This week on the podcast we have Part 1 of a two-part conversation centering a favorite topic of mine - education. The effectivenss of LinkedIn and it’s networkinng superpower facilitated our connection through common connects, Adja Maymouna Sakho and Laureen Adams.

My guest, fellow educator Kwame Sarfo-Mensah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Temple University. For nine years, he served as a middle school math teacher. Currently, he is the founder of Identity Talk Consulting, a global educational consulting firm that specializes in developing K-12 teachers into identity-affirming educators. Throughout his 17-year career as a classroom teacher, author, and consultant, Kwame has worked in the United States, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, and Zambia.

Additionally, Kwame has earned numerous accolades for this work, which include being honored as the 2019 National Member of the Year by Black Educators Rock, Inc. and being recognized as a Top Education Influencer by brightbeam, Inc. in 2021 and 2022.
His newest book, "Learning to Relearn: Supporting Identity in a Culturally Affirming Classroom", recently won the 2025 IPPY Award for Best Education Commentary Book and the 2024 Foreword INDIES Gold Book Award for Best Education Book.

Another dimension of Kwame’s glocal citizenship is the way that he, as a “trailing spouse” has forged forward despite the obvious challenges and has found success and expansion in his craft. I hope your listening will shed additional light on the ways that borderless mindsets are indeed manifesting a new world!

Where to find Kwame?
On Amazon
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Youtube

What’s Kwame reading and watching?
The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Untold Fall of Favre
Coach Prime

Other topics of interest:
About Mampong, Ghana
Where is Nsima, Ghana
About the Akwamu Empire
Lusaka, Zambia
A bit about Nyanja and other Zambian languages
Education past and present in Sierra Leone
Why Are All of the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Special Guest: Kwame Sarfo-Mensah.

This week on the podcast we have Part 1 of a two-part conversation centering a favorite topic of mine - education. The effectivenss of LinkedIn and it’s networkinng superpower facilitated our connection through common connects, Adja Maymouna Sakho and Laureen Adams.

My guest, fellow educator Kwame Sarfo-Mensah holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from Temple University. For nine years, he served as a middle school math teacher. Currently, he is the founder of Identity Talk Consulting, a global educational consulting firm that specializes in developing K-12 teachers into identity-affirming educators. Throughout his 17-year career as a classroom teacher, author, and consultant, Kwame has worked in the United States, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, and Zambia.

Additionally, Kwame has earned numerous accolades for this work, which include being honored as the 2019 National Member of the Year by Black Educators Rock, Inc. and being recognized as a Top Education Influencer by brightbeam, Inc. in 2021 and 2022.
His newest book, "Learning to Relearn: Supporting Identity in a Culturally Affirming Classroom", recently won the 2025 IPPY Award for Best Education Commentary Book and the 2024 Foreword INDIES Gold Book Award for Best Education Book.

Another dimension of Kwame’s glocal citizenship is the way that he, as a “trailing spouse” has forged forward despite the obvious challenges and has found success and expansion in his craft. I hope your listening will shed additional light on the ways that borderless mindsets are indeed manifesting a new world!

Where to find Kwame?
On Amazon
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Youtube

What’s Kwame reading and watching?
The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Untold Fall of Favre
Coach Prime

Other topics of interest:
About Mampong, Ghana
Where is Nsima, Ghana
About the Akwamu Empire
Lusaka, Zambia
A bit about Nyanja and other Zambian languages
Education past and present in Sierra Leone
Why Are All of the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Beverly Daniel Tatum

Special Guest: Kwame Sarfo-Mensah.

This week on the program, I had the opportunity to chat with Nigerian writer and activist, Ayisha Osori. Ayisha, also a lawyer, consultant and communication strategist has 18 years experience in the public and private sectors. Her clients include the World Bank, United Nations Development Fund, UNICEF, the Department for International Development, the Royal Institute of International Affairs and the National Democratic Institute, to name a few. She is the former CEO of the Nigerian Women Trust Fund and is currently a Director at the Open Society Foundations.

A published author with a series of children's textbooks on social studies used in primary schools and a children's reference book on Nigeria, her first book, Love Does Not Win Elections chronicles her experiences in the electoral process and Nigerian Politics as a whole. 

She kept a weekly column for five years, first as the Pedestrian Lawyer in Thisday newspaper [https://www.thisdaylive.com] and most recently, as the Nigerian Citizen for The Leadership newspaper. A regular commentator on radio and television, she has been involved in numerous campaigns to improve social justice for women and girls, governance in Nigeria and is an experienced advocate on gender and social justice issues.

It was truly a pleasure to meet and find such accord with Ayisha. Many thanks to Episode 97 guest, Kehinde Togun for making the connection, contributing to our March Herstory mission.

Where to find Ayisha?
On LinkeIn
On Twitter
On Instagram
On YouTube

What's Ayisha reading?
The Chancellor: The Remarkable Odyssey of Angela Merkel by Kati Marton

What's Ayisha watching?
King Richard
The Tragedy of Macbeth
CODA
Modern Family
Frasier
Meet the Press

What's Ayisha Listening to?
BBC's Focus on Africa

Other topics of interest:
Africa Continental Free Trade Area
Rock the Vote
Eisenhower Fellowship
Map of Abuja
Oyo Empire

Special Guest: Ayisha Osori.

This week "B" stands for "beauty" and Baze Mpinja, a Congolese-American writer, editor and consultant based in Brooklyn, New York.

Born in New Hampshire after her parents emigrated to the US and raised mostly in Arizona, Baze considers herself the most unlikely beauty writer ever. She’s the first woman in her family to graduate from a university and her grandmothers never learned to read—when they were growing up, girls didn't go to school. While her career as a writer at times seems unfathomable, Baze is no doubt the real thing when it comes to telling stories for leading brands and beauty publications.
She's gone from working at multicultural, niche magazines with startup environments (Suede and Vibe Vixen) to becoming a staffer at one of the most widely read women’s magazines in the country (Glamour), to working as a writer at the world's leading theatrical advertising and branding agency (SpotCo). Be sure to check out her cover article for the November 2020 issue of Allure Magazine!

Where to find Baze?
www.beautybybaze.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Baze watching?
Homeland
The Undoing

Other topics of interest—
• Glocally Speaking: Mzungu
• The Whistling Thorn
• Uoma Beauty
• Salwa Petersen

Special Guest: Baze Mpinja.

Where to find Yana?
www.yanafleming.com
On Instagram
On LinkedIn
On Facebook
On Twitter
On YouTube

What's Yana writing:
On Medium
Internationality.me

Other talking points:
Rawai Muay Thai
Flirt with the World
Duo Underwater Ear Gear
Get “Mooving”
How to Change Your Mind

Special Guest: Yana Fleming.

Where to find Yana?
www.yanafleming.com
On Instagram
On LinkedIn
On Facebook
On Twitter
On YouTube

What's Yana writing:
On Medium
Internationality.me

Other talking points:
Rawai Muay Thai
Flirt with the World
Duo Underwater Ear Gear
Get “Mooving”
How to Change Your Mind

Special Guest: Yana Fleming.