Azia Wiggins is a Jackson, MS., native who graduated from Terry High School in 2007 and obtained a bachelor’s in forensic science from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2013. In 2014, she worked at the University of Mississippi Medical Center as a physician scheduler in the psychiatry department for three years before going to Mississippi College for a master’s in biological sciences in summer 2018. In 2019, Azia started at Jackson Free Press as an editorial assistant and worked her way up to deputy editor of voices (opinions) and systemic reporting in 2021 at the Mississippi Free Press, a statewide nonprofit media organization.
As of August 2023, she is now an organizer (Delta) with Working Together MS, a statewide broad-based civic organization focused on building relational capacity and power in diverse communities and institutions. She also still works part-time as the voices editor at the Mississippi Free Press. During this Change Collective cohort, she will be intentional about building meaningful relationships with other leaders across the nation to help fortify her mission of empowering marginalized communities in her state and giving them the tools to build power to act in their respective communities, starting with expanding Medicaid and Jackson’s infrastructure woes.