I'm Miriha Austin, a Los Angeles-based creative strategist and multidisciplinary artist, most often employing food, conversation, photography, and place-based activations within my practice to engage, empower, and share resources with historically excluded peoples. My work interrogates conventional paradigms and aims to ameliorate the lived conditions within these communities, with recurring themes of identity development, radical community care, and personal and familial space and lineage.
For five years, I served as the Program Associate for the Reissa Foundation, where I fostered authentic relationships between the foundation and community-based organizations, centering equity-driven grantmaking guided by the voices and needs of the communities themselves. This role provided me with deep, hands-on experience in both philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, knowledge that continues to inform my work today as a freelance consultant. In this capacity, I support mission-aligned organizations in strengthening their strategies, programs, and partnerships to advance justice, equity, and community-led impact using creative strategy.
As the founder of TOAN Co., a Black-led organization committed to fostering equitable, full-spectrum healing for lesser-resourced communities, I champion radical community care through dialogue, artistic expression, and place-based activation.
In addition to my organizing and cultural work, I am the culinary artist and founder behind Ready When You Are, a love-infused, culinary studio born from the desire to nourish busy lives with intention, comfort, and care. As a private chef, recipe developer, and creative host, I use food as both a storytelling device and a tool for connection, bringing people into deeper relationship with themselves, their communities, and ancestral memory. My culinary practice centers warm, vibrant, culturally rooted meals that are both grounding and celebratory, reflecting my belief in food as a vital medium of community care, visibility, and legacy.
about me
current offerings
Where I'm Most Useful Right Now:
I bring valuable insights to many spaces by employing a unique perspective and skillset at the intersections of Philanthropy, Community Organizing, and Art and Culture Program Strategy.
- Organizational and Board Management
- Fundraising and Development
- Grant Writing
- LOI/Application and Proposal Review
- Program Development and Consultation
As a photographer, I approach my work casually, without too much fuss. I celebrate and preserve the essence of everyday life. I approach both portraiture and documentary image-making similarly, aiming to be as authentic to the moment as possible. This approach results in emotional stills and glimpses of beauty in the mundane.
I often center Black women, artists, and families. As a self-proclaimed anthropologist, it is foundational to my practice to record and archive the daily lives—at work, in creation, and at leisure—of those I am in community with.
My culinary practice centers warm, vibrant, culturally rooted meals that are both grounding and celebratory, reflecting my belief in food as a vital medium of community care, visibility, and legacy.
My current culinary offerings include private chef for hire (private dinners, full-service catering, meal prep, events and activations, board meetings, retreats, etc.), community pop-ups & food installations, menu development, cooking classes and workshops, event curation, tablescapes, and nutritional guidance (postpartum, menstrual alignment, diet-specific, allergen-free, etc.).
Digital & Printed Matter
tools + resources
A Guidebook for Funders and Community Organizations
The Gap: A roadmap for funders and community organizers to build effective cooperative philanthropic partnerships.
As a program officer within a family foundation, I've navigated the complexities of funding with a unique perspective - one that bridges the gap between funders and grassroots organizations. Drawing from my firsthand experience and insights, this guidebook offers candid advice and practical strategies to foster meaningful collaborations, navigate power dynamics, and enhance the impact of philanthropic efforts.