FunkyBlackGurl (Madelyn "Maddei" Collins)
Community Organizer, Movement Artist, and Environmenalist in Tennessee
Madelyn Collins goes by many names: Maddei, FunkyBlackGurl, FunkyAshido. Raised in New Orleans and evacuated to Knoxville in 2005 as a Hurricane Katrina climate evacuee, she and her mother found refuge at 500 Ben Hur Ave, her family’s home. Situated in a community facing displacement due to redlining and urban renewal, this experience of losing her home in New Orleans and witnessing the decline of her second home deeply connected her to the cause of preserving people, planet, and culture through movement and storytelling.
Madelyn’s practice of movement is rooted in her ancestral legacy and has been a part of her since birth. She trained at Dancer’s Studio, performed with Southern Sole and On the One, and led the UTK Street Dance (formerly Volatomix Crew). She has also taught dance at local studios and programs in the Greater Knoxville area. Currently, she works with the Royal Youth Dance Ensemble (RYDE) and founded Knox Community Street Dance, a community-led social aid club.
Beyond dance, Madelyn is an advocate for environmental justice. Holding a Bachelor of Science in Communications from the University of Tennessee, with a focus on digital media and journalism, she started her environmental work as an outreach assistant at her university’s recycling center. Over time, she expanded her advocacy, organizing sustainability projects and community initiatives. Now, she is the HUB leader within the Black Girl Environmentalist HUB program.
Madelyn’s work fuses activism and art to create a joyful, liberated, and loving world for people and the planet. Movement and storytelling have been her tools for processing trauma and loss while embracing the joy that can come from those experiences. By exploring Black and Soulaan movements and the importance of environmental preservation, she engages in actions that foster connection—to herself, others, and the environment. Her work honors her heritage, culture, and neurodiversity, allowing her to navigate the world in ways that reflect her true self.
https://linktr.ee/funkyblackgurl