Ayana T. Hardaway, Ph.D., is the Founder and Editor & Chief of Wildflowers & Co. Publishing, a restorative organization dedicated to facilitating trauma healing within and across communities through storytelling, creative expression, education, and strategic partnerships.
As a restorative scholar-practitioner with over 18 years of experience in higher education, Dr. Hardaway combines her expertise in research and policy with a deep commitment to critical theory and Black feminist scholarship. She holds a Master of Education (M.Ed.) and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Urban Education from Temple University.

Dr. Hardaway's research bridges theory and practice through critical qualitative methodologies, focusing on the experiences of minoritized communities, particularly Black women and girls. Her work examines the structural and systemic barriers shaping the life trajectories of marginalized groups. Through her innovative use of Black speculative methodologies, Dr. Hardaway envisions alternative futures for Black women in both educational and societal contexts. As an endarkened restorative practitioner, educational sociologist, and storyteller, Ayana is dedicated to uplifting communities through culturally grounded, restorative practices that honor ancestral wisdom and promote justice and equity.

Her groundbreaking book, From Crack Mother to Wildflower: Writing to Transgress—The Sankofa Writing Method, is a critical autoethnography that explores the role of Black women-centered networks during the crack era. In this work, she deconstructs the controlling images of the "Bad Crack Mother" and "Crack Baby" myths, challenging stigmatizing narratives and reclaiming the experiences of Black women and their children. Through the Sankofa Writing Method, she demonstrates how writing and storytelling can serve as sacred, transformative practices for healing, recovery, and empowerment.

Dr. Hardaway’s scholarship has been featured in Introduction to Afrofuturism: A Mixtape in Black Literature & Arts, the Journal of Postsecondary Student Success, the College Student Affairs Journal, the Journal of African American Women and Girls in Education, and Investing in the Educational Success of Black Women and Girls.