meet cynthia c. Harbor

Championing Culture and Technology Through Storytelling and Innovation

Picture of Cynthia Harbor

Listener. Seeker. Believer. Forgiven. Writer. Award-Winning Tech & community Leader

Cynthia Harbor is a writer, strategist, and cultural preservationist shaped by the tides of South Carolina’s Lowcountry and the rhythms of Gullah Geechee life. She seeks to write stories that honor the memory, magic, and resilience of her people. Her work offers readers a textured view of the South—told through the lens of lived experience and a deep reverence for heritage.

But her work doesn’t end with the written word. Cynthia is also an award-winning technology professional and certified project management leader with more than two decades of experience. As the founder of a woman-owned media company, she brings the same intentionality and creativity from her literary work into the worlds of tech, education, and entrepreneurship. Her efforts bridge two worlds—engineering digital solutions while anchoring them in cultural truth.

Cynthia believes storytelling is a form of resistance, and technology is a tool for empowerment. She is passionate about mentoring women in STEM, capturing the voices of Gullah elders, encouraging the imagination of Gullah youth, and supporting special needs families with care and advocacy.

Her leadership and service have been recognized with the Women Making a Mark Award from Atlanta Magazine. She has also proudly volunteered with the Atlanta Women’s Foundation and other community-focused organizations dedicated to uplifting women and families.

At every step, Cynthia’s journey reflects this simple truth: roots matter, and so does the road ahead.

Watch cynthia’s tedx talk:

creating a legacy for Women in Tech

Cynthia Harbor draws from her years of experience working in technology combined with a rich family heritage as a Gullah Geechie from South Carolina, to examine the challenges and opportunities for women in technology today.

Cynthia on stage at TEDx Savannah

the question I’m most often asked

what Does it Mean to be gullah Geechee?

To be Gullah Geechee…

To be Gullah Geechee is to carry the salt of the sea in your soul and the strength of your ancestors in your stride.

We are the proud descendants of West and Central Africans, brought to the southeastern coasts of the U.S.—South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida—where our ancestors cultivated rice, indigo, and resilience.

Our culture was preserved in the isolation of the Sea Islands and along the coast in sleepy port-side towns, where traditions, language, foodways, and spirituality remained intact.

We speak with a rhythm born of Africa as well as the American South. We cook with the memory of generations blending past and present, cherishing both. And we hold tight to land, faith, and family – although they are under constant threat.

We are a diverse people. We are not a monolith and one person nor one group speak or write for all of us.

To be Gullah Geechee is to know that our stories are not just history—they are living legacies. We are culture keepers, root tenders, and bridges between past and future.

Read my newsletter Saltwater & The Word

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