GET TO KNOW NIYOKA POWELL
A Working Mother for Working Families
Niyoka Powell grew up in Westmoreland, Jamaica. As a girl, she remembers walking down the road to the nearest telephone booth, where she would call her father, who had already immigrated to the United States. She also learned frugality by saving little coins - Jamaican dollars - in a tin can.
At age 9, Powell joined her father in America. Her father instilled the virtues of grit and determination and taught her the importance of education. There was never a good reason to miss school.
When it came time for college, Powell had to pay her own way. She moved to Rhode Island, pursuing a psychology degree at Rhode Island College. At night, she pulled long shifts as a nurse’s aide on a medical surgical unit. After graduating, she worked at Butler Hospital, first as a mental health professional and then as a registered nurse. Today, she is an occupational health nurse focusing on OSHA compliance.
Powell is the mother of a young daughter, whom she teaches the same values she learned as a girl: faith, diligence, and personal responsibility.
She is also a tireless neighborhood activist, organizing everything from book-bag drives to Easter egg hunts with the help of her fiance, Armando, a welder of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent.
Powell decided to run for office after witnessing the tragic economic and social consequences of imprudent government policies during COVID. As a working mother, an immigrant, and a 15-year resident of the district, she is well-positioned to understand the concerns of the common people, and to amplify their voices in the Senate.
Powell thinks it’s time to reject the professional politicians and to hold them accountable for their broken promises and chronic mismanagement of public affairs. With the help of the hard-working families of District 1, she is ready to take on the machine - and win.
