Yinka Faleti facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yinka Faleti
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| Born |
Adeyinka Faleti
June 20, 1976 |
| Education | United States Military Academy (BS) Washington University School of Law (JD) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Ronke Faleti |
| Children | 4 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service/ |
 United States Army |
| Years of service | 1998–2004 |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Battles/wars | Operation Desert Spring Operation Enduring Freedom |
Adeyinka Faleti (born June 20, 1976) is a Nigerian-American leader. He is a veteran of the United States Army. He also ran for a major political office in Missouri.
Yinka Faleti studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He also earned a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis.
He has worked in different important roles. These include leading a nonprofit group called Forward Through Ferguson. He also worked for United Way of Greater St. Louis. He was a state prosecutor and a lawyer.
Faleti lives in St. Louis, Missouri with his wife, Ronke, and their four children.
Contents
Early Life and School
Yinka Faleti was born in Lagos, Nigeria. In the mid-1970s, his father moved to the United States. His mother joined him three years later. Yinka stayed with his grandparents until he could get a visa.
Seven years after his father moved, Yinka arrived in New York. He met his dad and two younger siblings for the first time. As he grew up, his family lived in many states. These included New York, Virginia, Florida, Mississippi, and Texas.
Faleti finished high school at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Sciences. He then studied how people interact with machines, called human factors engineering. He did this at the United States Military Academy. He graduated in 1998. In 2007, he earned his law degree from Washington University School of Law.
Career Highlights
Military Service (1998–2004)
After graduating from West Point, Faleti joined the U.S. Army. He served for six years as an active-duty officer. This means he was a full-time soldier.
He served two times in Kuwait. His first trip was during Operation Desert Spring. His second trip was during Operation Enduring Freedom. He also led a group of tank soldiers at Fort Hood. He trained 15 soldiers with M1A2 tanks.
When he left the military, he had reached the rank of Captain. He was also a Company commander, leading a group of soldiers.
Law School and Early Law Career (2004–2013)
In 2004, Faleti left the military. He moved to St. Louis to start law school. While studying law, he was the president of the Black Law Students Association. He also joined the Trial Advocacy Team. This team practices how to argue cases in court. He won "Best Advocate" in 2005.
After law school in 2007, Faleti worked as a lawyer. He worked for an international law firm called Bryan Cave. In 2011, he became a state prosecutor. This means he worked for the government to bring legal cases against people. He did this for almost three years.
Leading Nonprofits (2013–2019)
In 2013, Faleti started working for the United Way of Greater St. Louis. He was a Senior Vice President. He helped lead fundraising and volunteer efforts. He helped raise over $300 million for the St. Louis area.
In 2018, he became the Executive Director of Forward Through Ferguson. This nonprofit group works to make changes in the St. Louis region. It was created after the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The group works to improve social and economic conditions.
For his work, Faleti received the Immigrant Working Professional Award in 2018.
Running for Office (2019–2020)
In October 2019, Faleti announced he would run for Missouri Secretary of State. This is an important statewide office. He ran against the person already in office, Jay Ashcroft. The Missouri Democratic Party chose him as their candidate in April 2020.
Faleti said he wanted to make it easier for people to vote. He also wanted to protect the process where citizens can propose new laws. If he had won, he would have been the first African American to hold a statewide office in Missouri.
Faleti raised a lot of money for his campaign. He raised more than seven times what his opponent did in one part of 2020. This got a lot of attention. However, Jay Ashcroft won the election.
Many groups supported Faleti. These included Let America Vote, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper, and Vote Vets.
Local Business and Leadership (2021-Present)
In 2021, Faleti became the leader of the Board of Directors for Veterans for Political Innovation. This is a nonprofit group.
The next year, Faleti became a partner at Ascend Venture Partners. This company helps new businesses get started. His job is to help founders from groups who have not always had easy access to money.
