As an educator, Aja uses poetry to empower and encourage holistic healing in youth education. She was awarded the YWCA of the City of New York’s “2014 One to Watch Award,” an award established in honor of Aja’s work to empower women and eliminate racism. Aja received a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2012, she collaborated with poet Saul Williams to edit a poetry anthology entitled, “Chorus,” and has published several books and chapbooks independently, including, “The Black Unicorn Sings.” She is the co-founder of Smoke Signals Studio and currently resides in little Haiti, Miami.