Afi-Odelia Scruggs

Afi-Odelia Scruggs currently serves as the Head of The Creative Aging Department at The Music Settlement in Cleveland, leading initiatives for life-long learners aged 55 and older through music and movement programs. With nearly 20 years of experience as a bassist, keyboardist, and singer-songwriter, Afi-Odelia has performed at various churches in Cleveland. A seasoned freelance journalist since 2004, Afi-Odelia has written for prestigious publications such as The Guardian and The Washington Post and produced audio segments for nationally broadcasted shows. Afi-Odelia also contributed as a Teaching Artist for over a decade with Roots Of American Music, developing curriculum to educate students on traditional American music genres. Additional media experience includes working as a contract reporter for ideastream, where Afi-Odelia produced news segments and conducted interviews. Afi-Odelia holds a B.A. in Russian from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in Slavic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics from Brown University, along with a certificate in Video Editing from Cuyahoga Community College.