Born and raised in New Orleans, Claudia Barker is a writer, youth advocate, and nonprofit leader who has served the community in her hometown for over 40 years — and continues to do so today. In her writing, Claudia deftly examines the challenges young people face as they navigate a dangerous world, drawing on both her professional and personal experiences. 

Her current project is writing about her own sexual abuse by a trusted high school teacher; why, at 63, she outed him on the front page of a major newspaper decades after it happened; and the impact that had. 

She encourages survivors of childhood sexual abuse to tell their stories and find community through her website, Minors Can’t Consent, and her Substack, “Claudia Barker Writes: Reflections from a Relentless Optimist.”

Claudia’s writing has appeared in such publications as The Sun, The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate, The Lens, Medium, Cultural Vistas, and Arts Quarterly. Her first book, YAYA!  Young New Orleans Artists and Their Storytelling Chairs (and How to YA/YA in Your Neighborhood) (LSU Press, 1996), was inspired by her five years as Director of YA/YA, Inc., an organization that provides New Orleans youth educational experiences in the arts and entrepreneurship. 

In her professional work, Claudia served most recently as Chief Development Officer for FirstLine Schools, a network of public charter schools, and as Executive Director of the Edible Schoolyard New Orleans. Prior to this, Claudia directed two organizations that helped artists, culture-bearers, and writers provide inspiration and mentorship to public school children: YA/YA, Inc. and New Orleans Outreach. 

She lives in New Orleans with her husband and a beagle mix named Red Bean.