MOST DEF - Key Persons
Beverly Booker Ammah is an Associate Professor and the School Counseling Program Lead at Hampton University. She was a 2015-2016 Fulbright Scholar at the University of Ghana. She currently serves on the Fulbright Specialist Roster. She is also the Executive Director of 3GC Inc., a non- profit focused on engaging students of color including those of African ancestry to participate in short term study abroad in Ghana. Dr. Booker Ammah researches the impact to school counseling trainees' professional competencies from teaching Participatory Action Research; impact of an African American Mentorship Model (AAMP) to the success of Black graduate students at PWI's; and the impact of a Pan African Study Abroad Model to identity development, leadership development and civic engagement among university students of African descent. Dr. Booker Ammah was also a past recipient of the Academic Faculty Enhancement and Enrichment (AFEE) Program Grant in the Center of African Studies at Howard University for her research: Examining The Impact of a Pan African Study Abroad Model on College Student Development Among University Students of African Ancestry, with co-researchers- Dr. Rose Walls and Albie Walls.
Dr. Booker Ammah serves as the HBCU Africa Homecoming Ghana 2020 Co-Chair- Virtual.
Job Titles:
- Registered Nurse
- Health & Safety Director
Brenda Taylor Powell is a licensed Registered Nurse by profession from the United States, where she received her college education. Her work includes fourteen years of working with the blind, deaf and deaf-blind at a residential school in Virginia. Her other work history includes psychiatric nursing and nurse management/administration
She currently owns and operates Safe Hands Caregivers in Ghana to provide outreach services to the elderly. Safe Hands also has a senior group meeting every 2 weeks for comradery, fellowship and sharing. Brenda is passionate about women's health and mental wellbeing. Her future goal is to start a woman's support group on the Akuapim Ridge to provide a safe haven for health, information sharing and emotional support to cope with life and its challenges.
Job Titles:
- Mentorship & Coaching Director
Cynthia Abankwa has over 25 years of experience as a Consultant for the National Health Service (NHS) as well as within the telecommunications and IT Industry in the United Kingdom. Organisations she has worked for include the Department of Health, The London Ambulance Services, hospital trusts and GP practices, federations and primary care networks all over the UK. As part of her work with the NHS, Cynthia has led key programmes relating to new developments in health practices specifically in ambulance trusts, management of general practitioner surgeries as well as hospital IT interfaces and systems. Having held several positions as a Senior Project Manager and Director in healthcare transformation, Cynthia's innovative and committed approach has resulted in the saving of several millions of pounds in healthcare initiatives as well as more importantly, the improvement of the quality of service for patients and carers. Cynthia has been the driving force in the set-up of the Federation of General Practitioners (GPs) in the Sutton, Surrey area of the UK and has led the recruitment of key staff helping the organisation achieve a turnover of 2 million pounds in its first year of establishment.
Prior to working in the NHS, Cynthia worked in the private sector on communication and marketing projects with a focus on revenue generation and process improvement. She is a trained journalist whose career focused on reporting current affairs in Africa including health issues with a leading print media firm in Ghana. Cynthia has a Masters in Communications and Development Studies from City University, London, and a degree in Journalism as well as being a qualified PRINCE2 project manager. Also, an entrepreneur, Cynthia co-founded an online business- Indigene Warehouse Limited, an enterprise focused on curating and showcasing products from Africa. The company is committed to supporting women and street children. She is passionate about women centred activities and empowering young girls to become strong independent women. She enjoys coaching the youth about career choices for the future. She is married with a daughter.
Franka-Maria Andoh is a writer, serial entrepreneur and creative who is passionate about telling her story and using her gift to inspire future generations. One of her greatest achievements has been her café, Josie's Cuppa Cappuccino, which was listed as one of the leading cafés in Africa (Ventures Africa, 2014). After operating for twenty-one years, Josie's Cuppa Cappuccino has become a haven where families, young millennials and the elderly enjoy the best sandwiches and hot meals. The café has always been a hub for writers, artists and creatives and the essence of the space has been to promote Ghanaian art.
In February 2017, she founded a sister company- Antique Lemonade Art Space. The core mission of the art space is to provide an environment for creatives and to encourage collaboration. The space has since hosted numerous exhibitions, film screenings and discussions about art and life in general. As part of the emphasis on collaboration the creatives of the space have published their first book, ‘The Kente Curtain'. Franka has published other books; ‘Sam', ‘Not a Little Girl Anymore.', ‘Still Passionate about Coffee', ‘Koku the Cockerel', ‘Dokono the Donkey' and a collection of short stories titled ‘I Have Time and Other Short Stories'. Her first play ‘Red Light' was staged successfully at the National Theatre in 2019.
Franka's creative spirit has again birthed her ongoing film project; ‘Enna'. She has received several awards, including the XWAC 2019 Honoree Award for Arts, as well as the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW) Ama Ata Aidoo award for her collection of short stories - ‘I Have Time'. In 2019, she received an award for work done with the Christ the King Soup Kitchen. The Soup Kitchen is a project that caters for street children and homeless adults in the capital city of Accra. Franka served as the Chairperson of the Soup Kitchen Committee and as a major contributor to this project through her weekly donation of breakfast items to the children. The project has attracted many support groups and individuals including the Vice President of Ghana - H.E Mahamudu Bawumia.
Job Titles:
- Information Technology Director
George Adjebeng describes himself as a product of the 80's and a beneficiary of amazing grace. His main occupation is that of a happily married man with three wonderful children who are the rhythm in his steps and the reason his life is so worth living. George has worked in the banking sector for 17 years but started off his working life with the Ghanaian owned software company, Soft Tribe. He is currently working with Societe Generale Ghana as the Head of Multichannels. His experience as a webmaster has resulted in the development of digital platforms and strategies for companies like Toyota Ghana, Sikkens Ghana, the Joseph Project, Y-FM, ChilloutGhana.com amongst others.
George believes firmly that he has been "blessed to bless" and has devoted part of his life to charity work. As a former Rotarian with the Rotary Club of Accra Ridge, George participated in several medical outreach programs as well as blood donation exercises organized by the Club. He is a founding member of Give Ghana, a group working with the poor and destitute. As a group, they distribute food and clothing to the Accra Psychiatry Hospital and several children's homes during the Easter and Christmas period. George is also the co-founder of The Elroi Foundation. This foundation was inspired by and named after his son Elroi who is hearing impaired. Elroi has Bilateral Choanal Atresia (a congenital illness) and has been diagnosed with Charge Syndrome. This organisation was formed to offer support to parents who have children with similar challenges. George is a member of the Channel of Grace an advocacy group for the hearing impaired. George works with Reverend Father Campbell at the Christ the King Soup Kitchen. The soup kitchen feeds over one hundred street children and homeless adults daily. He believes that nothing happens by chance - we are all pieces of God's perfect puzzle.
GEORGE AMISSAH holds a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the prestigious University of Ghana and was admitted to the Ghana Bar in 1992.
A lawyer and a notary public, George possesses over twenty five (25) years of legal practice at the Ghana Bar.
He began his legal career with Laryea, Laryea & Co., in 1993 as a legal associate and worked as part of the team offering legal advice to and representing a variety of corporate and individual clients.
He joined Bram Larbi, Beecham & Co. as an Associate in 1996 and became a Partner at Acquah Sampson & Associates in 2003. George offered legal advice on various areas of law such as banking and finance, corporate law, commercial law, international bilateral and multilateral transactions and international law among others.
Kess Eshun is a pastry chef with a passion for culinary arts. Her specialty is Afro Fusion Cuisine which could be described as a refined blend of traditional and contemporary, or a culinary bridge between African flavors and Western cuisine. Her mission is to transform African cuisine and show the world the continent's rich flavors. Kess started cooking when she was a young girl and she confidently states that ‘she has thoroughly enjoyed every minute in the kitchen'. She strives to surprise many through her creations and to share what she has felt and learned through her culinary journey. For Kess, each plate is about art, her childhood memories, the place, the ingredients and the whole concept besides the food; making the entire experience far more exciting.
According to Kess, when she wakes up in the morning, the first thing she thinks about is food and the delectable meals she'll be creating. In the evening, as she drifts off to sleep, she thinks about new recipes instead of counting sheep. Despite her love for cooking, she didn't think it was a viable career choice so she obtained a degree in computer science. She then received an EMBA, but all of life's paths have led her right back to her passion for cooking. Finally, she decided to follow her dream and enrolled in culinary school. The business skills and cooking skills she has learned have resulted in the creation of Kess Kravings LLC: Kess Kravings App, Kess Kravings Pop-Up - "Savor Kravings", Kess Kravings Spices and a cookbook which is coming soon.
Her mission is to rewrite and share a new story of cuisine which has its roots in Africa and contribute to establishing African cuisine as a fine dining choice. She believes that cooking not only warms the soul, it also nurtures one's desire to spread love through good food. Her promise to you is delicious, inspired dishes that play tricks on your palate in the nicest possible way.
Job Titles:
- Inclusion & Programmes Director
- Well - Rounded Project Manager and Program Architect
Mr. Kojo Amissah is a well-rounded project manager and program architect. He loves creating programs and seeing ideas, products, branding, sustainability, and organization structural change management, become a reality.
He has created diversity programs including Gallaudet University Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and Keeping the Promise all of which have transformed the organizational structure and have aligned with the university's diversity mission. He served as Diversity Fellow to President Roberto Davila in the Gallaudet University Office of the President. In this capacity, he assisted in the campus climate recovery process, where Intergroup Dialogue Programs was designed.
Kojo is blessed to mentor the CEO of FEEL Magazine -an art magazine that publishes Deaf Artists' work. He also teaches career development courses and has in the course of this, collaborated with The United States Department of Transportation to design a mock interview program that connects Gallaudet University students to the Workforce Recruitment Program; Pathways Programs. This program connects students to USA jobs, LinkedIn, and other employment portals that they use to search for internship and career opportunities.
He has also helped many attain local, state, and Federal government careers.
Mr. Amissah loves building programs because, according to him "it is fun" and connects him with people, especially programs that impact children and young adults in a positive way. This explains why Kojo started his DJ business in his sophomore year in college. He transitioned that into producing music on Ableton. His mixes are available on https://soundcloud.com/kojo-01 and his single, Sense of Calm is up on iTunes. When he is not at work, he enjoys old school movies, producing music, cooking (a lot of Ghana dishes) and spending time with his family. Kojo takes pleasure in making a positive impact through the programs he designs and builds. He describes himself as "employable and trainable" and someone who is always looking to do more.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- CEO of Gold Coast Consulting
Robert P. Andoh is the CEO of Gold Coast Consulting, a professional business consulting firm in the United States of America. Mr. Andoh formally established the company in December 2015 after retiring from 25 years of public service with the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Prior to joining the Georgia SBDC in 1991, he served as a business consultant with Xavier University's Economic Development Center and as a staff accountant for Price Waterhouse Coopers International.
His expertise lies in loan packaging and accounting information systems with special emphasis on QuickBooks training and consulting. Other areas of expertise include business planning, financial analysis, cash flow management, inventory control and cost accounting. Mr. Andoh has conducted research on minority businesses and their accessibility to capital and he is the co-author of the first edition of the Mastering Loan Proposals manual. He holds a B.Sc. in Accounting from Xavier University and an MBA in Accounting from Loyola University.
Job Titles:
- President
- Lead Consultant at IQ Mundo
Rosalin A. Kyere-Nartey is a seasoned and successful leader with a track record of producing, presenting and managing the implementation of innovative hospitality and tourism business solutions and services in Africa and across the world in the past 15 years.
Rosalin is a dyslexic who started reading and writing at age 17. She holds a MSc International Hospitality Management from the Swiss Hotel Management School in Switzerland. She is a Walt Disney Hospitality Leadership Fellow and worked as Guest Experience Manager at Walt Disney World, U.S.A.
Currently, Rosalin is the Lead Consultant at iQ Mundo, the Swiss Education Group Country Representative for Ghana-Liberia-Sierra Leone. She is the founder of Africa Dyslexia Organisation, a World Economic Forum's Global Shaper and the Founding Curator of Dodowa Hub of Global Shapers Community.
Rosaline Nutsugah is a woman of many parts who is passionate about, and deeply committed to her two chosen professions as a Communicator and Gardener. She believes that these two fairly different areas of her life - corporate and horticulture - are inextricably intertwined and overlap beautifully. With over 20 years' experience in Corporate Communications, Rosaline founded Lindiwe Corporate Services (LCS) Ltd. in 2008. LCS is a boutique agency which offers Public Relations and Media Management services as well as Government and Corporate Affairs support to a range of companies across a variety of industries. Although she has always loved and grown plants and flowers wherever she has lived, her gardening journey officially commenced a couple of years ago when she started selling plants and offering garden maintenance services to friends. Her green space, Green Gold Gardens Garden, however was conceived during the recent COVID-19 pandemic when she decided to execute her dream of developing a garden center which is now open to the public.
Rosaline worked for AngloGold Ashanti from 1996 for over 10 years in various capacities in the Corporate Affairs, Investor Relations and Marketing departments of the organization in both Ghana and South Africa. Her role required her, on a regular basis, to work at the company's mining operations in Mali, Guinea and Tanzania. Currently representing a South African gold refinery, Rand Refinery, in Ghana in addition to working in a consulting capacity for the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Rosaline has a good working relationship with most of the key stakeholders in the local Mining Industry and the Extractives sector. Educated at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, at the Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal, at South Bank University in the UK and at University of Cape Town in South Africa, Rosaline is a member of the Institute of Public Relations, Ghana. Communicating passionately about "all things gardening" and converting others to her vision of living green lives is definitely a demonstration of the intrinsic link between the two sides of Rosaline's professional life.
Job Titles:
- International Collaborations, Summer Programing and Course Adviser