our Team

Gia Claybrooks is an activist educator dedicated to sharing love, cultivating community, and empowering those around her to embody thriving, not as a privilege, but a birthright. She founded Thrive Liberation Collective in 2022 as a love letter to the community that helped raise her into the woman she is today. While Charlotte is home to the first Thrive, it won't be the last. Gia is on a mission to see Black people gathering in community, learning to create lasting change, healing from what has kept them from shining brightly, and simply being — in Charlotte and all across the nation.

Gia is a proud graduate of Howard University, where she earned her Bachelor's in Political Science, and holds a Master's in Education from Vanderbilt University with a concentration in Learning, Diversity, and Urban Studies. In 2025, she completed a Nonprofit Management certification at Duke University. Before bringing Thrive to life, she served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala and as a community organizer in Charlotte.

Gia leads with a heart to serve and invites anyone passionate about free, thriving Black communities to join hands with her in partnership. After all, we cannot do this work alone.

Until We All Thrive.