2013–14
Volunteerism Support Platform
My formative youth-work training in Guyana.
Guyanese advocate · researcher · storytellerGeorgetown, Guyana
Jha'asryel-Akquil Bishop
I build systemsthat treat peoplelike people.
From Georgetown’s stages to New York City’s public systems, I turn lived knowledge into participatory research and practical work. Technology is the instrument. Dignity is the measure.
01 / Root
ORIGINS — GEORGETOWN, GUYANA
The stage came before the system.
I began with writing, poetry, dance and theatre. Georgetown gave me the discipline to make meaning; public work gave that discipline consequence.
Training records
2015
Diploma + public representation
I completed a Diploma in Theatre Arts and Drama at the Institute of Creative Arts, Georgetown, and represented Guyana as a Youth Ambassador at the Seventh Summit of the Americas.
2015–16
Creative citizenship
I received a certificate of appreciation in the Guyana 50th Anniversary logo competition, then became a SASOD certified Peer Trainer through the Sex-Positive Sexual Health Programme in 2016.
02 / Building
SYSTEMS WORK — NEW YORK CITY
Lived knowledge entered the room — and changed the structure.
I became a Streetlives founding member in 2021 and a director in 2022. As co-founder and board Director, I work where research, governance, co-design and funding meet — while keeping the person at the counter in view.
$15M
New York City YHDP award
I was instrumental in the 2022 Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program award, according to Adam Bard's sworn letter dated 24 February 2025.
Personal role: sworn letter. Award value: NYC.gov, 10 August 2022 ↗2021
Continuum of Care Co-Chair
NYC's official meeting record names me as a Co-Chair of the Steering Committee.
NYC.gov meeting summary ↗2020—26
NYC Fund Steering Committee
Across six years, I served alongside the Fund's $25,000 annual part-time consulting stipend model for lived experts. My seat is scheduled to close at the end of October 2026.
NYC Fund team record ↗ · stipend: organisational records2020
Co-design + NYC Fund
I took part in a New York City government-funded co-design project for youth homelessness and joined the NYC Fund Steering Committee.
2021–23
Governance + specialist training
Streetlives founding member, CoC Steering Committee Co-Chair and, from 2022, Streetlives director.
Certified
Peer practice
Youth Mental Health First Aid in the USA, plus 16 hours of Ethical Standards for Peer Coaches and Advocates through Samaritan Daytop Village and the NYS Certification Board.
2024
Fortune profile
Fortune profiled me on the realities of queer-designated shelter in New York.
“Research carried out with the people affected, not on them.”
“Nothing about us without us” is an operating rule. Community members help define the problem, language, checks and final shape of the work.
“Every location in our resource guide was verified by phone or in person, because a wrong address on a cold night is not a typo, it is a betrayal. Details are dignity.”
Accuracy is part of care when the cost of a bad detail lands on someone with no margin.
“I build systems that treat people like people. Everything else is paperwork with better branding.”
The standard is whether the structure works for the person who has to use it.
03 / Partners
ORGANISATIONS I HAVE WORKED WITH
Where I have worked.
Every organisation I have worked with, from my first job out of high school in Guyana to program pilot design as a lived expert with the New York City Fund. Roles and dates are stated as recorded; where my records are silent, the name stands alone.
Work & governance
WorkDates unstated
Qualfon Guyana
My first job out of high school.
Work2013–2014
Volunteerism Support Platform
Volunteer and trainee, Guyana Voluntary School Club Project.
Work2015
Government of Guyana
Youth Ambassador to the United States; attended the 7th Summit of the Americas.
Work2016
SASOD
Certified Peer Trainer, Sex-Positive Sexual Health Programme, Georgetown.
Work2017–present
Streetlives
Research collaborator, founding member, director; co-founder and board Director.
Work2020
NYC youth-homelessness digital service co-design
Consultant, via Streetlives.
Work2020–2026
NYC Fund to End Youth & Family Homelessness
Steering Committee member and lived expert; program pilot design.
Work2020–2021
NYC Continuum of Care
Co-Chair, Steering Committee, 2021; voting Youth Action Board member, 2020.
WorkDates unstated
NYC Youth Action Board
Project Consultant and former Co-Coordinator, per the NYC Mayor's Office.
WorkDates unstated
NYC Youth Homelessness Taskforce
WorkDates unstated
Chapin Hall, University of Chicago
Research Consultant.
Work2018–2022
Apple
Technical Specialist, customer-facing support.
Speaking & collaboration
Speaking2021–2022
Point Source Youth
Speaker, National Symposium 2021 and Rural Conference 2022.
Collaboration2020
True Colors United
Member, National Youth Forum on Homelessness.
Speaking2020
Funders Together to End Homelessness
Panelist.
Writing2020
The Imprint
Op-ed co-author.
Collaboration2022
Noun Foundation
Billed “Youth Advocate” by a third party.
CollaborationDates unstated
Ali Forney Center
CollaborationDates unstated
The Door
CollaborationDates unstated
The LGBTQ Community Center
CollaborationDates unstated
Grand Street Settlement
CollaborationDates unstated
A Way Home America
CollaborationDates unstated
Coalition for Homeless Youth
CollaborationDates unstated
FIERCE
CollaborationDates unstated
Theatre of the Oppressed NYC
CollaborationDates unstated
CUSO International
CollaborationDates unstated
New York City Unity Project
CollaborationDates unstated
Youths for Guyana
CollaborationDates unstated
MOBI
CollaborationDates unstated
National Queer Theater
CollaborationDates unstated
United Nations
Press & publications
Podcast2017
The Love Bomb with Nico Tortorella
Guest, E35 “Humans I Love Named Ja’asriel and Patrick” (with Patrick Turner). Listen ↗
Television2017
The View (ABC)
Appeared in the Season 20 sexuality segment with Nico Tortorella and Sara Haines; name shown in lower third. Episode ↗
Press2026
Guyana Times
Feature interview: “Our lives are not just about sexuality, it’s about survival.” Read ↗
Research2021
Point Source Youth
Listed speaker, Intro on Direct Cash Transfers to End Youth Homelessness. View ↗
Research2020
Stanford Basic Income Lab
“Tackling Youth Homelessness with Cash During Coronavirus” (with Matthew Morton, Chapin Hall). View ↗
Training
Training2015
USAID SKYE Project
Certificate trainee (BYOB, Work Ready Now!).
Training2023
Columbia Business School, Tamer Center
NYC Housing Fund Program, Executive Education.
Training2017
Housing Works
3MV training.
Training2018
Samaritan Daytop Village
Ethical Standards for Peer Coaches and Advocates (16 hrs).
Training2018
Friends of Recovery–New York
“Our Stories Have Power” Train-the-Trainer.
Training2018
Out in Tech
Youth Mentorship Program participant.
Training2022
StepUp Ministry
Employment Training and Placement Program.
Training2017
Center for Anti-Violence Education
Self-defense courses.
“AI was made for people exactly like me.”Jha'asryel-Akquil Bishop
04 / Apex
WHERE THE WORK IS GOING
The next system starts in the device already in my hand.
From Guyana, I am using AI as infrastructure for a workable life: research, publishing, opportunity and income brought into one practical rhythm. Technology is the instrument, never the crutch. These lines are active work, not finished achievements.
Digital ventureActive
iPhone → operated venture machine.
Building a practical operating system for research, publishing, opportunity sourcing and income work around the device already in my hand.
Recording artistIn production
Build the Bridge.
I write the lyrics and concepts, generate music with Suno and prepare releases through DistroKid. The pilot track exists in three recorded versions; I have not chosen the release version. Nothing is released yet.
World travelSeeking hosts
Funded journeys.
Hosted travel through invited talks, residencies and exchanges that connect movement with useful work.
GuyanaSeeking backing
Projects with real support.
Grants, investment and partnerships for work rooted in Guyana.
AI ecosystemsPathway building
No bachelor's required.
Exploring Harvard Extension open enrolment, King's Commonwealth Fellowship Programme and FAccT CRAFT as routes that value work, thought and contribution.
FellowshipApplied
Tech Policy Press 2027 Fellowship.
Application submitted; referee: Adam Bard.
05 / Consulting + speaking
If lived expertise must shape the decision, bring me in before it is made.
I take on paid consulting, speaking, research and collaboration with teams prepared to put lived knowledge inside the work — not around its edges.
Asylum-system education
Clear education on process, timelines, documentation, detention and release planning, grounded in lived experience and systems work.
Homelessness systems + co-design
Participatory research, service design, resource verification and governance built with people who have used the system.
Funder education
Practical structures for engaging, paying and supporting lived experts with clarity, dignity and accountability.
Peer outreach practice
Grounded support for teams that need outreach to be ethical, useful and accountable to community.
Speaking + collaborations
Invited talks, convenings, research partnerships and media with a serious brief.
Scope matters. I am not a lawyer and give no legal advice. I am not a clinician or therapist, and make no medical claims. I do not represent Streetlives or the NYC Fund without their sign-off on the specific engagement.
Bring the problem, the decision and the people affected.
Send the scope, audience, timing and budget. I will tell you plainly whether I am the right person for the work.
06 / Concepts
Common Social Intelligence. A thought, made visible.
I wanted to consider what intelligence between people could become once humans and AI learn to work together with real understanding. It is a concept and food for thought — not professional or peer-reviewed work.
Food for thought.
Read on Medium“Common Social Intelligence is an idea I had about what the state of intelligence would be once humans and AI sensitise — learn to work with each other with real understanding.”
It sketches CSI as the capacity of persons and institutions to sustain dignified, just and resilient interdependence, pulling together threads from social, emotional, cultural and general intelligence into one construct.
07 / Journal + dispatches
The work leaves a record.
Milestones, concepts and working updates. Open any entry for the full dispatch.
I speak first. My words are dated and sourced; any synthesis is clearly attributed; I approve the exact text before publication. Nothing is invented to fill a silence.
08 / Still to be said
My words come before the category.
I will speak them when they are mine to say. Until then, silence is more accurate than borrowed certainty.
Coming — in my own words.
Nothing will be written for me. When I speak, my words appear here dated and sourced.
Coming — in my own words.
Nothing will be written for me. When I speak, my words appear here dated and sourced.
“Everything basically pays for itself.”Operating doctrine
09 / Press kit
Verified language. Ready when the page is.
Draft third-person bios for programmes, media and collaborations. Copy the length you need.
Guyanese advocate and researcher — Streetlives founding member — Diploma in Theatre Arts & Drama
Draft
Jha'asryel-Akquil Bishop is a Guyanese advocate, researcher and theatre-trained storyteller based in Georgetown. A Streetlives founding member and board Director, they helped shape participatory homelessness research and New York City systems work. Their current practice joins lived expertise, writing and practical technology, including their Common Social Intelligence concept and reflections.
Draft
Jha'asryel-Akquil Bishop is a Guyanese advocate, researcher and storyteller based in Georgetown, Guyana. They became a Streetlives founding member in 2021 and later a director in 2022. Their work contributed to New York City's $15 million Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program award in 2022. In 2021, they served as Co-Chair of the NYC Continuum of Care Steering Committee. Since 2020, they have served on the Steering Committee of the NYC Fund to End Youth and Family Homelessness; the seat is scheduled to close at the end of October 2026. The Fund pays lived experts a $25,000 annual consulting stipend. Bishop holds a Diploma in Theatre Arts and Drama from Georgetown's Institute of Creative Arts. Their work includes Common Social Intelligence thinking, an AI-supported digital venture experiment, music in production, and pathways connecting Guyanese projects with collaboration. Their method: research with people affected, never on them, and details treated as dignity.
Draft
Jha'asryel-Akquil Bishop is a Guyanese advocate, researcher and storyteller based in Georgetown, Guyana. They are a Streetlives co-founder and board Director (founding member 2021, director 2022). Their participatory research and systems work was instrumental in New York City's $15 million Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program award in 2022, according to a sworn letter from Streetlives Executive Director Adam Bard dated 24 February 2025. Bishop served as Co-Chair of the NYC Continuum of Care Steering Committee in 2021 and has served on the Steering Committee of the NYC Fund to End Youth and Family Homelessness since 2020; the seat is scheduled to close at the end of October 2026. They served alongside the Fund's $25,000 annual part-time consulting stipend model for lived experts. Fortune profiled them in 2024 on the realities of queer-designated shelter. In Guyana, Bishop trained with the Volunteerism Support Platform in 2013–14, represented Guyana as a Youth Ambassador at the Seventh Summit of the Americas in 2015, completed a Diploma in Theatre Arts and Drama at the Institute of Creative Arts that year, and became a SASOD certified Peer Trainer in 2016. Their practice combines lived expertise, participatory research, peer outreach, storytelling and technology. Current work includes the Common Social Intelligence concept, published on Medium as food for thought; an AI-supported experiment turning an iPhone into an operated digital venture machine; music in production; funded pathways for Guyana projects; and research, convening and media collaborations. Bishop is open about the conditions of this work: no bachelor's degree, institutional backing, studio or venture capital. Those limits are the premise, not an apology. Their operating principle is: research is carried out with the people affected, not on them, and every detail must protect dignity.
10 / Record
What I have done. What I know. What I do not claim.
Roles, training and limits — stated plainly.
NameJha'asryel-Akquil Bishop
Also known as “Bishop”
Also known as “Bishop”
BaseGeorgetown, Guyana
EducationDiploma in Theatre Arts and Drama
Institute of Creative Arts, 2015
Institute of Creative Arts, 2015
Contactbishop@jhaasryelakquil.com
Business WhatsApp / telephone: +1 646-295-8871
Business WhatsApp / telephone: +1 646-295-8871
RolesStreetlives co-founder + board Director
NYC CoC Steering Committee Co-Chair, 2021
NYC Fund Steering Committee since 2020; seat scheduled to close 31 October 2026
NYC CoC Steering Committee Co-Chair, 2021
NYC Fund Steering Committee since 2020; seat scheduled to close 31 October 2026
TrainingColumbia Tamer Center NYC Housing Fund Program, 2023
Youth Mental Health First Aid
3MV via Housing Works, 2017
Youth Mental Health First Aid
3MV via Housing Works, 2017
Further trainingSASOD Peer Trainer, 2016
Ethical Standards for Peer Coaches and Advocates, 16 hours
“Our Stories Have Power” Train-the-Trainer, 2018
Ethical Standards for Peer Coaches and Advocates, 16 hours
“Our Stories Have Power” Train-the-Trainer, 2018
PracticeParticipatory research
Systems design
Peer outreach
Storytelling
Working AI practice
Systems design
Peer outreach
Storytelling
Working AI practice
Honest limits
No bachelor's degree. No institutional backing. No studio. No venture capital. Those are the conditions of the work and the premise of the experiment, not an apology.
“Rest is a discipline, and I take mine seriously.”Personal practice · “Conversations will determine.”
11 / Work with me
Bring me in before the decision hardens.
I am available for paid consulting, speaking, research, convenings and serious collaborations. Send the problem, the people affected, the decision to be made and the budget.