I’m sure many of you remember the groundbreaking web series An African City. We’ve even hosted a panel featuring creator of the series Nicole Amarteifio in our writing as activism series. My guest this week launched her creative career as a cast member on the series and she hasn’t looked back since. Maame Adjei is a Ghanaian storyteller, producer, director, entrepreneur and cultural archivist.

As the founder of Sweet Roots Media, she leads a women-driven media hub dedicated to amplifying cultural narratives and preserving history through high-quality storytelling. Their work spans documentary scripted, brand storytelling, and immersive experiences, all crafted to resonate on a global scale.

Beyond media, she is the founder of Duruyeh, a bold jewelry brand celebrating heritage, beauty, and self-expression. Every piece tells a story, designed not just as an accessory but as a keepsake to be passed down.

Maame is also deeply invested in archival work and co-founded Korabea which focuses on preserving, protecting, and uplifting the stories of Ghanaian women, both past and present, through exhibitions, educational projects, and a forthcoming podcast. #NewPodcastAlert!

Where to find Maame?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On YouTube

What’s Maame listening to?
Devi Brown’s Deeply Well Podcast
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
The Myleik Teele Podcast
The Emotions

Other topics of interest:
NAFTI is now UniMAC-IFT
Who is GloRilla?
The Whites of Our Eyes Trailer
On Kenneth B. Clark's Doll Study
The Sunday Mirror today
Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings

Special Guest: Maame Adjei.

This week’s encore episode is a salve for my heavy heart. I’m resharing it as a reminder of life’s certainties; because it reflects some of the roots experiences that my guest, Global Ghanaian, death doula and author of Briefly Perfectly Human, Alua Arthur and I share; and because care for the aging has become a feature focus of my life story, particulary since the start of the pandemic.

On April 4th, my father, Peter Otoe Adu took his leave from the body that was the man I know as Daddy, Dad, PO, Peter and papa. He was 86.

Last week on the podcast, I mentioned the long overdue solutionscape and stretch salon series. The first topic we covered in these live sessions--the future of work in care for the aging, is an ever-timely discussion that will go live later this month. Woven into this series will be small tributes in memory of the briefly, perfectly human life dad lived and what I hope will be inspiration for us all to normalize conversations, pay attention and act in the interest of not just our elders but our inevitably aging selves.

Where to find Alua?
See the show notes for Episode 164

Special Guest: Alua Arthur.

This year our Women’s Herstory Month series has taken us for the first time to Botswana and Norway; we stopped in the UK, picked up flavors from Nigeria, Sudan, Zambia, Netherlands, Philippines, Belgium, Brazil and South Africa; went on a future forward mission in Kenya, and we’re landing home in a flashback forward conversation with fellow Ghanaian-American and early Glocal Citizen, Nana Amoako-Anin. Nana first joined us on the podcast in January 2020 in a time when wellness was often taken for granted or an afterthought for later. Then the global pandemic, COVID-19 changed everything. Wellness is now having a moment. However, as we’ll discuss in the conversation, the moment calls for depth, not trend, to sustain real mindset and lifestyle shifts on the personal and professional levels. Nana writes about this at Wellness in Black and lives and works it as a social entrepreneur and organizational leader. She is best known as the founder of Bliss Yoga Accra, Ghana’s first full-service yoga studio. With a background in law, she brings cross-sector expertise to her work, which bridges global perspectives with local impact, positioning her as a thought leader in mindful leadership, mentorship, social innovation and international executive strategy. In this conversation we catch up on evolving realities around wellness for Africans and in Ghana as well as her experience diversifying the what and how of work, guided by her enduring committment to staying people centered. And much, much more.

Where to find Nana?
https://www.nanaamoakoanin.com/
@ Bliss Yoga Accra
On Glocal Citizens
At CrowdReason

What’s Nana reading?
An African History of Africa: From the Dawn of Humanity to Independence by Zeinab Badawi

Other topics of interest:
The Conjuring of America: Mojos, Mermaids, Medicine, and 400 Years of Black Women’s Magic
The “official” Vicks story
Kemetic Yoga
An African History of Africa on YouTube
On Legalized Cannabis in Ghana
Indigenous vs Colonial Medicine in Ghana
Hamamat Shea Butter Museum
ishowspeed in Ghana
Jill Scott talks with Angie Martinez

Special Guest: Nana Amoako-Anin.

This week, though Black History Month in the Americas is winding down, here on the podcast we’re consistently aiming to learn, grow and inspire our sustained consciouness around #PanAfricanProgress and we’re deep diving with a son of the country that is at the foundation of liberation across the global Black Diaspora - Haiti.

Marc Alain Boucicault is a social entrepreneur and ecosystem builder with over 15 years of experience working in international development and entrepreneurship with the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, at MIT and with grassroots organizations focused on youth empowerment and entrepreneurship. He is passionate about leveraging the power of entrepreneurship, technology and communication to reshape socioeconomic dynamics. As the founder of Banj, Haiti’s largest coworking space and entrepreneurship hub connecting various communities to promote innovation in Haiti and the Caribbean he also supports change-makers globally. Marc Alain extends this work in service on the board of the Haitian Education and Leadership Program (HELP) addressing access to higher education in Haiti. He is a Fulbright scholar, a social media influencer and a fellow podcaster.

Where to find Marc Alain?
On the Executive Talk Podcast
On [LinkedIn](linkedin.com/in/marcalainb)
On Instagram
On Facebook
On YouTube

What’s Marc Alain watching?
Banj 4.0

Other topics of interest:
On Hispaniola and how the Haitian Revolution stirred colonialism
Haiti Tech Summit
Africa Tech Summit - Nairobi
On The Five Stakeholder Model
What’s GDP really all about?
The Assassination of Jovenel Moïse: What happened on July 7, 2021 in Haiti?
The IDB Case Study: Seeking a Recipe to Support Entrepreneurs in a Fragile Country: Banj's Approach through the Mobilization of the Innovation Ecosystem in Haiti
Haitians at Harvard
On Barbados' Inspriational Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley

Special Guest: Marc Alain Boucicault.

This week on the podcast, I was thrilled to have been able to take advantage of the fact that this week’s guest and I were on the same timezone because he’s literally moving and shaking across Africa and the Middle East full time. Since he last joined us in early 2020, Oswald Osaretin Guobadia has stepped into multiple new roles on top of being an entrepreneur. This includes more roles on boards, becoming a published author--his book In Pursuit - Journeys in African Entrepreneurship, chronicles the journeys of two friends whose experiences in America shaped their approach to starting their own businesses in Nigeria; and a tireless champion for African innovation. Today, Oswald is a senior policy advisor and digital strategy leader with over 25 years building infrastructure and shaping transformative policy across Africa. He is Managing Partner at DigitA, where, since 2023 he has guided projects and policy innovations that have created impact in countries across Africa, helping to set the pace for inclusive digital development and entrepreneurial growth. Oswald’s advisory reach includes serving presidential offices, leading government agencies, collaborating with multilateral partners, and forging public–private partnerships to help build resilient infrastructure and regulatory frameworks. As Senior Special Assistant on Digital Transformation to the President of Nigeria, he steered Nigeria’s largest startup policy rollout, including the acclaimed Nigeria Startup Act—widely recognized as a benchmark for digital economies.

He has shared his insights at TEDx, the United Nations General Assembly, BBC Africa, CNBC Africa, and the Wharton Africa Business Forum, and has graced numerous influential panels and stages globally. He believes, “the next startup to impact the world will start in an African village,” and in this conversation you’ll start to understand how this belief is daily practice.

Where to find Oswald?
On Glocal Citizens
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Medium

What’s Oswald reading?
Ths Four by Scott Galloway
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
AI 2041 by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan

Other topics of interest:
About the Benin Kingdom
UNDP Timbuktu Policy Approach
Digitization vs Digitalization
What is Zoho?
On Digital Estonia

Special Guest: Oswald Oseratin Guobadia.

This week’s conversation is a milestone coming to you in two parts. We're 300+1! And my guest is a return voice with serious currency in the public service media and reparatory justice movements. Born in Sierra Leone, Makmid Kamara is a human rights leader, reparatory justice advocate, and development communications practitioner, with almost 20 years’ experience working with national and international development, human rights, and grantmaking organisations in Africa and the United Kingdom. He is the Regional Director for Africa and the Middle East at the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM), where he is leading the organization’s grantmaking efforts to support independent media. He is also the Founder of Reform Initiatives (LBG), an organization working with policymakers, political leaders and affected communities to advance the cause of reparatory justice for historical crimes against Africans and people of African descent. When he last joined us, he was the founding Director of the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF), based in Accra, Ghana. Prior to ATJLF, Makmid worked at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London as (Ag.) Deputy Director of Global Issues and Head of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) Team; he served as interim Country Director for Amnesty International Nigeria and as a West Africa Researcher.

As a Rotarian, a Global Atlantic Fellow and an Obama Foundation Leader - Africa, Makmid seamlessly connects his service mindset with a level of technical expertise and professionalism that inspires and is consistently moving the dial on #PanAfricanProgress.

Where to find Makmid?
On Glocal Citizens
On LinkedIn

What’s Makmid watching?
Manchester United

Other topics of interest:
Freetown, Sierra Leone and Reparatory Justice
East Legon, Accra
About James Deane, co-founder IFPM

About Khadija Patel
Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
About the Nama People and The Landless Peoples Movement in Namibia
The [Wakati Weti Festival](link https://www.wakatiwetufestival.org/WWF2025#/aboutwakatiwetu?lang=en)
African Futures Lab
Deep South Solidarity Fund
Baraza Media Lab

Special Guest: Makmid Kamara.

This week’s conversation is a milestone coming to you in two parts. We're 300+1! And my guest is a return voice with serious currency in the public service media and reparatory justice movements. Born in Sierra Leone, Makmid Kamara is a human rights leader, reparatory justice advocate, and development communications practitioner, with almost 20 years’ experience working with national and international development, human rights, and grantmaking organisations in Africa and the United Kingdom. He is the Regional Director for Africa and the Middle East at the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM), where he is leading the organization’s grantmaking efforts to support independent media. He is also the Founder of Reform Initiatives (LBG), an organization working with policymakers, political leaders and affected communities to advance the cause of reparatory justice for historical crimes against Africans and people of African descent. When he last joined us, he was the founding Director of the Africa Transitional Justice Legacy Fund (ATJLF), based in Accra, Ghana. Prior to ATJLF, Makmid worked at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International in London as (Ag.) Deputy Director of Global Issues and Head of the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) Team; he served as interim Country Director for Amnesty International Nigeria and as a West Africa Researcher.

As a Rotarian, a Global Atlantic Fellow and an Obama Foundation Leader - Africa, Makmid seamlessly connects his service mindset with a level of technical expertise and professionalism that inspires and is consistently moving the dial on #PanAfricanProgress.

Where to find Makmid?
On Glocal Citizens
On LinkedIn

What’s Makmid watching?
Manchester United

Other topics of interest:
Freetown, Sierra Leone and Reparatory Justice
East Legon, Accra
About James Deane, co-founder IFPM

About Khadija Patel
Maria Ressa, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
About the Nama People and The Landless Peoples Movement in Namibia
The [Wakati Weti Festival](link https://www.wakatiwetufestival.org/WWF2025#/aboutwakatiwetu?lang=en)
African Futures Lab
Deep South Solidarity Fund
Baraza Media Lab

Special Guest: Makmid Kamara.

I met this week’s guest, Derrick N. Ashong, earlier this year in Nairobi at the Charter Cities Institute, 2025 New Cities Summit. At the summit, we connected as storytellers that share Ghanaian heritage and formative years spent in Brooklyn, New York. In a glocal citizenship twist, we later came to find that we met virtually years prior through mutual connections in the media and arts spaces. Derrick’s work leverages his international upbringing which informs his company’s vision for Turning Culture into Currency for creators and fans worldwide. He does this as founder and CEO of TBTM, a media fintech that uses content to onboard global audiences to inclusive financial solutions, with partners like Mastercard. While still a student at Harvard, he played a supporting role in Steven Spielberg’s Amistad, and went on to top charts with his band, winning a Billboard Songwriting Award. As a host and producer, he pioneered multi-platform interactive content with Oprah Winfrey, and major media platforms including ABC-Disney and Univision, earning three Emmy nods and a Royal Television Society Award. His original Take Back the Mic television series has won seven major international awards and achieved 1.1 Billion media impressions worldwide. He has delivered electrifying speeches on issues of Youth Culture and Tech for UK Parliament, the United Nations, and the world’s most elite business schools, including Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Wharton, Cambridge and London School of Economics. He has interviewed celebrities and global luminaries ranging from Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Kofi Annan, to Zoe Saldaña, Kevin Hart and Steven Wozniak, among others. Most recently, he has delivered keynote speeches for Mastercard, Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and Kigali, as well as SuperReturn Africa--the continent’s top investment forum. In this conversation we get to know even more about the next phase of Derrick’s vision for flipping the script on creative industry infrastructure in Africa. #Listenandlearn more!

Where to find Derrick?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On YouTube

What’s Derrick reading?
Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Series
Lord of the Rings by J.J.R Tolkien

Other topics of interest:
About Larteh in Ghana
Where are Dansoman and Adabraka in Accra?
What was music streaming like in the early 2000’s?
Soulfege performs Sweet Remix
About Uechi-Ryū Martial Arts

Special Guest: Derrick N. Ashong.

I met this week’s guest Patricia Lokwa Servant last November in Accra at a Forge: Harnessing Creative Arts for Reparatory Justice. The convening turned out to be a mini Glocal Citizens summit for us Accra-based peeps lead by Makmid Kamara in his new role leading Reform Initiatives, with Esther Armah and Nyamal Tutdeal participating as facilitators and storytellers Emmanual Etim and Brigitte Perenyi also took part. The program was designed to strengthen the reparations movement by fostering solidarity among artists, cultural workers, civil society, and government leaders across the African diaspora and I can say that as a group we gained much and continue to make progress amongst ourselves. This is indeed indicative of this conversation with Patricia, a program strategist, storyteller, and cultural organizer born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is the Founder of http://CongoLove.org , Co-Founder of the Andrée Blouin Cultural Center in Kinshasa, and a Development Consultant with Friends of the Congo. Her work centers African knowledge, community resilience, and youth leadership across the continent and the global diaspora.

For more than a decade, she has designed and led multi-country initiatives strengthening institutions, expanding equity, and building pathways for collective empowerment. She has supported regional movements with Africans Rising, helped shape global narrative and education ecosystems with Farafina: The Black Link, and advanced gender-responsive learning programs with the African Women Development Fund.

Patricia currently serves as Fundraising and Partnerships Lead for SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College in Ghana, where she strengthens donor systems and cultivates cross-border collaborations with aims of supporting young African students. She is also the former host of the radio show Congo Live, where she amplified stories of Congolese culture, history, and global engagement.

Patricia’s work bridges generations and geographies. She remains committed to building systems that honor African memory, uplift community wisdom, and support young people to lead with purpose and dignity. With Pan-Africanism at the heart of her life’s work, Patricia is making her mark as an architect of our collective #panafricanprogress mission!

Where to find Patricia?
CongoLove.org
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Patricia listening to?
Lucky Dube

Other topics of interest:
About the Civil War in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1993
About Congolese Activist Kambale Musuvili
Maurice Carney, Executive Director of Friends of Congo in his own words
On (Pan)-African Feminism
Kongo: Power and Majesty at the MET and thoughts from curator, Alisa LaGamma
About Dossier No. 77
About Ernest Wamba dia Wamba
USA for Africa + Marcia Thomas
About Emira Woods
About Coumba Toure
About Hakima Abbas and the Black Feminist Fund
About Filmmaker Thalia Mavros

Special Guest: Patricia Lokwa Servant.

I met this week’s guest Patricia Lokwa Servant last November in Accra at a Forge: Harnessing Creative Arts for Reparatory Justice. The convening turned out to be a mini Glocal Citizens summit for us Accra-based peeps lead by Makmid Kamara in his new role leading Reform Initiatives, with Esther Armah and Nyamal Tutdeal participating as facilitators and storytellers Emmanual Etim and Brigitte Perenyi also took part. The program was designed to strengthen the reparations movement by fostering solidarity among artists, cultural workers, civil society, and government leaders across the African diaspora and I can say that as a group we gained much and continue to make progress amongst ourselves. This is indeed indicative of this conversation with Patricia, a program strategist, storyteller, and cultural organizer born in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She is the Founder of http://CongoLove.org , Co-Founder of the Andrée Blouin Cultural Center in Kinshasa, and a Development Consultant with Friends of the Congo. Her work centers African knowledge, community resilience, and youth leadership across the continent and the global diaspora.

For more than a decade, she has designed and led multi-country initiatives strengthening institutions, expanding equity, and building pathways for collective empowerment. She has supported regional movements with Africans Rising, helped shape global narrative and education ecosystems with Farafina: The Black Link, and advanced gender-responsive learning programs with the African Women Development Fund.

Patricia currently serves as Fundraising and Partnerships Lead for SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College in Ghana, where she strengthens donor systems and cultivates cross-border collaborations with aims of supporting young African students. She is also the former host of the radio show Congo Live, where she amplified stories of Congolese culture, history, and global engagement.

Patricia’s work bridges generations and geographies. She remains committed to building systems that honor African memory, uplift community wisdom, and support young people to lead with purpose and dignity. With Pan-Africanism at the heart of her life’s work, Patricia is making her mark as an architect of our collective #panafricanprogress mission!

Where to find Patricia?
CongoLove.org
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Patricia listening to?
Lucky Dube

Other topics of interest:
About the Civil War in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1993
About Congolese Activist Kambale Musuvili
Maurice Carney, Executive Director of Friends of Congo in his own words
On (Pan)-African Feminism
Kongo: Power and Majesty at the MET and thoughts from curator, Alisa LaGamma
About Dossier No. 77
About Ernest Wamba dia Wamba
USA for Africa + Marcia Thomas
About Emira Woods
About Coumba Toure
About Hakima Abbas and the Black Feminist Fund
About Filmmaker Thalia Mavros

Special Guest: Patricia Lokwa Servant.

As part of my thought gathering and as five years of storytelling with dynamic diasporans becomes six, this week's compilation is a reflection on visionary entrepreneurs doing essential work improving food systems, as stewards of earth’s abundant resources, and by building and delivering value to communities. Each of these guests - Luther Lawoyin, founder and CEO of Pricepally in Nigeria; Nana Opoku Ageyman-Prempeh, CEO of Grow For Me in Ghana; Wellington Baiden, CEO of Portal Forest Estates also in Ghana; and Asmeret Berhe-Lumax, founder of the One Love Community Fridge Project in the US, engages daily with the realities of the global challenges we are all facing - the availability and access to affordable, quality food; improving the livelihoods of those that deliver that food; and planning the land for the long haul.

The great thing about each of their entgerprises is that they are all growing and going strong with mission critical works, AND you can help ensure their continued success with your time, investment and/or donations.

Revist the full episodes with links to how to engage with each guest here:
A Revolution of Solutions with Luther Lawoyin
Crowdfunding African Agribusiness with Nana Opoku Ageyman-Prempeh
Portal into Agro-Forestry with Wellington Baiden
Connecting Communities with Asmeret Berhe-Lumax

Special Guests: Asmeret Berhe-Lumax, Luther Lawoyin, Nana Opuku Agyeman-Prempeh, and Wellington Baiden.

We’re talking about the business of teaching and learning from a design thinking perspective with my guest, fellow Stanford University alum, visionary educational leader and the founder and CEO of Roundtrip Ticket Home, an organization dedicated to helping educators reimagine school systems through design thinking, Kalimah Fergus Ayele. With almost 30 years of experience in education, her journey began as a Peace Corps Volunteer, teaching Chemistry in East Africa. Her career has spanned five countries, enriching her global perspective on learning, and bringing a deep understanding of urban educational landscapes to her transformative work.

Most recently, she served as the Head of NYC Campus for The Winchendon School where she led an innovative educational oasis in Manhattan, guiding high school students through real-world learning and a unique city-wide field study program designed to connect them with their passions. In this conversation we truly experience the roundtrip journey of a little girl growing up in Brooklyn and St. Croix, building on Pan-African rooting from an early age, who manifested her new and now as a global citizen ready for her next adventure.

Where to find Kalimah?
@roundtrip Ticket Home
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Kalimah reading?
All the Way to the River by Eizabeth Gilbert

What’s Kalimah watching?
aka Charlie Sheen on Netflix
Orgasm Inc: The Story of One Taste on Netflix

Other topics of Interest:
About St. Croix
Sleepy Hollow, New York
About the United States Peace Corps
About Brooklyn’s African Street Fair and International African Arts Festival
Courageous Conversation + Glenn Singleton
About the American University in Cairo
On Montessori Education
On Friends or Quaker Schools

Special Guest: Kalimah Fergus Ayele.

In case you missed us last week there’s good reason. My glocal speak for the week was #UNGA80. The streets and sounds of NYC all pointed to the United Nations General Assembly and myriad sideline events. My week was about all thing #PanAfricanProgress and I look forward to sharing stories from the ground in the coming months. One thing is for sure, the giant that is Africa is awake with millions of youth and experienced diasporans ready to keep all of our eyes wide open.

Much of that story is alive and well in my guest this week. Myra Dunoyer Vahighene is a storyteller, creative entrepreneur, and founder of Eleza Masolo, a cultural platform born on YouTube in 2020 and officially launched in 2022 to amplify African voices through storytelling, fashion, and visual arts. She authored Nyuma, the Thirsty Fish, a children's book tackling water justice in Africa, and regularly speaks across the continent — from Abidjan to Nairobi — about youth empowerment, branding, and narrative sovereignty. A Harvard-trained cultural leader, Myra blends Afro fashion, social storytelling, and entrepreneurship to inspire the new generation of African creators across borders.

We meet in Nairobi at the New Cities Summit in June of this year where our common passion for elevating storytelling targeting African children forged our connection. Her most recent literary work Ceux qu’on ne sauvera pas (The Ones We Couldn’t Save), published on August 10, 2025 is a powerful book blending real-life testimonies, allegory, and prophetic narrative to recount thirty years of war and suffering in her homeland, the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Through this work is a moving tribute and a lasting call to remember the forgotten victims of ongoing conflict.

Where to find Myra?
Eleza Masolo
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On YouTube

Who is Myra listening to?
Slimane

Other topics of interest:
Congo, Kinshasa
What’s happening in Goma?
Kivu and the ongoig conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo
The Great Congo River
About DRC’s many ethnic groups
What is an ISBN
France’s AFNIL platform
Teraanga
Lâche and Faiblesse in English
About The First Pyramid of King Djoser

Special Guest: Myra Dunoyer Vahighene .

This week’s guest, Tina Mbachu Obodozie first joined me in conversation in 2021, thanks fo the #BWiD Connect Whatsapp group. Since our first chat, she has shifted to a bi-continental lifestyle, based mostly in Nigeria as the new Exectuive Director of the Innovate Africa Foundation, while also managing her business activities in Canada. As a business and sustainable development expert specializing in business design, social impact assessment, and strategy development, her cross-sector career includes technology, natural resources, and the creative economy, where she has led teams, formed partnerships, and built development programs and incubators supporting market-creating innovations. Tina has worked with organizations like DMZ-a Toronto-based tech incubator and global startup ecosystem as well as Plan Canada, securing millions in funding and driving social and economic change. A recognized thought leader and ecosystem builder, she was named The Peak Emerging Leader 2024 in the Entrepreneurship category.

Where to find Tina?
@catalyst Venture
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Tina reading?
Conjure Women by Afia Atakora

Other topics of interest:
About World Product Day
What is Product Development all about?
More about Innovate Africa Foundation founder, Christian Idiodi
What is a susu?

Special Guest: Tina Mbachu Obodozie.

This week’s guest is another Glocal Citizens connection. In spring 2024, Amma Gyampo reached out to me me about connecting me with a like mind in education. That was the beginning of ongoing conversations with Laureen “Laury” Adams. With over 20 years of experience spanning both international and U.S. contexts as a classroom teacher, school leader, coach, designer, and professor, Dr. Laury possesses a unique skill set. This includes shaping innovative curricula, effectively supporting learning communities of all sizes, and coaching leaders to drive impactful change. Her design background informs her expertise in project-based learning approaches, performance assessment, and liberatory praxis. She collaborates with schools and education organizations to design critical, responsive, and loving curricula, assessments, and professional learning opportunities. Laureen is the founder and Executive Director of the Tutu Institute of Education for Liberation. As well as Senior Director of Professional Learning at ASCD Ghana.

Among her other roles on boards and consulting she is a Research Fellow and Adjunct Professor at Claremont Graduate University. She recently co-authored This Teachable Moment: Engaging Our Kids in the Joy of Learning to support parents and caregivers with providing project-based learning experiences at home. Download your free copy and #listenandlearn more about Laury’s work in session at SXSW EDU 2025.

Today, July 1st, Ghana marks its 65th Republic Day. Our conversation speaks to many of the themes we continue to work to realize as the country sheds its colonial character as a sovereign, free republic with Ghanaians leading and steering our social and economic destiny.

Where to find Laury?
https://www.liberatorylove.com/
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Laury reading?
One Day, Everyone Will Have Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
Finding Your Leadership Soul by Carlos R. Moreno

What’s Laury watching?
Forever, a new series

Other topics of interest:
About Long Beach, California
NYC Teaching Fellows Program
Envsion Academy Charter School
Teach for America
Sponsors for Educational Opportunities
'Love” in Twi

Special Guest: Laureen Adams.

As is our tradition, this month is all about herstories. Kicking it off is fellow Stanford Cardinal and return guest, Stacy Kirk. Stacy has over 15 years of experience helping organizations and entrepreneurs achieve their visions through technology and process optimization. She specializes in strategies that drive sustainable growth and scalability, with a passion for supporting diverse, small businesses. Stacy excels at turning visionary ideas into practical solutions, enabling success for her clients. Her dedication to innovation and inclusion continues to make a lasting impact in the business world. As the founder of QualityWorks, she empowers visionary entrepreneurs to achieve their go-to-market goals through technology, AI, and an iterative release process. Continuing to expand on her tech activism Stacy is increasingly dedicating her craft to social impact and human progress for all. She recently teamed up with another fellow Stanford Alum, Dr. Anndretta Lyle as co-founder of Thrive Culture Box which is all about empowering families and educators to change the ways that we are building knowledge in Black communities.

Where to find Stacy?
@posture
@Quality Works Consulting Group
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Stacy Reading?
Life Is a Comeback : 299 Inspiring Success Stories of Redemption, Determination, Second Chances, Forgiveness, and the Amazing Force of the Human Spirit by Daron “Dr. Comeback” Fordham

Other topics of interest:
Thrive Culture Box in Black Enterprise
Black Arts Camp
The Bionic Woman Series

Special Guest: Stacy Kirk.

This week on the podcast, our first guest, Cordie Aziz is back with fresh insights from her work and life changes since our first conversation. Cordie, now a mother of three is Founder and Executive Director of Enviornment360 an NGO turned social enterprise that has successfully executed sustainable waste management projects in urban and coastal communities in Greater Accra and Kumasi. Cordie’s achievements include creating of the first successful community plastic collection program in Accra; developing the first waste picker-run sorting center in West Africa; and successfully partnering with local and national agencies as the recycling coordinator for the city of Accra, to name a few. We recorded this conversation during the ramp up to their 10th anniversary celebration at their new headquarters. In this conversation, we catch up on how Cordie is designing her work-life balance with purpose, allowing her to continue to evolve as an entreprenuer while staying rooted in her new role as a working mother.

Where to find Cordie?
Check out the show notes from her first appearance.

Other topics of interest:
Jackson State University
GhScientific
About Australian Aid
What is Verra?

Special Guest: Cordie Aziz.

Sasheen has worked with such newsmakers and celebrities as President Barack Obama, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, actor/director Robert Duvall, singer/songwriter Annie Lennox and director Jonathan Demme. Her latest film, Birthing Justice, addressing Black maternal health outcomes, debuted at the Congressional Black Caucus, screened for 200 countries at the United Nations and is used as a continuing education course by the American Medical Association. It currently airs on PBS.
She is also dedicated to service as a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Producers Guild of America, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and serves on the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation Digital Media Entertainment Advisory Council.

Be sure to spread the word via the links below about her upcoming inaugural Plenty of Pie Talent Incubator Cohort - Deadline is April 30th.

Where to find Sasheen?
www.plentyofpie.net
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Sasheen watching?
Maigret
Blood of the Vine
Nordic Thrillers

Other topics of interest:
About CUNY - aka City College in Harlem
Hankcock Park, Los Angeles
Silver Lake, Los Angeles
Los Feliz, Los Angeles
Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles
Ted Milner’s Executive Temps
About Blockbuster
What are lenticulars?
About The Division
The Tavis Smiley Show
About Aerospace Engineer, Hal Walker
Prentice Penny
Sasheen’s Emmy-winning episodes of Lost L.A. - Three Views of Manzanar and Discovering the Universe
The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act
About fellow Stanford Alum and basketball standout Darren Allaway
Color Congress

Sasheen has worked with such newsmakers and celebrities as President Barack Obama, Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, actor/director Robert Duvall, singer/songwriter Annie Lennox and director Jonathan Demme. Her latest film, Birthing Justice, addressing Black maternal health outcomes, debuted at the Congressional Black Caucus, screened for 200 countries at the United Nations and is used as a continuing education course by the American Medical Association. It currently airs on PBS.
She is also dedicated to service as a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the Producers Guild of America, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and serves on the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation Digital Media Entertainment Advisory Council.

Be sure to spread the word via the links below about her upcoming inaugural Plenty of Pie Talent Incubator Cohort - Deadline is April 30th.

Where to find Sasheen?
[plentyofpie.net](www.plentyofpie.net/demystify-entertainment)
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Sasheen watching?
Maigret
Blood of the Vine
Nordic Thrillers

Other topics of interest:
About CUNY - aka City College in Harlem
Hankcock Park, Los Angeles
Silver Lake, Los Angeles
Los Feliz, Los Angeles
Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles
Ted Milner’s Executive Temps
About Blockbuster
What are lenticulars?
About The Division
The Tavis Smiley Show
About Aerospace Engineer, Hal Walker
Prentice Penny
Sasheen’s Emmy-winning episodes of Lost L.A. - Three Views of Manzanar and Discovering the Universe
[The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act](lin https://tcf.org/content/data/black-maternal-health-momnibus-tracker/)
About fellow Stanford Alum and basketball standout Darren Allaway
Color Congress

Special Guest: Sasheen Artis.

As you listen to this week’s episode you may catch a hint of showers as part of the sound track for this conversation with long-time collaborator, Takoradi, Ghana’s own Francis Brown. As the saying goes, showers bring flowers and in this two-part conversation we’re definitely cultivating a bouquet of beauty and insights.
Francis is one of the first professionals that I worked with when I arrived in Ghana; at that times he was a student at Ghana’s National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI). Since then, his career has flourished as founder and creative director of AnimaxFYB Studios in Ghana. He is an award-winning filmmaker trained in a number of different cinematic mediums, and has over ten years experience in the audio-visual industry. He is a member of the International Academy of Arts and Sciences (EMMY), a Jury at MIPCOM in Cannes and a frequent speaker on different film and television forums around the world. He was shortlisted for the 42nd Student Academy Awards (Oscars), won Best Animation Film at the Africa International Film Festival 2016 (AFFRIF), Best Creative Artist 2017 at the Black British Entertainment Awards, animator of the year at the 2017 Ghana UK Based Awards (GUBA) and also Best Animation at the 2018 Ghana Movie Awards. In 2019, face2face Africa named him one of the five African animators who can give their Hollywood counterparts a run for the money. In 2021, his short 3D animated film ‘ROOM 5’ was nominated at Annecy International Animation Film Festival making him the only West African director to be nominated for the year and one of four films from Africa. He is a regular feature at Meta Cinema Forum, the largest Africa and Middle East film and cinema convention. He is also a planning committee member and artistic director of the Afrotino music festival where Latino and African performers will be meeting in a series of cross-country concerts in Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and Mexico.

Where to find Francis?
animaxfybstudios.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On YouTube

What’s Francis watching?
Afro Samurai
The Boondocks
Tales of the Black Freighter and Watchmen
SWAT Kats
Jonny Quest

Other topics of interest:
About Takoradi, Ghana
Watch Mmofra!
Koliko Animation Academy
How to use “Omo”
About DCI theaters
iRokoTV
ShowMax
Cinema in Ghana

Special Guest: Francis Y. Brown.

As you listen to this week’s episode you may catch a hint of showers as part of the sound track for this conversation with long-time collaborator, Takoradi, Ghana’s own Francis Brown. As the saying goes, showers bring flowers and in this two-part conversation we’re definitely cultivating a bouquet of beauty and insights.
Francis is one of the first professionals that I worked with when I arrived in Ghana; at that times he was a student at Ghana’s National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI). Since then, his career has flourished as founder and creative director of AnimaxFYB Studios in Ghana. He is an award-winning filmmaker trained in a number of different cinematic mediums, and has over ten years experience in the audio-visual industry. He is a member of the International Academy of Arts and Sciences (EMMY), a Jury at MIPCOM in Cannes and a frequent speaker on different film and television forums around the world. He was shortlisted for the 42nd Student Academy Awards (Oscars), won Best Animation Film at the Africa International Film Festival 2016 (AFFRIF), Best Creative Artist 2017 at the Black British Entertainment Awards, animator of the year at the 2017 Ghana UK Based Awards (GUBA) and also Best Animation at the 2018 Ghana Movie Awards. In 2019, face2face Africa named him one of the five African animators who can give their Hollywood counterparts a run for the money. In 2021, his short 3D animated film ‘ROOM 5’ was nominated at Annecy International Animation Film Festival making him the only West African director to be nominated for the year and one of four films from Africa. He is a regular feature at Meta Cinema Forum, the largest Africa and Middle East film and cinema convention. He is also a planning committee member and artistic director of the Afrotino music festival where Latino and African performers will be meeting in a series of cross-country concerts in Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and Mexico.

Where to find Francis?
animaxfybstudios.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On YouTube

What’s Francis watching?
Afro Samurai
The Boondocks
Tales of the Black Freighter and Watchmen
SWAT Kats
Jonny Quest

Other topics of interest:
About Takoradi, Ghana
Watch Mmofra!
Koliko Animation Academy
How to use “Omo”
About DCI theaters
iRokoTV
ShowMax
Cinema in Ghana

Special Guest: Francis Y. Brown.

For this week’s episode I found myself in a hidden gem of a community in East London with a not so hidden gem in the European investment space, Eric Collins. Eric, born an raised in the southern United States, has called London home for the nearly 10 years. He is a serial entrepreneur, investor, technology executive and host of Channel 4 business show, The Money Maker, which is based on the highly successful US show The Profit on CNBC.

Eric has spent much of his career building the value of digital companies through innovative strategies at public and private companies including AOL, TimeWarner, Tegic/Nuance Communications, MobilePosse, SwiftKey/Microsoft and most recently, Touch Surgery, where he was COO. He sits on the boards of companies in San Francisco and London, including Tech Nation.

In 2011, President Obama, a fellow Harvard Law School classmate, appointed him to the Small Business Administration’s Council on Underserved Communities.

Eric is also a brand ambassador for luxury car manufacturer, Audi, and the youth charity The Prince’s Trust.

In 2018, The Financial Times named him among the UK’s top 100 BAME leaders in technology. Since 2019, he has been voted one of the most influential Black people in Britain on The Powerlist.

In his award-winning book, We Don’t Need Permission: How Black Business Can Change Our World (Penguin), Eric argues investing in Black and underrepresented entrepreneurs is the surest, fastest socio-economic game changer there is. And with his work as a Founder and CEO of Impact X Capital we believe him!

Where to find Eric?
www.impactxcapital.com
On LinkedIn
On X
On Instagram

What’s Eric reading?
J. Califoria Cooper

What’s Eric watching?
Purlie Victorious
The Lehman Trilogy

Other topics of interest:
Revisit fellow Glocal Citizen Natasha Moore
Greensboro, North Carolina
Tuskegee University
Bennett College
North Carolina A&T State University
On Charles Blow’s The Devil You Know
Roger Fisher’s Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving
On the Black Power Movement
About the inaugural SBA Council on Underserved Communities and Chair, Cathy Hughes
Audra McDonald & Brian Stokes Mitchell Perform 'Wheels of a Dream' From RAGTIME
First Black Mayor of Charlotte Harvey Gantt
Former Governor of Virgina Douglas Wilder
GiveBLACK
About Ric Lewis
No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency
About Marshmallow

Special Guest: Eric Collins.

Did you miss us? We missed you! September threw me for a bit of a loop with travel and wifi access which resulted in a brief break. My travels took me on a Northern Lights adventure through remote Alaska where we actually experienced the North Pole! Then it was a return to summer in the southern U.S. with a grounding trip to Atlanta, Georgia.

I’m back in NYC for this two-part episode and taking a stroll down a few Brooklyn memory lanes with my guest, Ky Adderley is a leadership and education expert, mentor, super connector; and networking guru, a persistent link between people and their dreams. He has conducted school reviews and training for teachers and principals on three continents – North America, South America, and Africa – working to increase the number of quality schools and leaders available to low-income children worldwide. He has been a leader in the education sector for 20 years, and has more recently pivoted in the direction of sports management. Coming from a family known for professional athletes he is no stranger to sports and operations. He was an All-American high school and collegiate runner at Georgetown University going on to run as an Olympic hopeful before hanging up his spikes to focus on giving back to the communities that raised him. Also an advocate for social justice education, he has been nicknamed by some: “Know Justice, Know Peace.” Ky has recently taken on a new role as Vice President of Maven Sports Group. We know this too will be a smashing success for Ky--Congratulations!!

Where to find Ky?
www.kyadderley.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On X

What’s Ky reading?
The Art of War by Sun Zu
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford
The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P. Moran, Michael Lennington

Other topics of interest:
Germantown, Pennsylvania
Mount Airy, Pennsylvania
Frank Gagliano
Ganas! meaning
Teach for America
KIPP and David Levin
Kung Fu Theater
Capoeira
Cannonball Adderley
Professional Football Hall of Fame Cornerback Herb Adderley
Nasifr Adderley
About Cash Money Records
Father Raymong Kemp
About Ky's work with Danielle Fazio
About Match Fit Academy

Special Guest: Ky Adderley.

Did you miss us? We missed you! September threw me for a bit of a loop with travel and wifi access which resulted in a brief break. My travels took me on a Northern Lights adventure through remote Alaska where we actually experienced the North Pole! Then it was a return to summer in the southern U.S. with a grounding trip to Atlanta, Georgia.

I’m back in NYC for this two-part episode and taking a stroll down a few Brooklyn memory lanes with my guest, Ky Adderley is a leadership and education expert, mentor, super connector; and networking guru, a persistent link between people and their dreams. He has conducted school reviews and training for teachers and principals on three continents – North America, South America, and Africa – working to increase the number of quality schools and leaders available to low-income children worldwide. He has been a leader in the education sector for 20 years, and has more recently pivoted in the direction of sports management. Coming from a family known for professional athletes he is no stranger to sports and operations. He was an All-American high school and collegiate runner at Georgetown University going on to run as an Olympic hopeful before hanging up his spikes to focus on giving back to the communities that raised him. Also an advocate for social justice education, he has been nicknamed by some: “Know Justice, Know Peace.” Ky has recently taken on a new role as Vice President of Maven Sports Group. We know this too will be a smashing success for Ky--Congratulations!!

Where to find Ky?
www.kyadderley.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On X

What’s Ky reading?
The Art of War by Sun Zu
Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford
The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months by Brian P. Moran, Michael Lennington

Other topics of interest:
Germantown, Pennsylvania
Mount Airy, Pennsylvania
Frank Gagliano
Ganas! meaning
Teach for America
KIPP and David Levin
Kung Fu Theater
Capoeira
Cannonball Adderley
Professional Football Hall of Fame Cornerback Herb Adderley
Nasifr Adderley
About Cash Money Records
Father Raymong Kemp
About Ky's work with Danielle Fazio
About Match Fit Academy

Special Guest: Ky Adderley.

This week on the podcast we have another two-part conversation, with one of Ghana’s foremost creative culture practitioners. Aseye Tamakloe is a filmmaker and lecturer at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) and a PhD candidate at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana Legon - both in Accra. She has worked as editor, director and producer on a number of local and international productions. As a freelance editor, her works include, award-winning films such as Perfect Picture, by Shirley Frimpong–Manso, Chronicles of Odumkrom:The Headmaster, by Ernest Kofi Abbeyquaye, Who is Afraid of Ngugi by Malian filmmaker, Manthia Diawara, and Freetown by US filmmaker, Garret Barty. She is a co-programmer for the Film Africa Festival, London’s biggest celebration of African and African diaspora cinema presented by the Royal African Society. She was also the Festival Manager and Director of the European Film Festival, Ghana. (EUFFGH). She is the founder and festival director of Ndiva Women’s Film Festival which aims to create artistic platforms for the presentation and preservation of work by, for and about women. And, most recently she is director and editor of the documentary film When Women Speak.

Keep reading for a wealth of further insights into topics discussed during our conversation. I learned so much about African cinema history and present, and I have a feeling from this session with this Glocal Citizen, you will too!

Where to find Aseye?
When Women Speak Film
On [LinkedIn](linkedin.com/in/aseye-tamakloe-28729a2a)
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Twitter
On YouTube

Who is Aseye reading?
Paulo Coelho
Ama Ata Aidoo
[Kofi Awoonor]((https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofi_Awoonor "smartCard-inline")
Leila Aboulela
Okyeame Literary Magazine
Toni Morrison
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Who is Aseye listening to?
Culture
Amakye Dede
Opera Greats

Other topics of interest:
Film, Form and Culture by Robert Kolker
Alice Guy-Blaché
D.W. Griffith
Mr. Mensah Builds a House
The Boy Kumasenu
GFIC - Ghana Film Industry Corporation
1966 Coup d’Etat in Ghana
Hamile: The Tongo Hamlet
I Told You So
Five Fingers for Marseilles
Ghana Academy of Film and Television Arts
Fescpaco
Black Star International Film Festival
NCWD in action
Gen Z (Zoomers) vs Millennials
Abantu Ghana
About Desiderata Poem

Special Guest: Aseye Tamakloe.

This week on the podcast we have another two-part conversation, with one of Ghana’s foremost creative culture practitioners. Aseye Tamakloe is a filmmaker and lecturer at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) and a PhD candidate at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana Legon - both in Accra. She has worked as editor, director and producer on a number of local and international productions. As a freelance editor, her works include, award-winning films such as Perfect Picture, by Shirley Frimpong–Manso, Chronicles of Odumkrom:The Headmaster, by Ernest Kofi Abbeyquaye, Who is Afraid of Ngugi by Malian filmmaker, Manthia Diawara, and Freetown by US filmmaker, Garret Barty. She is a co-programmer for the Film Africa Festival, London’s biggest celebration of African and African diaspora cinema presented by the Royal African Society. She was also the Festival Manager and Director of the European Film Festival, Ghana. (EUFFGH). She is the founder and festival director of Ndiva Women’s Film Festival which aims to create artistic platforms for the presentation and preservation of work by, for and about women. And, most recently she is director and editor of the documentary film When Women Speak.

Keep reading for a wealth of further insights into topics discussed during our conversation. I learned so much about African cinema history and present, and I have a feeling from this session with this Glocal Citizen, you will too!

Where to find Aseye?
When Women Speak Film
On [LinkedIn](linkedin.com/in/aseye-tamakloe-28729a2a)
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Twitter
On YouTube

Who is Aseye reading?
Paulo Coelho
Ama Ata Aidoo
[Kofi Awoonor]((https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kofi_Awoonor "smartCard-inline")
Leila Aboulela
Okyeame Literary Magazine
Toni Morrison
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Who is Aseye listening to?
Culture
Amakye Dede
Opera Greats

Other topics of interest:
Film, Form and Culture by Robert Kolker
Alice Guy-Blaché
D.W. Griffith
Mr. Mensah Builds a House
The Boy Kumasenu
GFIC - Ghana Film Industry Corporation
1966 Coup d’Etat in Ghana
Hamile: The Tongo Hamlet
I Told You So
Five Fingers for Marseilles
Ghana Academy of Film and Television Arts
Fescpaco
Black Star International Film Festival
NCWD in action
Gen Z (Zoomers) vs Millennials
Abantu Ghana
About Desiderata Poem

Special Guest: Aseye Tamakloe.

Listen in to find out more about how Asmeret is manifesting a new world view on food, beauty and civic engagement.

Where to find Asmeret?
www.onelovecommunityfridge.com](https://www.onelovecommunityfridge.org)
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What's Asmeret reading?
The New York Times
The New Yorker
The Atlantic

Other topics of interest:
Fort Greene Park
Flashback to Glocal Citizen Nana Eyeson-Akiwowo's Episodes
The Campaign Against Hunger
Ami Cole
54 Thrones
Rosen Skincare
Nike Air Pegasus History

Special Guest: Asmeret Berhe-Lumax.

Fully committed in her passion for public service, Daisry is also Founder & Director, Oyayone Foundation which works with and for under-resourced single mothers in Namibia to break the cycle of poverty by addressing basic needs and tackling asset poverty toward achieving social mobility. The Foundation is “Building an enduring inheritance for our children’s children” by facilitating the ownership and management of economic assets by more Namibian women.

Trust me when I say that this is a conversation that will inform, inspire and activate your spirit to connect with the Pan-African movements that are manifesting a new world!

Where to find Daisry?
www.daisrymathias.com
On LinkedIn
On Twitter
On YouTube

What's Dairsy reading?
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born by Ayi Kwei Armah

Other topics of interest:
Namibian Languages
AAA School of Advertising
Team Namibia
About the African Peer Review Mechanism Symposium
Green Hydrogen Namibia
Visit Swakopmund

Special Guest: Daisry Obal.