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.

I met this week’s guest, Nana Asomani-Poku in Jamestown, Accra during a walking tour through featuring stories told in images by Glocal Citizen, James Barnor. It was during the James Barnor @‌95 celebration in 2024. Nana, a UK-born Ghanaian legal professional, filmmaker, and community engagement specialist based in Australia was back in Ghana for a family celebration of his own. As we chatted along the route, he mentioned his work centering social impact in Australia and my curiosity was peaked. What you’ll learn in this conversation spans how he began his career as a legal advocate for asylum seekers and refugees with the UK’s largest not-for-profit immigration law firm to community and stakeholder engagement, building bridges between public sector organisations and marginalised communities in Australia. Alongside his human rights work, he pursued his passion for filmmaking, training at the New York Film Academy and going on to make his first feature film, Drawn.

Let’s travel with Nana, to get to know more about his land down under and other stops across the globe.

Where to find Nana?
On IMDB
On Instagram

What’s Nana listening to?
Whitney Houston, Al Green, The Jacksons, to name a few.

Other topics of interest:
Visit Porkyto's in Osu, Accra
Correction about the Aquarius sun sign, an air sign not a water sign
About Leytonstone and The Bow Bells
Lifestyle in Perth vs Melbourne
Sokoto, Nigeria
Ombudsman Services in Australia
About the film, The Dish
Yoga Nidra + Sankalpa
How many countries are there across the planet?

Special Guest: Nana Asomani-Poku.

My guest this week is building the financial infrastructure that Africa deserves. As Chief Operating Officer of KoinKoin and CEO + Country Manager of KoinKoin Ghana Ltd, a leading African digital asset exchange, Mimi Kufuor is creating digital assets solutions that work for real people. She comes to this work after spending 15 years navigating the most complex corners of institutional finance - from regulatory programmes at Bank of America and Barclays to compliance frameworks at Meta, working alongside the European Central Bank and managing initiatives worth £10m+. In that span, she learned how money actually moves, how regulators operate, and how to build systems that can scale with integrity. She continues working with companies navigating African markets, building compliant exchange operations, or trying to understand how digital assets can solve actual problems.

Recognized as one of Africa’s “Top Fintech Voices,” she has shaped policy discourse at UK Parliamentary Summits, Financial Times Live events, and African Fintech Summits. Mimi champions financial inclusion, women’s leadership in fintech, and regulatory frameworks that position Africa as a pioneer in the global digital economy, building infrastructure that empowers individuals and businesses to access decentralized finance.

As another certified Glocal Citizen, Mimi and I first connected as housemates in Morocco courtesy of mutual friend that you’ll hear about in our conversation Afua Dabanka, the inspired experience curator behind A Beautiful Life Travel. Last year on our trip to Kenya, I got to know about her work with KoinKoin and it is a pleasure to be able to share her progress a year later. #Listenandlearn more!

Where to find Mimi?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Mimi reading?
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Other topics of interest:
About Old Street in London
About East Legon, Accra
Recognizing Bullying in the Workplace
About INSEAD Executive Programs
Kwaku Yaro at Gallery 1957
In conversation with Edward Larbi
What is Binance?
About the evolution of African currencies
Digital Assets 101
CitiFM Breakfast Show, 26 January 2026

Special Guest: Mimi Kufuor.

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.

The final stretch of 2025 is upon us and along with winding down our year-long Glocal Citizens @5 commemoration, this flashback forward episode is right on time for many reasons. In her new book, Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden from Us, my returning guest, Anna Malaika Tubbs not only prompts readers (and listeners) to connect the many dots that encircle the systems and institutions that animate the current Administration of the United States, she also proposes a vision for how we collectively flash forward and overcome the inherent limitations to patriarchy, in the US and globally. The solution--people power.

Anna is a two-time New York Times bestselling author and multidisciplinary expert on current and historical understandings of race, gender, and equity. With a Ph.D. in Sociology and a Masters in Multidisciplinary Gender Studies from the University of Cambridge in addition to a Bachelors in Medical Anthropology from Stanford University, Anna translates her academic knowledge into stories that are clear and engaging. Her articles have been published by TIME Magazine, New York Magazine, Newsweek, The Guardian, and others. She first joined us to talk about her first book, The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of MLK Jr, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation, which came out in 2021. Anna’s storytelling also takes form in her talks, including her TED Talk that has been viewed 2 million times, as well as the scripted and unscripted screen projects she has in development which she hints at in our conversation. #Listenandlearn more!

Where to find Anna?
www.annamalaikatubbs.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Anna reading and watching?
The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
The Amazing Race
All Her Fault

Other topics of interest:
Anna on The View
The Reecie Colbert Show
Higher Learning Podcast with Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay
The 19th News
About Modo Yoga
About Bikram Yoga

Special Guest: Anna Malaika Tubbs.

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.

Last week, Ghana lost another living legend, the first lady of the 4th Republic, Madam Nana Konadu Ageyman Rawlings. As we mourn this loss, I can’t help but to take note of how 2025 has been a year punctuated with transitions of many of Ghana’s cultural icons as well as civic leaders--all passionate about not only their crafts, but forward movement, Ghana’s progress. I invited my guest this week to join me in conversation particularly because of how her craft, her passion and her lineage converge in a story that is and will continue to make an impact on arts, culture and economic development in Ghana and beyond.

Ghanaian-American, Aretha Amma Sarfo-Kantanka is an accomplished global branding professional who has been instrumental in driving retail sales via innovative retail marketing and branding campaigns juxtaposing the fashion and music industry.

In 1998, Aretha launched VISIONS Entertainment & Publicity in New York City with a client roster inclusive of: fashion brands, designers, actors, artists, publications and more. She has created and managed numerous cross-promotional marketing and branding campaigns, from concept to execution, for record labels such as: Interscope, DreamWorks, Sony/Columbia, Island/Def Jam, Arista and Atlantic Records.
A decade later in 2008 she founded Global Fusion Productions Inc. promoting African culture, tourism, entertainment and news. Aretha has served as the liaison and connector for local and global businesses looking to target the vast and underserved global African market with events and projects including being a member of the team who brought Ghanaian icon, living legend and Glocal Citizen, James Barnor’s photography for exhibition in Ghana for the first time in 2012.

Aretha also served as coordinator and panelist for the launch of Fashion Forum Africa’s talk series on the business of fashion in Africa. Aretha has written for publications such as: New York based Applause Africa, MIA Magazine and Berlin, Germany based - POP Magazine covering global pop music and culture.

In 2023, Aretha curated Culture Curators: Hip Hop 50 at the National Museum of Ghana, the first of its kind exhibition at the museum that celebrated Ghana’s Diaspora connection thru music in a series of talks, films and one of a kind memorabilia items and commissioned art, along with bringing A/R technology to the museum for the first time in collaboration with The San Diego African-American Museum of Fine Art. 2024 sets the stage to honor and tell the story of Ghana’s unique modern music of Hip Life in celebrating its 30th anniversary so there is much, much more to come for this dynamic diasporan!

Where to find Aretha?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Aretha cooking?
Kontomire 101

Other topics of interest:
About Okomfo Anokye
Guan People of Ghana
About Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka
About KTA Mobile
About H.E. Nana Konadu Ageyman Rawlings
Capricorn Astrology
DollHouse Jeans
About the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre in Accra

Special Guest: Aretha Amma Sarfo-Kantanka.

This week on the podcast we’re flashing back to June 2020 when we first met Emmanual Agbeko Gamor while he was based in South Africa attending Wits Business School. Now glocal in his native Ghana and South Africa he continues to evolve on the personal and professional fronts. Widely known as Palmwine DJ, Emmanuel is a trailblazer in Ghana’s music scene, a digital professional, social entrepreneur, and music curator dedicated to preserving and celebrating African musical heritage. With over a decade of experience working remotely and collaboratively with local, regional, and multinational partners, he’s built a career that bridges the digital and physical worlds, creating impactful experiences through music, networking, and community building. As you’ll hear, this phase of E.A.Gamor is on the cusp of big moves in the coming year. #Listenandlearn more!

Where to find Emmanuel?
Palmwine DJ
On Glocal Citizens

What’s Emmanuel playing and listening to?
M3NSA
Kwan Pa Band
Ebo Taylor
Osibisa
Kyekyeku

Oher topics of interest:
What is Palm Wine?
On the roots of Palm-wine Music
Gome Drum
Jùjú Music
About EDM
On FutureCasting
About MTN and MTN Ghana
My iMali app

Special Guest: Emmanuel Agbeko Gamor.

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.

The spirit of summers past visits with us this week; it’s another Glocal Citizens @‌5flashback forward episode. In 2023, my guest this week, Hawa Kombian joined us for a two part conversation while she was based in her adopted home country, Canada. Today she's back in Ghana spreading new wings as a leadership strategist, resilience coach, and organizational advisor dedicated to helping mission-driven organizations sustain their impact without sacrificing their people.

With 14+ years of experience in social impact leadership, public speaking, and organizational change, she has worked with leaders across North America, Africa, and Europe to prevent burnout, build resilient teams, and create lasting cultural shifts at both the individual and organizational levels.

And that’s where we’re picking up this week’s conversation. As a sought-after speaker and facilitator, she integrates mental resilience, emotional intelligence, and strategic leadership to help leaders navigate high-pressure environments without falling into unproductive burnout loops.

Where to find Hawa?
Hawa Kombian Consulting
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Soundcloud

What’s Hawa reading?
Dead Money by Jakob Kerr

Other topics of interest:
Gambaga, Ghana
About Najong #1
“Yaya hanya” and other beginning Hausa
P4 Pilates, Accra
Kukun Open Mic in Accra

Special Guest: Hawa Kombian.

This week on the podcast we have another gift from the Glocal Citizens community. In this two part conversation we meet Dr. Osei Alleyne. A joint PhD in Anthropology and Africana Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and former inaugural postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Experimental Ethnography at Penn, Dr. Osei also holds an MA in Communications from Temple University. A still active internationally touring professional Canadian Hip hop artist and Spoken word poet of Trinidad & Tobago extract, his field research employs a multi-modal ethnography of Reggae, Rastafari, Afrobeat and Hip-hop performance communities and related social justice movements across the African diaspora, with an emphasis on the black Atlantic nexus between Jamaica and Ghana. We recently met while he was in Ghana working on his forthcoming book, Dancehall Diaspora: Rastafari and Rudeness in the African Postcolony, thanks to consumate connector, Muhammida el Muhajir. As Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Production at Temple University, his writing repertoire spans African diasporic art and philosophy movements such as afrofuturism, afropolitanism and afropessimism. In this conversation, Dr. Osei offers an insightful glimpse into the spaces he has navigated in honing this and his other crafts.

Where to find Osei?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On YouTube

What’s Osei watching?
First Peoples Documentary

Other topics of interest:
About Trinidad and Tobago
History about Carnivals in the Black Diaspora
The Book of African Names
On Africana Studies
About Liberia’s Edward Wilmot Blyden
About The Black Star Line,
Garveyism, and The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
About Ethiopianism
Alex Haley’s Roots
Association of Black Anthropologists
Zora Neale Hurston, Novelist and Anthropologist
About Cheik Anta Diop
About what was to be Akon City
Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), Debate 1967
About Cultural Theorist Stuart Hall
About Author and Scholar, Paul Gilroy
Martin Bernal and Black Athena
Reggie Rockston and HipLife
About Shatta Wale
What is the Theory of Mind
Black Holes and the Macro Universe

Special Guest: Osei Alleyne.

This week on the podcast we have another gift from the Glocal Citizens community. In this two part conversation we meet Dr. Osei Alleyne. A joint PhD in Anthropology and Africana Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and former inaugural postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Experimental Ethnography at Penn, Dr. Osei also holds an MA in Communications from Temple University. A still active internationally touring professional Canadian Hip hop artist and Spoken word poet of Trinidad & Tobago extract, his field research employs a multi-modal ethnography of Reggae, Rastafari, Afrobeat and Hip-hop performance communities and related social justice movements across the African diaspora, with an emphasis on the black Atlantic nexus between Jamaica and Ghana. We recently met while he was in Ghana working on his forthcoming book, Dancehall Diaspora: Rastafari and Rudeness in the African Postcolony, thanks to consumate connector, Muhammida el Muhajir. As Assistant Professor of Media Studies and Production at Temple University, his writing repertoire spans African diasporic art and philosophy movements such as afrofuturism, afropolitanism and afropessimism. In this conversation, Dr. Osei offers an insightful glimpse into the spaces he has navigated in honing this and his other crafts.

Where to find Osei?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On YouTube

What’s Osei watching?
First Peoples Documentary

Other topics of interest:
About Trinidad and Tobago
History about Carnivals in the Black Diaspora
The Book of African Names
On Africana Studies
About Liberia’s Edward Wilmot Blyden
About The Black Star Line,
Garveyism, and The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
About Ethiopianism
Alex Haley’s Roots
Association of Black Anthropologists
Zora Neale Hurston, Novelist and Anthropologist
About Cheik Anta Diop
About what was to be Akon City
Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), Debate 1967
About Cultural Theorist Stuart Hall
About Author and Scholar, Paul Gilroy
Martin Bernal and Black Athena
Reggie Rockston and HipLife
About Shatta Wale
What is the Theory of Mind
Black Holes and the Macro Universe

Special Guest: Osei Alleyne.

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.

I met this week's guest last month as a fellow AfroTalks 2025 speaker. Our collective charge for the event was to present our ideas about the "how" of Pan-African progress from mindset, to skills development to migration policy and the future of work. While I shared insights from the future of work salon series, our guest this week, David Hutchful participated on a panel discussing skills development. Born in Ghana, David is a passionate technologist, entrepreneur, educator, and design thinking expert dedicated to building tech-driven solutions in emerging markets. With over 25 years of experience in software development, he has led teams to create award-winning innovative platforms that drive business and social impact in Ghana and abroad.

As Co-Founder and CTO of Yemaachi Biotech (YC21), he is working to build the most diverse genomic database to advance precision oncology. Previously, he co-founded Bloom Impact, led technology innovation at Grameen Foundation, and worked at Microsoft Research. His expertise spans Fintech, Health tech, and Biotech, with a focus on leveraging technology for meaningful change--all topics we touch on in our conversation.

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

What’s David watching?
Dept. Q on Netflix

What’s David riding and a few motorcycle clubs in Accra:
Yamaha XSR900
Ultimate Riders MC
Hotwheels Ghana MC
Biker Girls GH

Other topics of interest:
Apam, Ghana
Adukrom, Ghana
About Abelempke, Accra
What is the Africa Rising Movement about?
About Ahaspora
Why did nurses and midwives in Ghana go on strike?
Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) in Ghana
About Kasapreko
About WACCBIP - West African Centre for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens
GDPR - General Data Protection Regulation
+233 Jazz Bar and Grill
Empire of AI by Karen Hao

Special Guest: David Hutchful.

Where to find Ivy?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On YouTube
On Facebook
On Pintrest

Listen to Ivy on Farm Radio International’s Nature Answers
Get your copy of Ivy’s book Your Essential Guide to Moving to Ghana

Other topics of interest:
Tema at the Center of the Earth
Maternal Health Channel Founder Kwesi Owusu
About St. Catharine’s and the Underground Railroad
About Sambra City
About Gated Housing Estates in Ghana

Special Guest: Ivy Prosper.

On this first day of April, we are trying to fool you, but just slightly. Though herstories month has just ended, we have the treat of catching up with one of featured voices from last week’s compilation episode. Returning with an update on Fourth Phase which was in the launch phase when last we caught up in 2020, is co-founder Nana Eyeson-Akiwowo. Nana is a dedicated social entrepreneur and humanitarian with a strong commitment to advocating for accessible healthcare for under-resourced women, children, and families. As the co-founder of Fourth Phase, she focuses on operations and our giving back program. She also founded non-profit, African Health Now (AHN), which is dedicated to providing vital health information and services across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Prior moving into entrepreneurship, Nana had a successful background in media, having worked with prominent titles such as Honey, Suede, and Essence. And also held positions at the Clinton Global Initiative Foundation and New York Mission Society. Her philanthropic efforts have been recognized globally. In 2017, she received the prestigious title of Humanitarian of the Year from the National Council of Ghanaian Associations, recognizing her impactful contributions. She was acknowledged with a New York State Senate Proclamation acknowledging her commitment to health advocacy. She has also received the Andrew Heiskell Humanitarian Award by Time Inc.

Catching up with Nana is an absolute delight, between learning all about the business of Fourth Phase to mompreneurship, I think you’ll feel welcomed into a world of innovation in a serious health area with a touch of light-heartedness. In case you missed our previous conversations, links are below.

Where to find Nana?

On Glocal Citizens
On Instagram
Fourth Phase on Instagram
Healing After Birth Podcast

What’s Nana watching?
The Golden Girls
The Cosby Show
Chicago Fire | PD | Med | Justice

What’s Nana listening to?
Beres Hammond

Other topics of interest:
Fourth Trimester in Websters Dictionary
Dr. Edward Brown in practice
About Dr. Andrew Alexis and his new program Skin of Color Savvy
Where to find Dr. Ama Alexis
About the TOMS model

Special Guest: Nana Eyeson-Akiwowo.

Over the week/weekend just passed, the world recognized International Women’s Day as well as Ghana’s 68th Independence Day. Both happenings inspire thoughts, reflections, and movement in my heart and mind especially as I, we sit in constant review of the world we are making, remaking and re-imagining for our now. My conversation this week, in our continued March Herstories Month series is with British-Ghanaian, Elvina Quaison, is with a diasporan working intently with and within communities engaged in this re-imagining. She's now based back in the London after relocating to Brussels since our last conversation. In her time in the EU hub, she supported diaspora and government representatives as Diaspora Engagement Specialist for the EU Global Diaspora Facility (EUDiF), a pilot project funded by the European Commission and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). Elvina recently took on the role of CEO with Shabaka, a values-driven consulting and research organization focused on diaspora and migrants' humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery. She has worked in the international development field, with a focus on African diaspora, for over 20 years; her experience spans diaspora engagement in humanitarianism, development, private and public sector as well as within civil society. She specializes in diaspora and private sector investment with a focus on the utilization of diaspora investment to enhance economic growth in countries of heritage and residence. Our conversation is a wonderful flash forward offering a hopeful persective on how #dynamicdiasporans are engaging with the concept and a #borderlessmindset, and #manifestinganewworld.

Where to find Elvina?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Elvina reading?
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Other topics of interest:
Notes on serving on boards
On Belgium’s Human Zoo
Brussel’s AfricaMuseum
On the brutality of Belgium’s King Leopold
On Onyekachi Wambu
A conversation with Sophia Stewart, creator of The Terminator and The Matrix
Shifters Play UK
About Supacell

Special Guest: Elivina Quaison.

It’s the eve of the Lunar New Year - the year of the Wood Snake, which in combination represent growth, flexibility, tolerance, wisdom, intuition, mystery, and cunningness with hints of furtiveness. These themes are a fitting context for this two-part conversation with Ghanaian-Brit, Akua Ofosuhene. Akua is an active and vocal plant medicine advocate and a psychedelic guide specializing in Psyliosibin (magic mushrooms) and Ayahuasca. Advising on intentions and integration she helps her clients get the most out of the psychedelic experience by teaching them other supporting healing modalities furthering healing and growth. She has spoken at the UK's largest psychedelic conference, Breaking Convention where she is also on the management board, Oxford University, UCL, Drug Science, Psychedelic Society UK, and at many other events and podcasts. As the founder of African Spiritual Practices Events and Retreats she will be facilitating her first Ayahuasca retreat in Ghana, with plants grown locally in Ghana, February 16-22, 2025. The podcast is no stranger to this sector, listen and learn more from mental health futurist, Sara Reed and stay tuned for an upcoming conversation with writer and professor, Dr. Nicholas Powers about his newest work, Black Psychedelic Revolution.

Where to find Akua and register for the upcoming retreat?
https://www.akuao.com/
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On TikTok
On X
On YouTube

What’s Akue reading?
Addiction Expert, Gabor Maté and his book Hold on to Your Kids
Diane Benscoter and Shoes of A Servant

What’s Akua watching?
The Real Housewives

Other topics of interest:
Who was Okomfa Anokye?
About Mampong
Gyetiase Village
Yaa Asantewaa War
A brief history of Denim Styles in the 1970s
About Camden Lock Market
About Carnaby Street
A Punk Perspective
Kirikou and the Sorceress Animated Film
Social-economic Impacts of Ebola in West Africa
EMDR - Rapid Eye Movement Therapy
EFT Tapping
African Perspectives on Igoba
Creator of eutaptics® FasterEFT™, Robert Gene Smith
Byron Katie and The Work
Ayahuasca Plant Science
The Ayahuasca Manifesto

Special Guest: Akua Ofosuhene.

It’s the eve of the Lunar New Year - the year of the Wood Snake, which in combination represent growth, flexibility, tolerance, wisdom, intuition, mystery, and cunningness with hints of furtiveness. These themes are a fitting context for this two-part conversation with Ghanaian-Brit, Akua Ofosuhene. Akua is an active and vocal plant medicine advocate and a psychedelic guide specializing in Psyliosibin (magic mushrooms) and Ayahuasca. Advising on intentions and integration she helps her clients get the most out of the psychedelic experience by teaching them other supporting healing modalities furthering healing and growth. She has spoken at the UK's largest psychedelic conference, Breaking Convention where she is also on the management board, Oxford University, UCL, Drug Science, Psychedelic Society UK, and at many other events and podcasts. As the founder of African Spiritual Practices Events and Retreats she will be facilitating her first Ayahuasca retreat in Ghana, with plants grown locally in Ghana, February 16-22, 2025. The podcast is no stranger to this sector, listen and learn more from mental health futurist, Sara Reed and stay tuned for an upcoming conversation with writer and professor, Dr. Nicholas Powers about his newest work, Black Psychedelic Revolution.

Where to find Akua and register for the upcoming retreat?
https://www.akuao.com/
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On TikTok
On X
On YouTube

What’s Akue reading?
Addiction Expert, Gabor Maté and his book Hold on to Your Kids
Diane Benscoter and Shoes of A Servant

What’s Akua watching?
The Real Housewives

Other topics of interest:
Who was Okomfa Anokye?
About Mampong
Gyetiase Village
Yaa Asantewaa War
A brief history of Denim Styles in the 1970s
About Camden Lock Market
About Carnaby Street
A Punk Perspective
Kirikou and the Sorceress Animated Film
Social-economic Impacts of Ebola in West Africa
EMDR - Rapid Eye Movement Therapy
EFT Tapping
African Perspectives on Igoba
Creator of eutaptics® FasterEFT™, Robert Gene Smith
Byron Katie and The Work
Ayahuasca Plant Science
The Ayahuasca Manifesto

Special Guest: Akua Ofosuhene.

After spending the new year chasing [Aurora Borealis aka the Northern Lights](linkhttps://www.space.com/15139-northern-lights-auroras-earth-facts-sdcmp.html) in the North of Ireland and communing with friends and family there and in the UK, I’m back in NYC grounding and self-caring for a bit. The not so great news is that I just missed seeing the Northern Lights live, but now I’m that much more prepared for the next time. The great news is that I was able to catch up with this week’s guest, Ghanaian actor, producer and casting director, Agbeko “Bex” Mortty before he heads to the Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival representing Ghana with The B.A.T.U. Project: ADAM THE FIRST, Ghana’s first feature length science fiction film. He has stared in films and series like the Tribeca Film Festival award winning film Children of the Mountain, Shampaign, Men Don’t Cry, The Cursed Ones, and the world No. 1 Netflix Original Sci-Fi TV series AWAY, staring Hilary Swank and Josh Charles. His production titles include Children of the Mountain, Amerikafuo and The B.A.T.U Project: ADAM THE FIRST. As casting director his projects include FREETOWN, PARADISE and Children of the Mountain.
In addition, he is also an IT consultant and an enstooled chief in Ghana’s Volta Region, which Bex tells us all about in this in depth tour of his experiences as a returnee.

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

What’s Bex reading?
Producing Independent Feature Films That Make Money by Rick Jenkins

Other topics of Interest?
About Tamale, the Dagomba People and Dagbani language
The Yaa Centre in London
About Gbledi, in Hohoe, Volta Region Ghana
Ghana Inaugurates, John Dramani Mahama as President
Africa Cinema Summit
About Filmmaker M. Sayibu
About Silver Star Tower, Accra and their Corporate Run Ghana Initiative
Where did my Aurora chasing take me in Ireland?

Special Guest: Agbeko “Bex” Mortty.

This week we meet Aimée Wallin, co-director at the non-profit Ghana Food Movement. Born of Swedish and Malian heritage, since completing her studies in Ghana, she calls Ghana home and finds herself a political foodie advocating for local eating, sustainable production methods and preservation of black food cultures. Ghana Food Movement is a network for food actors in Ghana with the vision of a resilient local food system that provides jobs and nutritious food for all Ghanaians. At the end of December, they celebrated the opening of their food education hub in Accra, check out the festivities here. The kitchen is open!

Where to find Aimée?
Ghana Food Movement
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Aimée reading?
Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi
Jollof and Other Revolutions by Omolola Ijeoma Ogunyemi

Other topics of interest:
About Mali
[Sweden through the Ages](linkhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden)
Agricology
On Food Insecurity
Malian Cuisine
Try Fonio Flakes
The Blue Skies Story
Perspectives on Sankofa
Food Sovereignty Ghana

Special Guest: Aimée Wallin.

As we bid 2024 farewell, we have another Glocal Citizen to thank for our connection with this weeks guest. This fall in Accra, Rita Kusi and her team hosted their Global Conference on Human Resources in Africa 2024 where this week's guest was a featured panelist sharing her expertise as a leading business leader in the technology space. Ghanaian born and raised, Deborah Asmah is a trailblazing expert in digital governance and fintech, whose contributions have significantly impacted Ghana's fintech landscape. Her innovative approaches have enabled seamless access to payment tools, promoted financial inclusion, and driven digital transformation in various sectors. She is co-founder of Npontu Technologies Ltd, a tech company specialising in the use of AI for the provision of financial solutions and digital transformation. As a Certified Information Privacy Manager with the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), she is also an ardent activist for Public Policy. With extensive research experience at the intersection of technology and financial inclusion she is passionate about leveraging digital tools and platforms to bridge social divides and promote financially inclusive, sustainable societies.

Where to find Deborah?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On X

What’s Deborah listening to?
Jubilare Group

Other topics of interest:
Winneba, Ghana
Ghana Skills and Knowledge Bank
Ghana’s Ministry of Communications and Digitization
On the Digital Financial Landscaape in Ghana
About National Service in Ghana
What are WAEC and BECE?
Stanford Seed

Special Guest: Deborah Asmah.

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.

We’ve been coming together nearly every week for five years!! On this day in 2019, this two-part interview with my first guest launched the podcast. In celebration and commemoration, stay tuned for episodes throughout the year revisiting past guests and catching up “Where are they now?” style. This week it’s a flashback to the very beginning with our first guest, environmentalist and social entrepreneur, Cordie Aziz. It’s delighting that this conversation stands the test of time and is as relevant then as now. Check out the show notes for Cordie’s other episodes to find out more about her then. And come back next week to catch up on Cordie’s now.

Where to find Cordie?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On X

What’s Cordie reading?
Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer

Topics of interest:
On Dumsor
Kwasia!
Take a trip to Dodowa Market
What is waste picking?
About GIZ Ghana
What is PET?
A bit about the recycilng lifecycle of a plastic bottle

Special Guest: Cordie Aziz.

This week is the finale of our writing as activism series at the 2024 Pa Gya! Literary Festival. It has been such a pleasure bringing the works and words of these writers to a wider audience. It has been a wonderful multi-generational compilation of wisdom across genres. Joining us this week is Ivana Akotowaa Ofori, a Ghanaian storyteller known also by the alias, “The Spider Kid.” She is a weaver of words in many forms, including fiction, non-fiction and spoken-word poetry. Akotowaa has been nominated for various awards for her prose writing. Her work is included in the Flash Fiction Ghana anthology, Kenkey for Ewes and Other Very Short Stories, and the Writivism anthology, And Morning Will Come.

She is also included in the Africa Risen Anthology 2022 with her short story, “Exiles of Witchery”. Akotowaa’s debut novella, The Year of Return (2023) has been published in the US with Android Press and in West Africa with Smartline Publishers.

Writing aside, Akotowaa spends much of her time looking for excuses to make everything purple and this imaginative, playful spirit definitely shines through our conversation.

Where to find Akotowaa?
On the Ceiling
On Akotowaa’s Blog
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On X
On Facebook

What’s Akotowaa watching?
Dr. Who
Sherlock

What’s Akotowaa reading?
The Color Purple by Alica Walker
How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
Saltwater Slavery by Stephanie E. Smallwood
Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
Nightbloom by Peace Adzo Medie

Other topics of interest:
Black Girls Glow and the KOSHKA Sound Residency
Burma Camp, Accra
About Roald Dahl
Ananasesem
About Kente Cloth

Special Guest: Ivana Akotowaa Ofori.

The first Tuesday in November represents the official US election day. As polling evolves for higher participation and greater inclusion, most states offer early voting so millions have already cast thier votes. Throughout this year of elections across the globe, the build up to the two where I have a say, the United States and Ghana, has played a critical role in inspiring my most activist self to move the dial in different ways toward manifesting a new world. Coincidentally, this week on the podcast kicks off our Writing as Activism series in coordination with the Pa Gya! Literary Festival in Accra. Recorded live at the eighth installment of the festivaland in the days that followed, starting the panel, Writing as Activism: Ghanaian Voices and Pan-African Perspectives Across Genres, the conversation starts with a distinguished voices covering works of poetry, screenwriting, and nonfiction scholarship with:

Nicole Amarteifio is an acclaimed Ghanaian-American TV/film writer, director, and producer. She successfully launched the hit web series 'An African City’ - dubbed by CNN and the BBC as Africa’s answer to ‘Sex and the City’.

Returning Glocal Citizen, Nydia A. Swaby is a Black feminist artist, researcher and curator. Her practice engages archives, autoethnography, photography, the moving image, and the imagination to explore the gendered, diasporic and affective dimensions of Black being and becoming. In addition to curating artistic programmes, she creates visual narratives, research and performance texts. Nydia's first book, Amy Ashwood Garvey and the Future of Black Feminist Archives, was published by Lawrence Wishart in October 2024 as part of LW's Radical Black Women book series. She is also developing an artist film, Amy and Me in the Archive, which will be screened at the forthcoming Singapore International Photography Festival 2024.

And Poet Laureate of Jamaica, Kwame Dawes, author of numerous books of poetry and other books of fiction, criticism, and essays. His most recent collection is Sturge Town (Peepal Tree Press, UK 2023). Dawes is Professor of Literary Arts at Brown University. He teaches in the Pacific MFA Program and is the Series Editor of the African Poetry Book Series, Director of the African Poetry Book Fund, and Artistic Director of the Calabash International Literary Festival. He is a Chancellor for the Academy of American Poets and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. Kwame Dawes is the winner of the prestigious Windham/Campbell Award for Poetry and was a finalist for the 2022 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. In 2022 Dawes was awarded the Order of Distinction Commander class by the Government of Jamaica. He is the Poet Laureate of Jamaica (2024-2027).

Click through to find out more about the Pa Gya! Literary Festival and the Writer’s Project Ghana and watch this and other festival panels at WPGTV.

Where to find Nicole?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On YouTube
On X

Where to find Kwame?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On X
On Facebook

Where to find Nydia?
On Glocal Citizens
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On X

Other topics of interest and the Essential Pan-African Activism reading list coming soon!

*This audio recording has been edited for clarity from the original video recording.

Special Guests: Kwame Dawes, Nicole Amarteifio, and Nydia Swaby.

I met Elike Kofi Nkansa, a multifaceted creative with a background in literature and art with a keen interest in fine detailng, one afternoon at a place called the Green Butterfly Market in Accra. He was seated in front of a beautiful portrait tapestry which I eventually purchased after visiting his flagship boutique and seeing a sampling of his portfolio. He trained as an architect and is the designer for his fashion brand, Elike Clothing which has become a household name, particularly in Ghana, and he has clothed many eminent personalites. He is currently costumier for three-time Grammy nominated artiste Rocky Dawuni.
Elike was selected amongst 14 other garment manufacturers in Ghana to spearhead an effort in mass production under AGOA--African Growth and Opportunities Act, through which his enterprise gained the requisite training to engage in mass apparel and textile production. His brand is minimalist afrocentric and heavily inclined in technically and functionally artistic design.
He mentors young artisans in the fashion industry helping to release fresh creativity into the fashion space. Through his art he hopes to forge closer bonds of peace and kinship between peoples wilst empowering women and youth.

Where to find Elike?
www.elikeclothing.com
On Facebook
What’s Elike reading?
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Works by Robert Greene

What’s Elike watching?
Guest Who’s Coming to Dinner
Kramer vs. Kramer

Other topics of interest:
Leklebi Dafor
Coffee and Togo
About the game Chaskele
RIBA - Royal Institute of British Architects
Ghana Institute of Architects
About technical pens
About the Peugot 504
About Ricci Osei and son, Reggie Rockstone
About UT Bank’s Kofi Amoabeng
William Blake’s The Chimney Sweeper
About Ambassador D.K Osei

Special Guest: Elike Nkansa.

I met Elike Kofi Nkansa, a multifaceted creative with a background in literature and art with a keen interest in fine detailng, one afternoon at a place called the Green Butterfly Market in Accra. He was seated in front of a beautiful portrait tapestry which I eventually purchased after visiting his flagship boutique and seeing a sampling of his portfolio. He trained as an architect and is the designer for his fashion brand, Elike Clothing which has become a household name, particularly in Ghana, and he has clothed many eminent personalites. He is currently costumier for three-time Grammy nominated artiste Rocky Dawuni.
Elike was selected amongst 14 other garment manufacturers in Ghana to spearhead an effort in mass production under AGOA--African Growth and Opportunities Act, through which his enterprise gained the requisite training to engage in mass apparel and textile production. His brand is minimalist afrocentric and heavily inclined in technically and functionally artistic design.
He mentors young artisans in the fashion industry helping to release fresh creativity into the fashion space. Through his art he hopes to forge closer bonds of peace and kinship between peoples wilst empowering women and youth.

Where to find Elike?
www.elikeclothing.com
On Facebook
What’s Elike reading?
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Works by Robert Greene

What’s Elike watching?
Guest Who’s Coming to Dinner
Kramer vs. Kramer

Other topics of interest:
Leklebi Dafor
Coffee and Togo
About the game Chaskele
RIBA - Royal Institute of British Architects
Ghana Institute of Architects
About technical pens
About the Peugot 504
About Ricci Osei and son, Reggie Rockstone
About UT Bank’s Kofi Amoabeng
William Blake’s The Chimney Sweeper
About Ambassador D.K Osei

Special Guest: Elike Nkansa.

The Glocal Citizens community has gifted us with another inspiring diasporan. Heneba Kwadwo Safo, a graduate of the University of Ghana in Civil Engineering is the founder and leader of the BuzStopBoys. The Buzstopboys is a volunteer group promoting a Clean, Green, Environment (CGEn) through patriotism. With brooms, dustpans and a strong sense of community spirit, the BuzstopBoys have become a driving force for positive change. Their initiative focuses on cleaning heavily trafficked areas, creating a cleaner and more welcoming environment for both residents and visitors. It is no surprise that fellow Glocal Citizen and environment advocate, Leslie Bentil of Gutta Soles/Gutta Soles Foundation seeded the connection. Kwadwo is the grandson of Apostle, Dr. Engineer Kwadwo Safo Kantanka, the founder and the chairman of the Kantanka Group, Ghana's largest local technology conglomerate, with innovations in automobile manufacturing, engineering, food production and more. Like his grandfather, a renowned Ghanaian-born technologist, philanthropist and Pan-African who believes in Black Emancipation and transformational change, Kwadwo is well on his way making impact one clean street at a time.

Where to find the Buzstopboys?
On Instagram
on Facebook
On TikTok
On YouTube

What’s Kwadwo watching?
Maame Grace

Other topics of interest:
Dodowa, Ghana
Kwahu, Eastern Region, Ghana
Where is Mallam Junction, Accra?
McCarthy Hill, Accra
Odorkor, Accra
Ga Dangbe People
Shai Hills Reserve, Ghana
Bolgatanga, Ghana
On Mysticism

Special Guest: Kwadwo Safo.

This week’s conversation comes to you in two parts and is courtesy of a connection made by my guest from Episode 34, Stacey Enyame. Recognizing the intersection between tech and community/economic development and my background, Stacey suggested I join the Keta MakerSpace community on WhatsApp--a brainchild of #GlobalGhanaian, Paul Kwesi Damalie. We go into detail about the community and the vision for the platform and new city in the making in Part 2 of the conversation, both parts are not to be missed! Paul is founder of Damalie Innovation Holdings Group which invests in and builds companies in health tech, sports value chain, gaming and family entertainment, urban infrastructure & development and trade & embedded finance, climate resileince. Previously he was the co-founder of Inclusive Innovations Inc. which developed the Appruve API, product making it easy for financial services to verify individuals and businesses all over Africa. In 2023 Appruve was acquired by Smile ID.
As a Fintech industry influencer, he is among Untapt's Top 23 fintech influencers to follow on X; he is a Chapter Lead of Next Money, the global thought leader community for stakeholders within the financial services and technology ecosystem. He organizes events (meetups & conferences) that create opportunities for stakeholders to discuss current trends, explore opportunities through networking and influence policy in the financial services ecosystem. He also has experience consulting for fintech startups and new market entrants into West Africa, working closely with fintech innovation programmes, accelerators and investors as well as financial inclusion research institutions.

Where to find Paul?
On LinkedIn
On X
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Paul reading?
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
Every.to

What’s Paul listening to?
Funaná
Kizomba

Other topics of interest:
Keta Coastal Analysis
Albert and Comfort Ocran
DSF Lab
Caribou Digital
Afropolitan Network State
Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin talks Charter Cities an the Charter Cities Institute
New City Concepts - Zuzalu, Próspera, Fumba Town, Itana
On Digital Nomads
Playground.ai
Google for Startups
Y Combinator
Sand Hill Road
Tokeh Beach, Sierra Leone

Special Guest: Paul Damalie.

This week’s conversation comes to you in two parts and is courtesy of a connection made by my guest from Episode 34, Stacey Enyame. Recognizing the intersection between tech and community/economic development and my background, Stacey suggested I join the Keta MakerSpace community on WhatsApp--a brainchild of #GlobalGhanaian, Paul Kwesi Damalie. We go into detail about the community and the vision for the platform and new city in the making in Part 2 of the conversation, both parts are not to be missed! Paul is founder of Damalie Innovation Holdings Group which invests in and builds companies in health tech, sports value chain, gaming and family entertainment, urban infrastructure & development and trade & embedded finance, climate resileince. Previously he was the co-founder of Inclusive Innovations Inc. which developed the Appruve API, product making it easy for financial services to verify individuals and businesses all over Africa. In 2023 Appruve was acquired by Smile ID.
As a Fintech industry influencer, he is among Untapt's Top 23 fintech influencers to follow on X; he is a Chapter Lead of Next Money, the global thought leader community for stakeholders within the financial services and technology ecosystem. He organizes events (meetups & conferences) that create opportunities for stakeholders to discuss current trends, explore opportunities through networking and influence policy in the financial services ecosystem. He also has experience consulting for fintech startups and new market entrants into West Africa, working closely with fintech innovation programmes, accelerators and investors as well as financial inclusion research institutions.

Where to find Paul?
On LinkedIn
On X
On Instagram
On Facebook

What’s Paul reading?
The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
Every.to

What’s Paul listening to?
Funaná
Kizomba

Other topics of interest:
Keta Coastal Analysis
Albert and Comfort Ocran
DSF Lab
Caribou Digital
Afropolitan Network State
Ethereum’s Vitalik Buterin talks Charter Cities an the Charter Cities Institute
New City Concepts - Zuzalu, Próspera, Fumba Town, Itana
On Digital Nomads
Playground.ai
Google for Startups
Y Combinator
Sand Hill Road
Tokeh Beach, Sierra Leone

Special Guest: Paul Damalie.

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.

This week on the podcast it’s flashback February. Inspired by last year’s Black History Month compilation episode, for this week, also dedicated to Black History Month, I’ve selected glocally speaking, mindset hacking and solution-scaping excerpts from conversations over the past year. Starting with the Science Mercenary, Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi on how reconceptualizing our ideas on time and how the evolutionary continuum of human intelligence need not be as complicated as we think. Cognitive-Behavioral Research Scientist, Dr. Juleen Christopher reinforces his thoughts by introducing us to her mindset hack, a technique called positive intelligence and how a commitment to telling ourselves and living a story contrary to those embedded in social injustice are at the bedrock of her activism. Cultural practitioner, Kobby Graham furthers the story as he elaborates on his mindset hack - collaboration and how its revival in the African psyche is critical to progress. Communication specialist and cultural curator, Samba Yonga then illustrates how our African histories reinforce this collaborative ethic and is using her museum as the narrative activism necessary to reinform a new now. Finally, glocally speaking, the Money Maker, Eric Collins, puts his money where his mouth is investing in the change that he and his partners at Impact X Capital intend to see in black communities across Europe.

The common thread in my selections is activism which is the why of Black History Month. Waking each morning in parts of the world rife with injustice is itself an act of courageous resistance. We must challenge ourselves to uplift untold stories and unheard voices, so that by valuing global Black histories, we can collectively build, simply put, a better today. That is the definition of Glocal Citizenship.

Visit the links above for full episodes and extended show notes.

Special Guests: Eric Collins, Hakeem Oluseyi , Juleen Christopher, Kobina Ankomah Graham, and Samba Yonga.

This week on we’re moving into the new year with some wise words and insights in Part 2 of my conversation with Ghanaian investor and developer of new businesses, Eric Osiakwan. With 25 years of experience spanning 32 countries in Africa gained through a number of successful tech start-ups, Eric is a leading pioneer of internet in Africa. Having worked in multiple countries building internet service providers (“ISP”) and ICT businesses, some of his successful exits include iBurst in South Africa, One2Net in Uganda, and BusyInternet in Ghana, to name a few. Eric also founded and ran the Africa ISP Association for eight years, during which the ISP industry grew by almost 120 percent. He then moved on to leading efforts to build submarine cables on the continent. Eric was part of a public-private partnership in Kenya that built and launched the TEAMS submarine fibre cable, the first to connect East Africa to the rest of the world. He subsequently contributed to the building of terrestrial fibre networks in Ghana and Nigeria. As we learned in Part 1 of the conversation, he Co-Founded Angel Africa List, Angel Fair Africa and currently heads Chanzo Capital, a venture and growth capital firm, investing capital, capacity and community in high-tech startups and scaleups in Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.

Where to find Eric?
ericosiakwan.com
On LinkedIn
On [Facebook](Eric Osiakwan)
On [Instagram](Instagram (@eosiakwan))
On X

What’s Eric reading?
Works by Cheikh Anta Diop

Other topics of interest:
How Greater Accra (Tema) is the geographical center of the Earth
About Panafest and Kojo Yankah
On Ghana’s Joseph Project
Year of Return
Full Circle Africa Economic Conference
Stripe Payments Platform
Safaricom and the roots of Mobile Money
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa: African Information Society Initiative(AISI)
UNDP Internet Initiative for Africa
What are Internet Exchange Points?
The African Internet Service Providers Association
ICANN and Esther Dyson
About TEAMS
Bongo Hive
About the BenBen App
On Eric’s book KINGS of Africa’s Digital Economy

Special Guest: Eric Osiakwan.

This week’s guest is fast becoming a cultural icon across her chosen disciplines. Ghanaian by ancestry and born in German and spending a formative part of her life in England, Nana Oforiatta Ayim is a writer, filmmaker, and art historian. She is Founder of the ANO Institute of Arts and Knowledge, through which she has pioneered a Pan-African Cultural Encyclopaedia, a Mobile Museums Project, and curated Ghana’s first pavilion at the Venice Biennale. She published her first novel The God Child in 2019, and in German in 2021. She has made award-winning films for museums such as Tate Modern, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The New Museum. She is the recipient of various awards and honours, having been named one of the Apollo ’40 under 40’; one of 50 African Trailblazers by The Africa Report; a Quartz Africa Innovator in 2017; one of 12 African women making history in 2016 and one of 100 women of 2020 by Okayafrica. In 2020, she was appointed to the Advisory Council of Oxford University’s Cultural Programme and was a Principal Investigator on the Action for Restitution to Africa programme. She received the Ghana Woman of the Year Award in 2021. And in 2022 she was awarded the world’s biggest history prize from the Dan David Foundation for outstanding early and mid-career scholars and practitioners in the historical disciplines. Over the years it has been a treat to watch Nana’s vision come into being and even better was the chance to sit with her in one of her places of peace in Osu, Accra.

Where to find Nana?
https://www.nanaoforiattaayim.com/
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On X

What’s Nana watching?
Past Lives

Other topics of interest:
About [Akyem, Ghana](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akyem ]
Aburi, Ghana
About Piet Mondrian
Gus Casely-Hayford
John Picton
About the Liverpool Biennial
Ousmane Sembène
Mooji
The Renoir Cinema

Special Guest: Nana Oforiatta Ayim.

This week, we interrupt our scheduled Part 2 conversation with Suki Fuller to give some shine to a milestone event taking place in Cape Town, South Africa. Co-founded by my guest, Ghanaian, Eric Osiakwan, Angel Fair Africa, happening November 28th - December 1st, brings selected and curated entrepreneurs to pitch to a room of angel investors with the intent of doing deals. Eric is an entrepreneur and investor with 25 years of ICT industry leadership across Africa and the world, He has worked in 32 African countries setting up ISPs, ISPAs, IXPs and high-tech startups. He Co-Founded Angel Africa List, in addition to Angel Fair Africa and Chanzo Capital, he also currently serves on the board of Farmerline – some of which are his investments. While we made the connection in Cape Town, a funny thing happened on the streets of Brooklyn with another Glocal Citizen, Chinedu Echeruo (EP79) last summer that put an Aha! smile on our faces. #BorderlessMindset in action!
This week our conversation is centered on all things Angel-Investing-Meets-Entrpreneurship as Eric and his team kick off Angel Fair Africa @10. Stay tuned for Part 2 of our conversation where we’ll get t o know more about Eric’s Glocal Citizenship journey.

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

Special Guest: Eric Osiakwan.

This week’s episode is like the jetway bridging me between my two locations this week. From my Continental base in Accra, South Sudanese-Ethiopian-American, Nyamal Tutdeal, who is a conflict resolution and healing practitioner, joins us again to talk about, among other things, one of her homelands--Ethiopia, where I found myself (in Addis Ababa) for the weekend. Many may recall meeting Nyamal on the podcast prior to her move to Accra, and now after a nearly two years, she’s an “Accra-an.” With over a decade of work experience under her belt, Nyamal has developed and managed various programmes related togender, peace, security, and antiracist/race relations. She is a staunch advocate for women's empowerment, human rights, refugees, immigrants, displaced communities, and the fight against early child marriage. Nyamal is a Co-Director and Co-Founder of the NyaEden Foundation. She also works as an Adjunct Professor at both Arcadia University and Webster University in Ghana, where she provides academic support and teaches Introduction to Human Rights, Refugee and Migration Movement, Advocacy, NGO and Civil Society at Webster University Ghana campus. Nyamal is also involved in teaching Conflict Transformation, Restorative Justice, Mediation, and Conflict Coaching in the International Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) program at Arcadia University. Prior to her relocation to Ghana, Nyamal served as the Director of Equity and Inclusion for CORA Services. Nyamal has a B.A. in Human Relations and an M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Nyamal is now at the head of her own consultancy, The Nyamal Group which she launched this year.

Where to find Nyamal?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On X
On Facebook
Shades of Injera

What's Nyamal reading?
Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad by Damilare Kuku

What’s Nyamal watching?
About Star Wars and the Ashoka TV Series

Other topics of interest?
About the Nuer People Demographics in Ethiopia
Civil Conflict in Ethiopia
On Empire, here are some articles that analyze empire and colonization as major drivers of present-day inequality:
"The Empire of Inequality: Introduction" by Himadeep Muppidi - Discusses how colonial empires created enduring global inequality through exploitation, extraction of wealth, and imposition of power structures.
"The Long-Run Effects of the Scramble for Africa" by Stelios Michalopoulos and Elias Papaioannou - Economic analysis finding that artificial colonial borders continue to impact economic development and inequality across African nations today.
"The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation" by Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson - Research arguing colonialism set up institutions that continue to affect world inequality.
"Imperialism and Colonialism" by Battiston et al. - Reviews how empires led to concentration of wealth and power for imperial nations that remains evident in 21st century global inequality.
“How Western Colonization Launched Capitalism with Violence and Ruin" by Nicholas De Genova - Discusses direct links between violent colonization, slavery, genocide and the rise of global capitalism and inequality.
“The Impact of Colonialism on African Economic Development” by Joshua Settles - Analysis of economic exploitation, extraction of resources, and disruption of existing systems during European colonization of Africa.
SAD - Seasonal Effective Disorder
54th NAACP Image Awards
Sheryl Lee Ralph’s dress and designer, Pistis Ghana
South Sudan’s Political Structure
South Sudan’s Vice Presidents and Fourth VP, Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior
About Hope Resoration South Sudan
About the South Sudanese Civil War
About South Sudan’s Minister of Interior, Angelina Teny
Bella Afrik in Accra
The Mix Accra

Special Guest: Nyamal Tutdeal.

This week I had the opportunity to catch up with Christa Eiise Sanders, an International Education professional with over 20 years of progressively responsible and diverse experience within the field of higher education. She is currently the Campus Director at Webster University in Accra, Ghana. A graduate of Spelman College and Columbia University, her expertise includes strategic planning, program development, counseling (with a focus in multiculturalism/diversity); academic oversight, advising and planning. She also has a strong background in creating and managing study abroad programs in Africa and Europe. Growing up in an Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania with educators as parents, academics and higher education have been a mainstay in Christa's life and have opened the door to living ans working in Spain, Germany, and now Ghana. Her publications and research stress understanding of cultural factors on a worldwide scale. and with extensive travel and study experience spanning over 65 countries she is also a polyglot; her languages include Spanish, German, Portuguese and beginning Twi.

Where to find Christa?
blackwomenabroad.org
On [LinkedIn](lhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/christa-sanders-elise/)
On Instagram
On Facebook

Topics of interest:
About Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
On Jamestown, Accra
About the funeral rights of Ga Manye Naa Dedei Omaedru III
Brief history of the Ga people’s migration to Accra
About the Orthodox Coptic Church
About Quaker Schools
About Ashesi University’s Patrick Awuah
About Robert F. Smith
ArtX Lagos

Special Guest: Christa Elise Sanders.

This week I have the pleasure getting to know a longtime friend even better from insights into his professional world. An internationally recognized recording artist, vocal coach, songwriter/writer, style influencer, and entrepreneur, Ghanaian-Cuban-American, Jeremiah Abiah inspires artists around the world to learn, love, and live their voice. His creative talents and expertise have made him a sought-after coach for national and international singers, actors, rappers, and public speakers. His influence and involvement have launched the careers of many musicians currently on the charts. As a singer, producer and writer, his recording contributions have been nominated for Grammy Awards, the Latin Grammys, the NAACP Image Awards and the 2020 Oscar Awards with Cynthia Erivo. He works with an array of celebrated artists such as Common, Brandy, Robert Glasper, Ro James and others.

He launched TheABIAHway, an artist development platform, to enlighten, inspire, and empower music artists globally and expanding his influence in the music industry. His work has launched the careers of many current music artists on the charts and on Broadway. Clients include Sony, RCA, Atlantic, Columbia Records as well as numerous Broadway and Opera Stars. This former Professor of Voice at Berklee College of Music can be seen on the stage at music festivals, concert halls and teaching Masterclasses worldwide.

In 2020, he debuted his popular new Facebook Live talk show, Inside the Singer’s Voice where each episode is an intimate conversation between great singers about great singing. As you’ll hear, there’s much, much more to Jeremiah’s own voice and story.

Where to find Jeremiah?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On X
On YouTube

Topics of interest:
About George Michael
Opera Greats William Warfield and Leontyne Price
Rochester School of the Arts
About Patricia Seymour Alexander
About the Art Song Repertoire
NAACP ACT-SO Acheivement Program
Eastman School of Music
New England Conservatory
About The Chi’s Ntare Mwine
Otter.ai
Ain’t Too Proud, The Musical
About Michael Swanson
Ron Simon’s SimonSays Entertainment
About Pamela Cooper’s, The Cooper Company
About Shanice
What is the “Whistle Tone?”
About Gospel Great, Yolanda Adams
Laylah Hathaway
Mint Condition’s Stokley Williams
Claude Kelly
R&B and Soul Legends Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross and Barry White
About Bill T. Jones

Special Guest: Jeremiah Abiah.

This week on the podcast I have the pleasure of hosting a social innovator who intersects not only my local experiences in Brooklyn and Accra, he is the husband of my guest on Episode 139, Asmeret Berhe-Lumax and on the Advisory Committee of Episodes 42/43 guest, Nana Eyeson-Akiwowo’s African Health Now. A fellow Ghanaian, Stanley Lumax is currently the Executive Brand Marketing Director at JP Morgan Chase, where he manages the Sapphire and Freedom Unlimited portfolios. Prior to this role, he partnered with Complex Media Networks to create Climate, an agency built to help brands harness the power of youth culture. He has also worked with brands such as Nike Basketball, National Basketball Association, Converse, Beats By Dre’, Brooklyn Nets, Pepsi, Budweiser and a host of other brands that have impacted popular culture. He’s taken this experience and applied it to his desire to bring the African Diaspora together. In 2019, he partnered with celebrated Senegalese chef, Pierre Thiam to open a West African concept restaraunt called Teranga, which has been celebrated as one of the top 20 places to eat in New York City.

A fun and engaging conversation, be sure to check out the other topics of interest below for insights on some of the many topics we cover in our discussion.

Where to find Stanley?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On X/Twitter

What’s Stanley listening to?
The Joe Budden Podcast
Earn Your Leisure Podcast
A Dose of Black Joy and Caffeine with Justin Adu
Jungle Brothers
Q-tip
Big Daddy Kane
KRS-One and Boogie Down Productions

What’s Stanley watching?
Ladies First: A story of Women in Hip-Hop

Other topics of interest:
Ga People in Osu, Accra
About Ebbets Field, Brooklyn
About Bronwsville, Brooklyn
Tracy Towers, The Bronx
About US Immigration Policy in 2017
About Abiola Oke
About Luol Deng
About Nana “Pops” Mensah-Bonsu
About And1
Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hang
About SLR Cameras

Special Guest: Stanley Lumax.

We’re traveling from Canada to the north of Ghana and back again in this two part conversation with Ghanaian-Canadian, Hawa Kombian. As an intentional, passionate and creative leader who enables organizational founders’ and their teams to achieve operational sustainability and social vibrancy by building results-driven cultures of connection, Hawa is squarely focused on bridges all the dimensions of leadership toward more impact and sustainable presents for her clients.

Having a background in communications, and humanitarian pursuits with organizations leading in innovative technology and social change, her experience spans education, digital health, and leadership development across government, non-profit, and social enterprise sectors.

She is an empathetic systems-builder, which means she seamlessly flows between cultivating authentic relationships with people to draw out their strengths, and creating strategic processes that allow teams to collaborate and achieve success together.

You can find her public speaking at events and podcasts on people and organizational management; blogging about personal, and professional strategy; and coaching leaders on how to strategically make an impact in their organizations and communities. Work with her via Hawa Kombian Consulting

Where to find Hawa?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Soundcloud
On Twitter

What’s Hawa watching?
BoJack Horseman
SpongeBob SquarePants

Other topics of interest:
Gambaga in Northeast Ghana
Bunkpurugu in Northern Ghana
About the new International Tamale Airport
Youth Alive Ghana
African Leadership Group
eHealth Africa

Special Guest: Hawa Kombian.

We’re traveling from Canada to the north of Ghana and back again in this two part conversation with Ghanaian-Canadian, Hawa Kombian. As an intentional, passionate and creative leader who enables organizational founders’ and their teams to achieve operational sustainability and social vibrancy by building results-driven cultures of connection, Hawa is squarely focused on bridges all the dimensions of leadership toward more impact and sustainable presents for her clients.

Having a background in communications, and humanitarian pursuits with organizations leading in innovative technology and social change, her experience spans education, digital health, and leadership development across government, non-profit, and social enterprise sectors.

She is an empathetic systems-builder, which means she seamlessly flows between cultivating authentic relationships with people to draw out their strengths, and creating strategic processes that allow teams to collaborate and achieve success together.

You can find her public speaking at events and podcasts on people and organizational management; blogging about personal, and professional strategy; and coaching leaders on how to strategically make an impact in their organizations and communities. Work with her via Hawa Kombian Consulting

Where to find Hawa?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Soundcloud
On Twitter

What’s Hawa watching?
BoJack Horseman
SpongeBob SquarePants

Other topics of interest:
Gambaga in Northeast Ghana
Bunkpurugu in Northern Ghana
About the new International Tamale Airport
Youth Alive Ghana
African Leadership Group
eHealth Africa

Special Guest: Hawa Kombian.

I’m fresh off of a couple of weeks of ramping up the summer in Europe where the sun was truly a superstar right alongside my guest for the next few episodes. James Barnor is a Ghanaian photographer who has been based in London since the 1990s. His career spans six decades, and although for much of that period his work was not widely known, it has latterly been discovered by new audiences. In his street and studio photography, Barnor represents societies in transition in the 1950s and 1960s: Ghana moving toward independence, and London becoming a multicultural metropolis. He has said: "I was lucky to be alive when things were happening...when Ghana was going to be independent and Ghana became independent, and when I came to England the Beatles were around. Things were happening in the 60s, so I call myself Lucky Jim." He was Ghana's first full-time newspaper photographer in the 1950s, and he is credited with introducing color processing to Ghana in the 1970s. It has been said: "James Barnor is to Ghana and photojournalism what Ousmane Sembène was to Senegal and African cinema."

Barnor has spoken of how his work was rediscovered in 2007 during the "Ghana at 50" jubilee season by curator Nana Oforiatta-Ayim, who organized the first exhibition of his photographs at Black Cultural Archives (BCA). Appreciation of his work as a studio portraitist, photojournalist and Black lifestyle photographer has been further heightened since 2010 when a major solo retrospective exhibition of his photographs, Ever Young: James Barnor, was mounted at Rivington Place, London, followed by a series of exhibitions including in the United States and South Africa. His photographs were collated by the non-profit agency Autograph ABP during a four-year project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and in 2011 became part of the new Archive and Research Centre for Culturally Diverse Photography.

Barnor's photographs have also in recent years had showings in Ghana, South Africa, France - (Paris Photo 2011, Galerie Baudoin Lebon; Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière), The Netherlands, the UK and the US. The first monograph of his work, entitled James Barnor: Ever Young, was published in 2015, including an extensive conversation between Barnor and Margaret Busby with Francis Hodgson.

I’m honored to be able to share his story--the history, the craft, the artistry and the humor of Uncle Jim.

Where to find James?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
In the New York Times

What’s Uncle Jim watching?
America’s Got Talent
Britain’s Got Talent

Other topics of interest:
About Two Coronations
Accra earthquake 1939
A brief history of housing in Ghana
1942 Shipwreck
What is Akpeteshie?
On Kodak’s Baby Brownie Camera
Other Kodak cameras
Ghana’s Daily Graphic
Letterpress vs the Next-generation Press
Ghana's Prized Boxer Roy Ankrah
About British Accra and the Seaview Hotel
Krobo Edusei
World University Service - Canada
Drum Magazine
Achimota School
Medway College of Arts - Kent
Oko Kolamashie

Special Guest: James Barnor.

I’m fresh off of a couple of weeks of ramping up the summer in Europe where the sun was truly a superstar right alongside my guest for the next few episodes. James Barnor is a Ghanaian photographer who has been based in London since the 1990s. His career spans six decades, and although for much of that period his work was not widely known, it has latterly been discovered by new audiences. In his street and studio photography, Barnor represents societies in transition in the 1950s and 1960s: Ghana moving toward independence, and London becoming a multicultural metropolis. He has said: "I was lucky to be alive when things were happening...when Ghana was going to be independent and Ghana became independent, and when I came to England the Beatles were around. Things were happening in the 60s, so I call myself Lucky Jim." He was Ghana's first full-time newspaper photographer in the 1950s, and he is credited with introducing color processing to Ghana in the 1970s. It has been said: "James Barnor is to Ghana and photojournalism what Ousmane Sembène was to Senegal and African cinema."

Barnor has spoken of how his work was rediscovered in 2007 during the "Ghana at 50" jubilee season by curator Nana Oforiatta-Ayim, who organized the first exhibition of his photographs at Black Cultural Archives (BCA). Appreciation of his work as a studio portraitist, photojournalist and Black lifestyle photographer has been further heightened since 2010 when a major solo retrospective exhibition of his photographs, Ever Young: James Barnor, was mounted at Rivington Place, London, followed by a series of exhibitions including in the United States and South Africa. His photographs were collated by the non-profit agency Autograph ABP during a four-year project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and in 2011 became part of the new Archive and Research Centre for Culturally Diverse Photography.

Barnor's photographs have also in recent years had showings in Ghana, South Africa, France - (Paris Photo 2011, Galerie Baudoin Lebon; Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière), The Netherlands, the UK and the US. The first monograph of his work, entitled James Barnor: Ever Young, was published in 2015, including an extensive conversation between Barnor and Margaret Busby with Francis Hodgson.

I’m honored to be able to share his story--the history, the craft, the artistry and the humor of Uncle Jim.

Where to find James?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
In the New York Times

What’s Uncle Jim watching?
America’s Got Talent
Britain’s Got Talent

Other topics of interest:
About Two Coronations
Accra earthquake 1939
A brief history of housing in Ghana
1942 Shipwreck
What is Akpeteshie?
On Kodak’s Baby Brownie Camera
Other Kodak cameras
Ghana’s Daily Graphic
Letterpress vs the Next-generation Press
Ghana's Prized Boxer Roy Ankrah
About British Accra and the Seaview Hotel
Krobo Edusei
World University Service - Canada
Drum Magazine
Achimota School
Medway College of Arts - Kent
Oko Kolamashie

Special Guest: James Barnor.

I’m fresh off of a couple of weeks of ramping up the summer in Europe where the sun was truly a superstar right alongside my guest for the next few episodes. James Barnor is a Ghanaian photographer who has been based in London since the 1990s. His career spans six decades, and although for much of that period his work was not widely known, it has latterly been discovered by new audiences. In his street and studio photography, Barnor represents societies in transition in the 1950s and 1960s: Ghana moving toward independence, and London becoming a multicultural metropolis. He has said: "I was lucky to be alive when things were happening...when Ghana was going to be independent and Ghana became independent, and when I came to England the Beatles were around. Things were happening in the 60s, so I call myself Lucky Jim." He was Ghana's first full-time newspaper photographer in the 1950s, and he is credited with introducing color processing to Ghana in the 1970s. It has been said: "James Barnor is to Ghana and photojournalism what Ousmane Sembène was to Senegal and African cinema."

Barnor has spoken of how his work was rediscovered in 2007 during the "Ghana at 50" jubilee season by curator Nana Oforiatta-Ayim, who organized the first exhibition of his photographs at Black Cultural Archives (BCA). Appreciation of his work as a studio portraitist, photojournalist and Black lifestyle photographer has been further heightened since 2010 when a major solo retrospective exhibition of his photographs, Ever Young: James Barnor, was mounted at Rivington Place, London, followed by a series of exhibitions including in the United States and South Africa. His photographs were collated by the non-profit agency Autograph ABP during a four-year project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and in 2011 became part of the new Archive and Research Centre for Culturally Diverse Photography.

Barnor's photographs have also in recent years had showings in Ghana, South Africa, France - (Paris Photo 2011, Galerie Baudoin Lebon; Galerie Clémentine de la Féronnière), The Netherlands, the UK and the US. The first monograph of his work, entitled James Barnor: Ever Young, was published in 2015, including an extensive conversation between Barnor and Margaret Busby with Francis Hodgson.

I’m honored to be able to share his story--the history, the craft, the artistry and the humor of Uncle Jim.

Where to find James?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
In the New York Times

What’s Uncle Jim watching?
America’s Got Talent
Britain’s Got Talent

Other topics of interest:
About Two Coronations
Accra earthquake 1939
A brief history of housing in Ghana
1942 Shipwreck
What is Akpeteshie?
On Kodak’s Baby Brownie Camera
Other Kodak cameras
Ghana’s Daily Graphic
Letterpress vs the Next-generation Press
Ghana's Prized Boxer Roy Ankrah
About British Accra and the Seaview Hotel
Krobo Edusei
World University Service - Canada
Drum Magazine
Achimota School
Medway College of Arts - Kent
Oko Kolamashie

Special Guest: James Barnor.

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.

My guest this week is Ghanaian-Briton, DJ, lecturer, cultural writer and researcher Kobina “Kobby” Ankomah Graham. Raised between the alternate realities of Ghana and Britain, he is passionately curious about music, African culture, and counterculture. Through almost two decades of lecturing, researching, public speaking, developing creative projects, curating music and freelance writing, he has championed arts and culture.

He has explored this idea in settings ranging from classrooms to international conferences, and in numerous workshops, panels, podcasts, publications, and dance floors. Along the way, he has been profiled by platforms like the BBC, written for others like The Guardian, received a Miles Morland African Writers Scholarship and DANIDA funding for Ph.D. research on Ghana’s alternative music scene. In doing these things, he is creating pathways for young African creatives, cultural practitioners and journalists to follow. These sentiments come through poetically in this two-part conversation offering wonder-filled insight into a life lived in Accra in view of an evolving arts and culture scene impacting both the local and global creative landscapes.

Where to find Kobby?
kobbygraham.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Kobby reading?
A Quick Ting on Afrobeats by Christian Adofo
The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time by Arianna Huffington
Harmattan Rain

What’s Kobby watching?
The Power
Citadel
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
African Queens on Netflix
Cleopatra on Netflix

What’s Kobby listening to?
TedEd
Big Think
Soulection Radio
Oroko Radio

Other topics of interest:
Koforidua, Ghana
Mmofra Channel
JDilla
Kweku Ananse
Ovation Magazine
About Dust Magazine
PinkPanthress
Ashesi University
Webster University
JoyFM
What happened to Damilola Taylor?
About the murder of Stephen Lawrence
Buduburam Refugee Camp
Professor John Anarfi
University of Ghana’s Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER)
Kasapreko Company, Ltd Ghana
Some notes on Pidgin English
What is Detty December
Ebo Taylor
Asakaa Boys
Black Sherif
Amaarae
Efua Sutherland
Esi Sutherland-Abby
KiDi’s latest release, I lied
Worlasi
Gabriel Myers Hanson
Pigeons & Planes

Special Guest: Kobina Ankomah Graham.

My guest this week is Ghanaian-Briton, DJ, lecturer, cultural writer and researcher Kobina “Kobby” Ankomah Graham. Raised between the alternate realities of Ghana and Britain, he is passionately curious about music, African culture, and counterculture. Through almost two decades of lecturing, researching, public speaking, developing creative projects, curating music and freelance writing, he has championed arts and culture.

He has explored this idea in settings ranging from classrooms to international conferences, and in numerous workshops, panels, podcasts, publications, and dance floors. Along the way, he has been profiled by platforms like the BBC, written for others like The Guardian, received a Miles Morland African Writers Scholarship and DANIDA funding for Ph.D. research on Ghana’s alternative music scene. In doing these things, he is creating pathways for young African creatives, cultural practitioners and journalists to follow. These sentiments come through poetically in this two-part conversation offering wonder-filled insight into a life lived in Accra in view of an evolving arts and culture scene impacting both the local and global creative landscapes.

Where to find Kobby?
kobbygraham.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Kobby reading?
A Quick Ting on Afrobeats by Christian Adofo
The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time by Arianna Huffington
Harmattan Rain

What’s Kobby watching?
The Power
Citadel
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
African Queens on Netflix
Cleopatra on Netflix

What’s Kobby listening to?
TedEd
Big Think
Soulection Radio
Oroko Radio

Other topics of interest:
Koforidua, Ghana
Mmofra Channel
JDilla
Kweku Ananse
Ovation Magazine
About Dust Magazine
PinkPanthress
Ashesi University
Webster University
JoyFM
What happened to Damilola Taylor?
About the murder of Stephen Lawrence
Buduburam Refugee Camp
Professor John Anarfi
University of Ghana’s Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER)
Kasapreko Company, Ltd Ghana
Some notes on Pidgin English
What is Detty December
Ebo Taylor
Asakaa Boys
Black Sherif
Amaarae
Efua Sutherland
Esi Sutherland-Abby
KiDi’s latest release, I lied
Worlasi
Gabriel Myers Hanson
Pigeons & Planes

Special Guest: Kobina Ankomah Graham.

This week on the podcast we’re back on the trailblazing path and once again, it is all about Destination Africa! Our guides are my guests, the Ghanaian-Briton duo Abena and Ekow Richardson, the co-founders of Destination Africa, which, through programs, workshops, dvds, channels, live streams and other merchandise offers a wealth of knowledge in African languages, culture, heritage and lifestyle. With backgrounds in software engineering, the hair and fashion industries, and professional basketball the Destination Africa journey began for Ekow once he became a father with the decision to apply his passions to inspiring and empowering the next generation of young leaders. As a homeschooling mum, Abena is also the main facilitator for Destination Africa. She uses her energetic, coordinated, innovative, loving, exciting, and disciplined teaching style to deliver results while her partner uses his IT skills as the technological mind behind all things Destination Africa. Together this family affair is one to watch as a primer on planning a relocating a family and a business in uncertain times.

Where to find the Richardsons?
www.destinationafrica.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Twitter
On Youtube
On Whatsapp

Other topics of interest:
Exotic Park, West Legon
Winneba, Ghana
San kofa a yenkyiri
About Fante people in Ghana
A survey of Ghana’s Parliament
About civics education in Africa
Kumapim Royals International Band’s Time Changes

Special Guests: Abena Richardson and Ekow Richardson.

For this two-part conversation, I catch up with Oakland-based serial cultural entrepreneur, Isis Asare. Born in Harlem, New York to Ghanaian parents Isis, a fellow Stanford University alum, has called New York, Houston, Ghana (as a Peace Corps volunteer), Seattle, and now Oakland, California home at various times in her life. She once described herself as using her over-priced education, love of technology, and acumen for experimentation to hack Hollywood. And this is where her first entrepreneurial enterprise—Sistah Sinema emerged. With Sistah Sinema her goal was to be a part of a movement to create a global market for independent film fostering deep, engaging discussions about the difficult issues of gender, sexuality, race, and class. In 2015 she successfully exited by selling the platform to community investors.

With over a decade of finance and business development experience at Fortune 500 companies such as T-Mobile, Microsoft, Shutterfly, and Amazon, in 2019 she went on to launch Sistah Scifi, the first Black-owned bookstore focused on Afrofuturism, Indigenous Futurism, Science Fiction, and Fantasy in the United States. Between 2019 and 2020, Sistah Scifi sales increased tenfold through expanding physical book selection; launching private label shirts, sweatshirts, and bags; and offering audiobooks and ebooks. Sistah Scifi has been featured in The New York Times, Oprah  Magazine, BookRiot, Buzzfeed,  VentureBeat, and Facebook's Boost My Business. Sistah Scifi has also hosted author interviews with John Jennings, NK Jemisin, LL McKinney, Jewelle Gomez, and Nisi Shawl to name a few. Sistah Scifi has developed strong collaborations with major international publishers such as Hachette/Orbit, Akashic, Abrams, Macmillan/Tor.com, and Simon and Schuster.

Tune in to hear even more exciting now and nexts for Isis and the Sistah Scifi brand!

Where to find Isis?
www.sistahscifi.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Twitter
On TikTok
On YouTube

What’s Isis reading?
Skin Folk: Stories by Nalo Hopkinson
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

What’s Isis watching?
Good Trouble
The Last of Us

What’s Isis listening to?
Therapy for Black Girls Podcast
Float by Janelle Monáe

Other topics of interest:
Keta, Ghana
Lovers and Friends Show
Ujamaa and the theme House \@ Stanford University
Bronze Restaurant - Washington, D.C.
African Folktales Reimagined
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and on Television
Logan’s Run
Octavia E. Butler
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Beauty in Truth Documentary
Pariah Film
Uhura on Star Trek
Marcus Books, Oakland
American Writers Museum
Northwest African American Museum

Special Guest: Isis Asare.

For this two-part conversation, I catch up with Oakland-based serial cultural entrepreneur, Isis Asare. Born in Harlem, New York to Ghanaian parents Isis, a fellow Stanford University alum, has called New York, Houston, Ghana (as a Peace Corps volunteer), Seattle, and now Oakland, California home at various times in her life. She once described herself as using her over-priced education, love of technology, and acumen for experimentation to hack Hollywood. And this is where her first entrepreneurial enterprise—Sistah Sinema emerged. With Sistah Sinema her goal was to be a part of a movement to create a global market for independent film fostering deep, engaging discussions about the difficult issues of gender, sexuality, race, and class. In 2015 she successfully exited by selling the platform to community investors.

With over a decade of finance and business development experience at Fortune 500 companies such as T-Mobile, Microsoft, Shutterfly, and Amazon, in 2019 she went on to launch Sistah Scifi, the first Black-owned bookstore focused on Afrofuturism, Indigenous Futurism, Science Fiction, and Fantasy in the United States. Between 2019 and 2020, Sistah Scifi sales increased tenfold through expanding physical book selection; launching private label shirts, sweatshirts, and bags; and offering audiobooks and ebooks. Sistah Scifi has been featured in The New York Times, Oprah  Magazine, BookRiot, Buzzfeed,  VentureBeat, and Facebook's Boost My Business. Sistah Scifi has also hosted author interviews with John Jennings, NK Jemisin, LL McKinney, Jewelle Gomez, and Nisi Shawl to name a few. Sistah Scifi has developed strong collaborations with major international publishers such as Hachette/Orbit, Akashic, Abrams, Macmillan/Tor.com, and Simon and Schuster.

Tune in to hear even more exciting now and nexts for Isis and the Sistah Scifi brand!

Where to find Isis?
www.sistahscifi.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Twitter
On TikTok
On YouTube

What’s Isis reading?
Skin Folk: Stories by Nalo Hopkinson
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

What’s Isis watching?
Good Trouble
The Last of Us

What’s Isis listening to?
Therapy for Black Girls Podcast
Float by Janelle Monáe

Other topics of interest:
Keta, Ghana
Lovers and Friends Show
Ujamaa and the theme House \@ Stanford University
Bronze Restaurant - Washington, D.C.
African Folktales Reimagined
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and on Television
Logan’s Run
Octavia E. Butler
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Beauty in Truth Documentary
Pariah Film
Uhura on Star Trek
Marcus Books, Oakland
American Writers Museum
Northwest African American Museum

Special Guest: Isis Asare.

This week, we’re venturing west from Ghana along the coast to Sierra Leone by way of the US to settle here in Accra. My guest, Joannes “Joe” Hotagua is a Sierra Leonian-American, Strategic Advisor with 16 years of professional experience helping startups monetize their digital assets and Fortune 500 brands reach their target customers through digital media advertising. He’s a modern-day iteration of the Ad Man. Early in his career, Joe was responsible for using email marketing and affiliate advertising to drive product purchases and lead generation for direct-to-consumer companies. In 2012, he began his investment career by personally investing in PeepsOut, a minority-run Livestream mobile app, allowing users to see the crowd size at bars and restaurants in real time. At its peak, there were 90 restaurants and bars (in two cities) on the service, and $350K was raised in funding. His current business, based in Freetown, focuses on improving the lives of underrepresented and underserved populations and operates in four sectors: African Startup Advisory, African Film Production, E-commerce, and Real Estate. Joe’s e-commerce platform, Authentic African, is both an e-commerce store and social media broadcast. The e-commerce mission is to connect the diaspora with their African roots through African handmade products while helping local African entrepreneurs build their businesses internationally. The @Authentic_African social media broadcast delivers history, news, and culture to the African diaspora. This conversation was another great opportunity to reflect on the shared mission many of us African content creators have around manifesting a new Africa, a new world.

Where to find Joannes?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Twitter
On YouTube
On TikTok

What’s Joannes reading?
Clash of Civilizations by Samuel P. Huntington
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
The Silk Roads: New History of the World by Peter Frankopan
Silk Road by Eileen Ormsby
American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road by Nick Bilton

Other topics of interest:
Lungi, Sierra Leone
About Sierra Leone’s Mende and Mandingo people
Sierra Leonean Creole or Krio
On Ebonics
On Pidgin languages
About Roc-A-Fella Records
Kazaa, LimeWire and the evolution of MP3 streaming platforms
On Programmatic Advertising
Boomerang, the film
On Frederick W. Smith of Fed Ex

Special Guest: Joannes Hotagua.

This week on the podcast, rather than one last guest rounding out our March 2023 herstories series, I went into our archives with a specific goal of putting together a salon of sorts about craft. I think of craft as how vocation, location, persistence and passion fulfill us. According to Merriam-Webster, it is skill in planning, making, or executing.

I always ask this question because I feel it allows my guest to share more than what they do on a day-to-day basis for economic returns i.e. work, and gets closer to the heart of who they are and how they go about manifesting a new world. So, this week we’re re-visiting with:

• Jamaican-American, Nydia Swaby a Black feminist researcher, writer, and curator based in London about Archives, Art and Freedom Dreams;

• Filipino-Jamaican-American, Zee Clarke an author, mindfulness practitioner and racial healing professional about Healing in Breathing;

• Ghanaian-Afro-German, Ekua Yankah a thought leader in international development on being a Polyglot, Professor, Policy Advisor and Art Patron;

• Ghanaian-Brit, Esther Armah an author, journalist and entrepreneur on storytelling for structural change;

• Nigerian, Sarah Adeyinka a humanitarian researcher and author on Humanitarian CoCreating; and

• and Detroit Native, Dereca Blackmon an inclusion innovator, speaker and spiritual activist about Uncommon Conversations.

Be sure to check out full episodes using the links above, there’s a wealth of valuable, craft-inspired insights from each of these audacious women!

Special Guests: Dereca Blackmon, Ekua Yankah, Esther Armah, Nydia Swaby, Sarah Adeyinka, and Zhalisa "Zee" Clarke.

ICMYI it's Women’s History Month! As is our tradition here on the podcast, all month we’re featuring herstories of women moving and shaking around the world. This week, my guest is a Global Ghanaian based in Los Angeles, California. Alua Arthur is a death doula, recovering attorney, and the founder of Going with Grace, a death doula training and end-of-life planning organization that exists to support people as they answer the question, “What must I do to be at peace with myself so that I may live presently and die gracefully?” Going with Grace works to improve and redefine the end-of-life experience for people rooted in every community using the individual lived experience as the foundation. Alua was a keynote speaker at EndWell 2019 and featured in the LA Times, Vogue, Refinery29, The Doctors, and InStyle. She is inspired by the gift of LIFE itself and is always on the quest for the best donuts and fried plantains!

This conversation offers so much in terms of not only insight into the work that is Alua’s professional calling, but it is also an opportunity for listeners to consider what is often a difficult topic as a truly expansive experience.

Where to find Alua?
www.goingwithgrace.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Facebook
On Twitter
On YouTube

What’s Alua reading?
Grit and Grace: Uncommon Wisdom for Inspiring Leaders Designed to Make You Think

What’s Alua watching?
Love after Lock-up
90 Day Fiancé

Other topics of interest:
Hilla Limann
Leimert Park
National End-of-Life Doula Alliance
The Art of Death Midwifery Training
Burkitt’s Lymphoma
Everyday People and DJ Moma
Limitless with Chris Hemsworth

Special Guest: Alua Arthur.

This week on the podcast I’m taking you along with me on one of the stops on my winter tour in the US. Last month my travels took me to Missoula, Montana for the state rivalry game to see my nephew’s team, the University of Montana Grizzlies taking on Montana State. The Grizzlies were unable to overcome their rivals, but all was not lost. I met a fellow Ghanaian, Gabriel Ansah and his family and through this interview I get to share yet another glocal perspective on living, working and playing in a home away from “home.”

Gabriel Ansah is a fitness trainer and proud owner of 406AMCREW, a brand promoting positivity through fitness. Gabriel spent the first 17 years of his life in his native Tema, Ghana before traveling to the United States for a high school exchange program in Missoula where he currently resides with his wife and two sons. After graduating from the University of Montana where studied management information systems, he discovered that his true passion was in the pursuit of fitness and motivating others to achieve their fitness goals. While leading the 406AMCREW, Gabe is also part of the coaching staff for local soccer team Missoula Surf. He’s the director of player development for the club and the coach of its U9 team. In the summer of 2022, he also joined the University of Montana soccer coaching staff. As a Lululemon Ambassador, Gabe is able to extend his reach into communities as a representative of the brand, helping to build a community of like-minded individuals who share the company's values and vision for a healthy and active lifestyle. Be sure to listen in and learn how this partnership with Lululemon afforded Gabe the opportunity to give back in a big way to his community in Tema last December.

Where to find Gabe?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What’s Gabe reading?
The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant
You Owe You: Ignite Your Power, Your Purpose, and Your Why by Eric Thomas

Other topics of interest:
History of Tema, Ghana
About Missoula, Montana
About Lululemon in communities

Special Guest: Gabriel Ansah.

This week we have Part 2 of the Black Mixcellence duet. Ghanaian-Brit Colin Asare-Appiah joins me to talk the history of the term “mixology,” his journey from bar hand to head of Trade Director of Multi-Cultural and LGBTQ+ Advocacy at one of the world’s leading spirit bands--Bacardi, and the importance of getting involved. Colin has worked with numerous spirit brands, celebrity chefs, cocktail bars and industry experts across the globe. He starred in the “The Cocktail Kings” on the DISCOVERY Channel where he travelled around the world creating bespoke cocktails to reflect their destinations. In his current role, Colin oversees fostering brand advocacy for the Bacardi USA Brand Portfolio. His expertise and spirits knowledge have been featured in Imbibe, Complex, WSJ, TIME and Cocktail Lovers Magazine to name a few.

If you haven’t bought the book yet, what are you waiting for? #GetInvolvedBruv! Get yours here.

Where to find Colin?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Twitter
On Facebook

What’s Colin reading?
The Real Pepsi Challenge: The Inspirational Story of Breaking the Color Barrier in American Business by Stephanie Capparell
The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect on America by Nikesh Shukl
[Natives](http://%22%E2%80%8C%22) by Akala
Afro-Vegan Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed by Bryant Terry
The cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty

Other topics of interest:
About celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver
Douglas Ankrah and the Porn Star Martini
The LAB
About sobolo
Cocktail Kings
About the BAFTA Awards
Tales of the Cocktail
Tom Bullock
Caperitif
High on the Hog
Cocktails: Shaken & Stirred
Ariel Contreras-Fox
The Howard Theatre
Ian Burrell
Front/Back in Accra
Lagos Cocktail Week
50th Anniversary of Hip Hop
About Julep Cocktails
About Ashtin Berry

Special Guest: Colin Asare-Appiah.

Eghosa’s second novel, Fine Boys, a coming-of-age novel, received wide acclaim in 2012 and was published in America by the Ohio University Press’ Modern African Writers Series in 2021. When he’s not writing or publishing, Eghosa teaches creative writing at the annual Chimamanda Adichie Creative Writing Workshop. Prior to launching into his literary career, he graduated with a medical degree from the University of Benin.

In this feel good and insightful conversation, Dr. Eghosa shares tips on how to work with publishers and about the how business of bringing books to the people promises to change the narrative on literacy, lifestyle and literary careers all over Africa.

Where to find Eghosa?
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Twitter
On Facebook

What’s Eghosa reading?
Truth is a Flightless Bird by Akbar Hussain
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

What’s Eghosa watching?
Andor

Other topics of interest:
About Benin City
About the Benin Massacre
About Warri, Nigeria
Purple Hibiscus
David Hymar
Masobe Books
Nearly all the Men in Lagos are Mad
The Black Axe
Wole Soyinka
By Nike Campbell

Special Guest: Eghosa Imasuen.

After years in the making, in 2019 Ghana emerge as the official return destination, not only for African Diasporans, also for Ghanaians as well. This conversation is a reality check of sorts spotlighting how to manage the start-up and sustaining a life lived in Africa. As 2023 starts, surely this week and next are a great resource for introspection and exploration of what could be for a life abroad.

Where to find Robertson:
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Twitter

What's Robertson reading?
Dear Nana: A Letter to My Ancestor by Peter Sarpong
Fear No Man: Living Without Compromise in an Intimidating World by George Reed and David Hunt

Other topics of interest:
Paradigm Network
Clifton College, Bristol UK
Ignatius Acheampong
Nkrumahism
Royal Institute of British Architects
Ghana's National Cathedral Project
About Kwesi Kwarteng

After years in the making, in 2019 Ghana emerge as the official return destination, not only for African Diasporans, also for Ghanaians as well. This conversation is a reality check of sorts spotlighting how to manage the start-up and sustaining a life lived in Africa. As 2023 approaches, surely this week and next are a great resource for introspection and exploration of what could be for a life abroad.

Where to find Robertson:
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
On Twitter

What's Robertson reading?
Dear Nana: A Letter to My Ancestor by Peter Sarpong
Fear No Man: Living Without Compromise in an Intimidating World by George Reed and David Hunt

Other topics of interest:
Paradigm Network
Clifton College, Bristol UK
Ignatius Acheampong
Nkrumahism
Royal Institute of British Architects
Ghana's National Cathedral Project
About Kwesi Kwarteng

We have another two part in depth conversation with a very dynamic Diasporan. Part 1 goes live the week of the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. The genesis of the holiday has much to do with food--It was a harvest festival celebrated by America's first European immigrant settlers. So, my guest is our own celebration of food--food science and innovation. Born and raised in the US, now based in Accra, Dr. Wanida Lewis is the CEO and Co-founder of non-profit Crescendo Foods, Ghana’s first shared commercial kitchen space and culinary hub. She has over ten years’ experience leading programs, strategic partnerships, and economic evaluation initiatives throughout the African continent. Previously, she wasa Senior Economic Program Advisor in the US Department of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. During her first stint living in Accra in 2018, she founded Young, Gifted, & Brown, LLC, a pipeline program supporting young Ghanaian women and entrepreneurs in STEM. A Food Science Fellowship Award Endowment in her name was established in 2013 to provide fellowship funding for underrepresented graduate students in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences at North Carolina State University. Another fun fact about Wanida is that she's a certified yoga instructor and can be found working with Glocal Citizens guest, Nana Amoako-Anin at Bliss Yoga Accra training yogis in yin and restorative yoga.

Where to find Wanida?
Wanida's website
On LinkedIn
cresendogh.com
On Facebook
On Instagram
On Twitter

What's Wanida reading?
Terminal Romance: How to Find Love in Cyberspace by Niki Aguirre
The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

What's Wanida watching?
Abbot Elementary
Atlanta
From Scratch

What's Wanida listening to?
J.ill Podcast
Africa Daily Podcast

Other topics of interest:
Theia Coffee House Accra
American Association for the Advancement of Science
US Foreign Service
German Marshall Fund
About Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Delta Sigma theta Sorority, Inc.
Faith Hunter
Arianna Elizabeth
The Pilates Studio Accra
Online Dating Sites, A History

Special Guest: Wanida Lewis.

We have another two part in-depth conversation with a very dynamic Diasporan. Part 1 goes live the week of the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. The genesis of the holiday has much to do with food; it was a harvest festival celebrated by America's first European immigrant settlers. So, my guest is our own celebration of food--food science and innovation. Born and raised in the US, now based in Accra, Dr. Wanida Lewis is the CEO and Co-founder of non-profit Crescendo Foods, Ghana’s first shared commercial kitchen space and culinary hub. She has over ten years’ experience leading programs, strategic partnerships, and economic evaluation initiatives throughout the African continent. Previously, she wasa Senior Economic Program Advisor in the US Department of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. During her first stint living in Accra in 2018, she founded Young, Gifted, & Brown, LLC, a pipeline program supporting young Ghanaian women and entrepreneurs in STEM. A Food Science Fellowship Award Endowment in her name was established in 2013 to provide fellowship funding for underrepresented graduate students in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences at North Carolina State University. Another fun fact about Wanida is that she's a certified yoga instructor and can be found working with Glocal Citizens guest, Nana Amoako-Anin at Bliss Yoga Accra training yogis in yin and restorative yoga.

Where to find Wanida?
Wanida's website
On LinkedIn
crescendogh.com
On Facebook
On Instagram
On Twitter

What's Wanida reading?
Terminal Romance: How to Find Love in Cyberspace by Niki Aguirre
The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

What's Wanida watching?
Abbot Elementary
Atlanta
From Scratch

What's Wanida listening to?
J.ill Podcast
Africa Daily Podcast

Other topics of interest:
Theia Coffee House Accra
American Association for the Advancement of Science
US Foreign Service
German Marshall Fund
About Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Delta Sigma theta Sorority, Inc.
Faith Hunter
Arianna Elizabeth
The Pilates Studio Accra
Online Dating Sites, A History

Special Guest: Wanida Lewis.

My guest this week is another long-time friend with a transformational vocation--helping leaders meet the challenges of high impact leadership. A British-Ghanaian, Michelle Awuku-Tatum has been based in the US for the majority of her professional career, particular in New York City. From her early school days managing fitting in when her family moved to Ghana from the UK and then back again, Michelle has always been fascinated by mysteries. She loves decoding situations and analyzing people. As a Professionally Certified, Executive Coach, every day she finds herself conversing with amazing leaders and executives, as they gather clues to help reshape their leadership approach and improve their skills. During her corporate career, she honed her detective skills; creating innovative processes, customer experiences, business strategies and models for global companies in Biotechnology (@lonza), Energy ( @bp Oil & Gas) and Financial Services (@Citigroup). Working with different personalities and cultures in companies that were sometimes slow to embrace change or undergoing rapid transformation, enables her to share lessons learned and relate to what her clients may be experiencing. As founder of myfactor Coaching & Consulting which she founded in 2007 her firm is contributing to a world where high-achieving leaders can show up as their best selves and create workspaces that inspire, motivate, include, develop and show care for the teams they lead.

I'm certain that you'll enjoy this two part conversation filled with tangible leadership insights and lots of laughs too!

Where to find Michelle?
www.myfactorcoach.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What's Michelle reading?
The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, Kaley Klemp
The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters by Peter Block
Radical Responsibility: How to Move Beyond Blame, Fearlessly Live Your Highest Purpose, and Become an Unstoppable Force for Good by leet Maull Ph.D. and Daniel Siegel M.D.

What's Michelle watching?
Grey's Anatomy
Transplant

Other topics of interest:
About High Wycombe
About the Mitchell-Lama Program in NYC
About Robert C. Weaver
Kellog Business School @ Northwestern University

Check out these resources from myfactor Coaching:
[Crafting Your Personal Leadership Vision]((https://www.myfactorcoach.com/visionguide) - you can download our free step-by-step guide to crafting your leadership vision today.
Click here to learn more about pact: a high impact, experiential leadership development program specifically for high-achieving mid-level Black women.

Special Guest: MIchelle Awuku-Tatum.

My guest this week is another long-time friend with a transformational vocation--helping leaders meet the challenges of high impact leadership. A British-Ghanaian, Michelle Awuku-Tatum has been based in the US for the majority of her professional career, particular in New York City. From her early school days managing fitting in when her family moved to Ghana from the UK and then back again, Michelle has always been fascinated by mysteries. She loves decoding situations and analyzing people. As a Professionally Certified, Executive Coach, every day she finds herself conversing with amazing leaders and executives, as they gather clues to help reshape their leadership approach and improve their skills. During her corporate career, she honed her detective skills; creating innovative processes, customer experiences, business strategies and models for global companies in Biotechnology (@lonza), Energy ( @bp Oil & Gas) and Financial Services (@Citigroup). Working with different personalities and cultures in companies that were sometimes slow to embrace change or undergoing rapid transformation, enables her to share lessons learned and relate to what her clients may be experiencing. As founder of myfactor Coaching & Consulting which she founded in 2007 her firm is contributing to a world where high-achieving leaders can show up as their best selves and create workspaces that inspire, motivate, include, develop and show care for the teams they lead.

I'm certain that you'll enjoy this two part conversation filled with tangible leadership insights and lots of laughs too!

Where to find Michelle?
www.myfactorcoach.com
On LinkedIn
On Instagram

What's Michelle reading?
The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success by Jim Dethmer, Diana Chapman, Kaley Klemp
The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters by Peter Block
Radical Responsibility: How to Move Beyond Blame, Fearlessly Live Your Highest Purpose, and Become an Unstoppable Force for Good by leet Maull Ph.D. and Daniel Siegel M.D.

What's Michelle watching?
Grey's Anatomy
Transplant

Other topics of interest:
About High Wycombe
About the Mitchell-Lama Program in NYC
About Robert C. Weaver
Kellog Business School @ Northwestern University

Check out these resources from myfactor Coaching:
[Crafting Your Personal Leadership Vision]((https://www.myfactorcoach.com/visionguide) - you can download our free step-by-step guide to crafting your leadership vision today.
Click here to learn more about pact: a high impact, experiential leadership development program specifically for high-achieving mid-level Black women.

Special Guest: MIchelle Awuku-Tatum.

Anna was also previously the First Partner of Stockton. In her role, she co-authored the “Report on the Status of Women in Stockton” to help guide future policy decisions with the experiences of diverse women in mind. As a result of this work she was named one of six pivotal powerbrokers in the Bay Area by San Francisco Magazine in 2019.

Anna has published articles on topics ranging from the importance of inclusivity and feminism to addressing the unique burden Black mothers carry in the U.S. for Time Magazine, New York Magazine, The Guardian, CNN, Motherly, Blavity, Huffington Post, Darling Magazine, and For Harriet.

She currently lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband and two children, where she is discovering a new chapter in her creative career with multiple writing projects in the works which you'll learn more about as you listen to our lively conversation.

Where to find Anna?
www.annamalaikatubbs.com
On Instagram
On Twitter

What's Anna reading?
Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet

What's Anna watching?
Ted Lasso

Other topics of interest:
Hiking in Cold Spring, New York
Kokrobite, Ghana
Oshiyie, Ghana
About Isabel Wilkerson
About Margot Lee Shetterly
About Brit Bennet
About Melissa Harris-Perry
About Marc Lamont Hill
About Alicia Garza
About Bryn Clark
About Peleton
Remy Ma Music

*When you click and purchase books using the link(s) above, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your support!

Special Guest: Anna Malaika Tubbs.