Speaker

Joya Hayes is the Director of Human Resources and the Director of Civil Service for the City of Austin, Texas. She has over 22 years of experience in human resources, training, and organizational development, community-based programming, policy & procedure development, and executive-level planning. In her career, Joya has worked for the State of Texas, the city of Richmond, Virginia, and has worked for the City of Austin, Texas, for 17 years.

Joya is a servant leader. Her personal, community and professional endeavors are a true testament to her commitment to serve and improve the quality of life for all citizens and communities. Under her leadership, the city of Austin has received awards for innovative public sector programs in health and wellness, bestmanaged healthcare benefit plans, employment, and re-entry initiatives to support employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated citizens. With over 16,000 employees, the City of Austin is the only major metropolitan city in the State of Texas with a benefits plan that sustained no rate increase or plan design changes for four-plus years. Austin is also the only city in Texas to score 100+ on the Municipal Equality Index. This index examines how inclusive municipal laws, policies, and services are of LGBTQ+ people. Cities are rated based on non-discrimination laws, the municipality as an employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and leadership on LGBTQ+ equality. In 2017, Austin ranked number nine in the Forbes Best Employers list. Austin was the only city listed in the top ten.

Joya is a member of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and the International Public Management Association for Human Resource Professionals (IPMA-HR). She is a cum laude graduate of Huston-Tillotson University. She received her bachelor's degree in Mass Communications and a graduate of Texas State University, where she received her master's degree in Public Administration. While attending Huston-Tillotson University, Joya served two terms as Student Body President. During her tenure, she was instrumental in organizing community protests and marches to address the time's injustices, including Hopwood vs. the University of Texas and statewide affirmative action initiatives. Joya's community advocacy work to support communities of color has been acknowledged by national publications, the Texas House of Representatives, and the Texas Senate.

Currently, she is a board member of Child, Incorporated (Austin's Head Start Program). She is a 20-year board member of the Austin Area Heritage Council (responsible for Austin's MLK March and Festival celebrations). She is also a former licensed foster parent in Virginia and Texas. She has received over 35 community awards for her dutiful service. In 2021, she was the recipient of the Austin NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award.

As a motivational speaker, Joya has delivered speeches to over two million people in six states and two countries. She is a dynamic and energetic speaker known for her humor and powerful energy. She is also an extraordinary emcee and speechwriter and has written speeches for elected officials in three states. Her greatest reward has been her son, Robert Elijah Hayes, whom she fostered for two years, and adopted in June 2016.