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BIOGRAPHY: Baiyina Abadey

Baiyina Abadey was born LaVonne Alethia Day on August 4, 1952 in Buffalo, New York, to Hartley Ashton Day and Edna Ruth Richardson-Day. Baiyina is the sixth of seven children born and raised in Buffalo. Her siblings are Abdul Aleem Hassan (Hartley A. Day Jr.), Torkwase Ra Hetep (Frances A. Fagan), George A. Day Prudence A. Fuller, Virgil Nkosi Ennis Day, and Imanah King (Denice A. Day) Baiyina has been married to the renowned drummer and band leader Nasar Abadey for over 30 years. She works in management and promotion for his group SUPERNOVA®; as well as her son’s group, Kush Abadey and GYROSCOPE. Bayina is the mother of Mia Shaidah Ayers Gross (daughter from a former marriage to Emery Ayers), Kush B. Abadey, and two children through marriage, Jon Rashid Mabry, and Jalilah Mabry Mustafa. There are nine grandchildren from her immediate family, Rafael, Rahim, Nia, Nasar, Kia, Khadijah, Sabah, Usamah, Sumaiyah and one great-grandchild Santana Suarez. Baiyina is a humble daughter of Spirit, mother, wife, grandmother, caregiver, warrior, visionary, nutritiously conscious epicure; and an avid lover of the arts, especially music.

In her early of employment Baiyina worked for Councilman Horace B. Johnson at City Hall in Buffalo, New York. Later she worked for the Community Action Organization’s headquarters and various other sites; the Employment Information Center (NYS Employment Service) as a Job Counselor and Job Developer, while hosting a half-hour public service television program on Channel 29 in Grand Island, NY titled “Basic Black”; and a Psycho Therapist for the Buffalo General Hospital Community Mental Health Center. In 1976 Baiyina relocated to the Washington, DC area and worked area and worked for the Congressional Black Caucus as a Coordinating Secretary. Shortly after arriving in Washington, DC, Baiyina and Nasar were married; she enrolled in a bachelor’s program of study, worked as an assistant to the Graduate Admission’s advisor, and soon became the Director of Financial Aid at Southeastern University. After her graduation, Mrs. Abadey worked in various types of jobs in education, catering, and,   events planning. She has worked for the DC Street Academy, as the Assistant Director of Admissions; and with the Program in Black American Culture at the Smithsonian Institution, as a Production Assistant. In 1987 she joined the staff of Howard University in Washington, DC and worked in various positions during her 20 year tenure there. She is currently the Deputy Director and Director of Community Initiatives, where she directs and oversees the operation policies, objectives and initiatives of the Howard University Center for Urban Progress (HUCUP), which is a research division of the university, with a focus on urban development, through university community partnerships. Mrs. Abadey has developed modalities to expand HUCUP, which attained over $8,000,000 of grant funding, in a seven-year period; and where she has been promoted to positions of increasing levels of responsibility. In addition to spearheading visionary strategies for all of the divisions of HUCUP, Mrs. Abadey has been charged with leading and directing supervisors and managers; performing a variety of other administrative tasks, while reporting to top-level management within the university, and various local and federal funding agencies. Baiyina Abadey currently lives with her family in Cheverly, Maryland, just outside of Washington, DC and she has been the primary caregiver for her 94 year-old mother for the past thirteen years.

Baiyina has a passion for events planning, concert production, and performing arts management. She has completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration Management, from Southeastern University in Washington, DC; and a Master of Arts degree in Human Communication Studies with a concentration in Organizational Communications, from Howard University. Baiyina Abadey is proud of being a native to Buffalo, New York, and she is sure to visit the Western New York region to spend time with family and fiends, at least a few times a year. Professional Associations are: