Founder and Publisher, UrbanCusp.com
Rahiel Tesfamariam is an activist, writer, social commentator and public theologian. She is the Founder / Publisher of UrbanCusp.com, a cutting-edge online lifestyle magazine highlighting progressive urban culture, faith, social change and global awareness. She is also a columnist for The Washington Post. Rahiel holds a B.A. in American Studies from Stanford University and a Master of Divinity from Yale University where she was the inaugural William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Scholar for Peace and Justice. Prior to seminary, Rahiel served as the youngest editor-in-chief in the history of The Washington Informer, at age 23. She managed a D.C. citywide juvenile justice reform effort at a faith-based nonprofit before launching Urban Cusp in 2011.
Rahiel has traveled the world on various delegations and humanitarian projects. She has been featured repeatedly on Washington Watch with Roland Martin, Huffington Post Live, Our World with Black Enterprise, Press TV, The Geraldo Rivera Radio Show, SiriusXM, and more. Rahiel has been named a 2014 National Action Network "Who's Got Next" honoree, a 2013 GIVE1 Project Global Leadership Fellow, the 2012 IMPACT Leader of the Year, a 2012 Beatitudes Society Fellow, a Practical Visionary by the Institute for the Future, and a “Top 40 Under 40” by the EnVest Foundation. Most recently, she was one of forty women published in the book Talking Taboo: American Christian Women Get Frank About Faith. The world-renowned nonprofit Black Girls Rock!, Inc. featured Rahiel on their annual awards show on BET in 2013, saluting “her tireless dedication to global issues, community activism and youth advocacy.” Black Girls Rock! recognized Rahiel because she “leads with her faith, inspiring awareness and inciting change around the world.”