Danielle Ponder

About

R&B singer and bandleader based in Rochester, New York who took three years to write and record her debut album, Some of Us Are Brave. She has 8,000 followers on Twitter, 8,000 on Facebook, and 40,000 on Instagram. 

Before Fame

After starting out at the Monroe County Public Defender's Office as the only African American lawyer, Danielle returned in 2020 as the Special Assistant Public Defender, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer. She has been a TEDx speaker, and has organized around issues such as education funding, women's rights, and criminal justice reform. She left her legal work in 2018 to write and record her debut album.

Trivia

She has been heralded by the American Bar Association and awarded the Public Interest Law scholarship at Northeastern University, the Teen Empowerment's PeaceMaker in Action Award, and the Jessica Bain Community Excellence Award. In 2017 she created the multimedia show For the Love of Justice, which looks at the criminal justice system through song lyrics and accompanying visuals. She took the title of her debut album from a book she read in law school called All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men: But Some of Us Are Brave.

Family Life

She is the sixth of seven children. Her father is a pastor, and plays the piano and sings. She played the piano, but because of her father's religion wasn't allowed to listen to secular music. So she listened mostly to gospel, people like Shirley Caesar, John P. Kee, the Blind Boys of Alabama. She later listened to Big Mama Thornton and Koko Taylor.

Associated With

Her influences range from Portishead to Aretha Franklin, but one of her favorite artists is Nina Simone. Her co-manager is Tom Windish, who has worked with Billie Eilish and Lorde.