Ayan Khalia Harris

Ayan is currently a Podcast Fellow at Free Spirit Media, where she collaborates on footage editing, scriptwriting, and episode development for a narrative podcast exploring violence, trauma, and the human experience. Through storytelling, she works to center community voices and humanize experiences often misunderstood or overlooked. Previously, Ayan served as an Assistant Teacher at Lincoln Park Pre-Kindergarten, where she supported early childhood education and fostered nurturing learning environments.

Ayan’s work is driven by her experiences as an educator, multimedia journalist, and photographer, as well as her commitment to advocacy journalism, social justice, and the intersections of religion and humanity. Across education, journalism, and visual media, she seeks to amplify underrepresented voices, document history, and tell stories that inspire connection and challenge how we understand one another.

At the heart of Ayan’s mission is the belief that love is liberation. She envisions a world where every person is seen in their full humanity, every voice has the opportunity to be heard, and love becomes a catalyst for understanding, collective freedom, and lasting change.