Unique Brathwaite

Unique Brathwaite is a visionary nonprofit strategist, educator, and fundraiser with over 25 years of experience advancing equity-centered change across the nonprofit sector. As Executive Director of Grad Bag, she leads a circular model that diverts dorm room waste while expanding access and opportunity for first-generation, underserved students. Her leadership is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: leadership is stewardship of people, of resources, of what we leave behind. For Unique, sustainability is not only an environmental practice but a human one, grounded in dignity and access as much as circularity. Prior to Grad Bag, she served as Chief External Affairs Officer at Community Resource Exchange (CRE), leading fundraising, development, and marketing strategy, and held program development and strategic planning leadership roles at LIFT-New York and The GO Project. Across every chapter of her career, she has brought a rare blend of strategic insight and relationship-centered practice to complex organizational challenges bridging theory and practice to strengthen mission-driven institutions and expand what's possible for the communities they serve. In 2026, Parkes Philanthropy honored her with the Black Nonprofit Icon Leader Award. Guided by the belief that leadership is stewardship, Brathwaite pairs strategic vision with genuine care for the people she leads. She speaks openly about her return to executive leadership after a difficult first tenure, and about the fear, imposter syndrome, and growth that followed, to encourage other women navigating leadership. She remains committed to opening doors for emerging women and women of color entering the sector. Outside of work, she is a mother of two boys who finds balance in cooking, reading, movies, and her Reiki practice.