Voices and Nikkei Chronicles. She serves on the executive board of The District Church and volunteers with local mutual aid efforts in Washington, DC. She holds a BA in English from Biola University, an MA in English Literature from California State University, Los Angeles, and an MA in Comparative Literatures of Africa/Asia from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Angel Riley

Angel Riley is an aspiring photojournalist and writer who is currently in her final year of school to complete her BA in Journalism and Communications from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. Angel has a history in creative and journalistic writing, from poetry and spoken word to stories ranging from hard news to personal narrative pieces. Her focus on journalistic writing stems from her love of information gathering and “telling the stories that haven’t been told”. Angel has been involved in her university’s radio program as well as written published pieces for The Student Voice, the university’s school paper. Her ambition for identity and community show through some of her photographed works in hopes to one day own her own gallery and studio to help build that vision in others. 

The Shifting Waters Leadership Institute develops leaders who lead with wholeness, integrity, accountability, and purpose. Rooted in the belief that every person is made in the image of God—the Imago Dei—SWLI cultivates communities where leaders grow together and inspire lasting change.

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