Malik Yoba
Actor, Educator, Inspirational Speaker and Author

Best known for his roles in the Disney classic, “Cool Runnings” and the hit Fox television series “New York Undercover”, Malik Yoba has proven himself as a man driven to raise consciousness through the use of his many talents. This actor, musician, activist, educator, inspirational speaker, playwright and entrepreneur and now author leaves no stone unturned in his quest to educate the community on the value of accountability, integrity, leadership and proper follow through. Born and raised in NYC, Yoba is not a product of his environment but a progression, an example to others that the same inner city streets that breed hatred and violence can give birth to positive ideas and upward mobility. Yoba began educating youth when he was considered a “youth” himself.. Realizing at a young age that he had the gift to move others and raise consciousness, he was already very involved in mentoring and after school counseling by age 16.

Before the movie role and TV series that made Malik Yoba a household name, Yoba was an educator and very respected among his peers in education and community activism. By age 20, he worked with 13 New York City Public schools in a program called AIDP (Attendance Improvement Dropout Prevention), in which he assessed students, faculty and parents needs to improve the quality, content and form of education, thereby improving attendance which was presented to the Board of Education in a book of findings. From the ages of 19 to 24, Yoba was a full time educator and worked with the City Kids Foundation, a NYC based youth leadership organization. By 23 years old, his work had not gone unnoticed and he was appointed vice president of the organization and served from 1991-1993. In 1989, he co-founded the City Kids Foundation branch in Los Angeles. Yoba designed and facilitated workshops on leadership, cultural diversity, community organizing, conflict resolution and self- esteem. He has worked internationally with young people from Johannesburg Secondary School in South Africa to Rikers Island High School and Spafford Detention Center in NY, as well as, designed and conducted the first ever youth leadership conference in Belize, Central America. Yoba has been recognized by and worked with former President Bill Clinton, The Congress of the United States, The Mayor of New York City, NYPD, UNICEF, McDonald’s Black Achievers, Hale House, The Ethiopian Children’s Fund, The Conference of Black Mayors, The Congressional Black Caucus to name a few for his dedication to youth.

Yoba’s love for the arts is constant, he has been in over 20 films including “Copland,” “Smoke,” “Blue in the Face,” “Hooked Up” “Harlem Aria,” “Vote for Me,” “Ride” and Dreaming in Black and White,” winner of ‘Best Film’ at the 2003 Phoenix Film Festival to name a few. In 2005 he starred in the comedy "Kids in America" a feature, also starring George Wendt, Rosanna Arquette and Nicole Richie. He recently played the recurring character "Ice" on the Emmy award winning comedy "Arrested Development" for Fox Television and can be seen in the recently released Warner Bros. film "Criminal" starring John C. Rielly and Diego Luna. Yoba has also starred in TNT’s first series “Bull” (TNT) and NBC’s short lived series “Kingpin” and had a recurring role in the 2003-2005 seasons of “Girlfriends” (UPN). He can also be seen in the independent feature “There Just My Friends” and the new FX Network series, "Thief" with Andre Braugher and Linda Hamilton.

Cited by the New York Times Magazine as “An artist who will most likely influence American culture in the next thirty years…” (Nov 1994), Yoba is still on track to fulfilling this prophecy. He served as an arts educator for over 20 years. His theatre company, The Malik Yoba National Theatre (MYNT) Company, creates, acquires, produces and distributes content for the urban theatre market. This is a twenty year old market that is primarily African American females, ages 25-55 yrs old. He has co-written two musicals for stage “What’s on The Hearts of Men” and “Acoustic Chocolate” that have been adapted for screen. The MYNT Company is also a proud sponsor of the Hip Hop Theatre Festival and Yoba is one of the partners in the new publication Urban Theatre and Entertainment Magazine, the first magazine to cover the urban theatre market. He has been a guest on Oprah, Charlie Rose, Regis and Kathy, Donahue, Arsenio Hall to name a few. He has performed as a musical artist at Carnegie Hall and New York’s Theatre at Madison Square Garden. He was co-musical director for the Henson/ABC produced Saturday morning show the “CityKids” and wrote the theme song for the Jamaican bobsled team in the movie “Cool Runnings”.

In 1996, Yoba fulfilled a life long dream of being a restaurateur and became a partner in Soul Café in NYC’s Times Square for nine years until it closed in 2004.

Yoba’s latest creation, Please Return My Phone Call! Preventing the Demise of Personal and Professional Relationships, is THE handbook for business and interpersonal relationships, that is rapidly challenging the thought processes of students, individuals, business owners and billion dollar corporations as it pertains to interpersonal communication, integrity, accountability, leadership, and proper follow through. This book leaves readers “switched on” and conscious of their habits and the habits of others in business and life. Yoba has worked with Citrix, Columbia University Film School, and Yale University, Morgans Hotel Group, to name a few (see book bio). His message transcends from middle schools (instilling the idea of accountability) to corporations (confronting habits that cost companies millions).

For more information on the book, seminars, workshops or keynotes please go to www.pleasereturnmyphonecall.com.