Why Bzora?

Our Story

BZora, Inc. is a civic education and engagement nonprofit committed to expanding access to equity education and immersive civic experiences. We were founded on a simple belief: the tools of understanding, dialogue, and civic engagement shouldn’t be locked behind corporate budgets or academic gatekeeping. Every community deserves the chance to learn its history, practice honest conversation, and build the skills to participate more fully in civic life.

BZora grew out of years of on-the-ground equity and inclusion work — facilitating conversations, leading trainings, and walking communities through the history and practice of justice work. What started as workshops for organizations became a broader mission: bring that same depth of learning directly to individuals and communities, not just institutions that can afford to hire consultants.

BZora also was inspired by the great American Writer, Zora Neale Hurston

Zora Neale Hurston

BZora takes inspiration from Zora Neale Hurston — a writer, anthropologist, and truth-teller whose work continues to shape how we understand community, culture, and the American story. Hurston was committed to telling the stories of everyday people — their language, their lives, their communities — at a time when much of American literature looked past them. That same commitment sits at the center of BZora’s mission: civic and equity education isn’t just for institutions that can afford it, it belongs to regular people and their communities.

“You Don’t Know Us Negroes” adds immeasurably to our understanding of Hurston, who was a tireless crusader in all her writing, and ahead of her time. – New York Times Book Review

“My experience in the mountains was that people really care about their communities in an up close and personal way. And they were having conversations about race and gender identity and class differently than I’d experienced in most places. They aren’t always getting it right, but they are having hard conversations. That’s where change starts.” – Danaé Aicher

BZora was founded by Dané Jones Aicher — an equity and inclusion consultant, facilitator, and civic educator with more than 20 years in journalism, media relations, campaign strategy, and political messaging. The work that lives inside BZora has been building for a long time. It just finally has a home.

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Founder & Executive Director

Danaé Jones Aicher is the Founder and Executive Director of BZora, Inc. and the founder of CultureValue, LLC, an equity and inclusion consulting, speaking, and strategy firm. Her background spans more than 20 years across political journalism, messaging strategy, and public relations before she moved into full-time equity and inclusion consulting and facilitation. That history — telling stories, shaping messages, and organizing people around a cause — shapes how BZora approaches its work: rooted in truth-telling, courageous dialogue, and civic practice.

Danaé currently serves as BZora’s volunteer Executive Director. CultureValue, LLC contracts with BZora to provide facilitation services under a board-approved agreement, allowing BZora’s programs to be delivered by an experienced practitioner while keeping program ownership and mission squarely with the nonprofit. As BZora grows, the long-term plan is to hire a paid Executive Director and transition Danaé into a Founder Emerita role on the board.