Draft:Leslie Malaika Lewis

Leslie Malaika Lewis (also known as Leslie Lewis Sword) is the elder daughter of former immigration lawyer, author, and CEO Loida Nicolas Lewis and the late entrepreneur / pioneer Reginald F. Lewis, and the sister of Christina Lewis. Lewis is a writer, philanthropist, actor, and producer who created the one woman show, "Miracle in Rwanda" after meeting genocide survivor Immaculeé Ilibagiza and traveling to Rwanda with her in 2007.

Miracle in Rwanda has been shown to thousands of audiences in North America, Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia. The play was performed at the United Nations to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Rwandan massacre.

Lewis has also appeared in several independent films, including "With Child", a film by Titus Heckel. In this 2015 film that was nominated for "Best World Showcase" at the SOHO International Film Festival, Leslie played Petra Dell, an eccentric doctor who hires the protagonist Auden to fix her basement, which leads to them having an unusual affair.

In 2021, Leslie Malaika Lewis founded MultiGenerational.Black, Inc. a registered investment advisor. MGB’s mission is to accelerate America’s journey to racial wealth parity. According to their website, the MGB Investing Starter Kit Workshop and blog "break down money concepts and make stock market investing more accessible for the first-time African American investor."

Early Works
In 2005, Lewis portrayed Dorothy Dandridge in Jamal William's one-woman show "Yesterday Came Too Soon" (directed by Dr. Barbara Ann Teer), which had sold-out performances at the National Black Theatre Off-Broadway in Harlem, New York.

She also wrote short book entitled, "Waiter, There's A Fly In My Soup! How to Make Mega Bucks Waiting Tables" (Bookmark Publishing) in 1998.

Personal Life
Born in New York City, Lewis sat on the board of their family-owned billion dollar company, TLC Beatrice International Foods at age 18. Lewis earned a BA from Harvard University, and MFA in acting from UCLA School of Theater Film and Television.

Leslie was married in 1998 to Gavin Rodney Sword, an investment banker from Toronto, who died in 2022.