Arts Leadership Award Program

Representing Alameda County Supervisorial District Five —

Naomi Johnson-Diouf is the Artistic and Executive Director of Diamano Coura West African Dance Company at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts in Oakland. Naomi taught African Dance at Berkeley High School for 28 years. During her time at the school she expanded and led the Afro-Haitian Dance Program and was the Chair of the African American Studies Department. Growing up in Monrovia, Liberia, and emigrating to the U.S., Naomi has had a profound impact on the Black Arts Movement both locally, and internationally. A strong advocate of arts in education, Naomi has taught throughout the Bay Area and California. After 28 years, she retired from teaching and leadership positions at Berkeley High School and Laney College. Naomi continues in her leadership role of the Diamano Coura West African Dance Company where she has taught for 30 years. Naomi has received numerous awards and fellowships including the Malonga Casquelourd Lifetime Achievement Award from the SF Ethnic Dance Festival, the Dance/USA Fellowship to Artists, and the National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Council for the Traditional Arts. Her vision, brilliant artistry, and powerful sense of service to the community, continues to inform the next generation of arts leaders. Naomi Johnson-Diouf lives in Castro Valley.