About Kish

NaKisha Crawford is an Essence Bestselling Author, Speaker, and Entrepreneur whose goal is to inspire others to experience the journey. Born and raised in Oakland, CA, NaKisha was the middle child in a blended family full of love. Just before high school, she relocated with her family to Modesto, CA, where she would blossom into a goal-oriented and ambitious young woman. She has gone on to speak to thousands of people from various backgrounds on topics ranging from personal growth to the development of healthy love relationships. NaKisha earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology as well as a Master's degree in Education, Counseling from San Jose State University. She later earned an Executive MBA from the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito School of Business at Claremont Graduate University, an experience that would go on to spark the core insight behind her latest work.

NaKisha's creative energy and passion drive her to keep pushing forward. She is confident that her life experiences support her qualification as an author and speaker, and her interest in the personal development of her peers has shaped her work throughout. At age 27, NaKisha was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. While she embraced this as one of her most challenging experiences, NaKisha knew she could not leave to chance the opportunity to somehow have an impact. Two weeks after starting chemotherapy, she began writing her first book, I Want It Now! Analyze Where You Are in Life, Discover Your Passion and Achieve Ultimate Happiness. Although she was not where she ultimately wanted to be professionally, she committed to sharing her heart because tomorrow was not promised.

NaKisha held her head up gracefully and accepted this same challenge once again 12 years later. By this time, she had been exposed to some of life's greatest joys and understood her purpose even more with the release of her second book, So Good It Hurts: The Pain. The Fight. The Love., an Essence bestseller. NaKisha's commitment to showing others how to walk in grace even after the storm is steady, and she remains in her fight for good health and happiness.

Today, NaKisha serves as an Equity Counselor at a high school in the Inland Empire and as an adjunct instructor in the continuing education program at Santa Ana College. She is currently developing her newest project, exploring what game theory reveals about love, power, and the patterns that shape our relationships. She is a wife and mother of three, and she continues sharing her purpose with the world with an energy and excitement we cannot afford to miss.