Trustees & Officers

Board of Directors & Founders

• Hersh Davis-Nitzberg
  
• Arthur Whitman
  
• Anna Redcay
  
• Justin Nyberg
  
• Harris Ford

Advisory Board, US

• Prof. Ephraim Isaac
  
• Prof. Yusef Komunyaaka
  
• Dr. Kwaku Ohene-Frempong
  
• Mr. Kwevi Quaye
  
• Dr. Stephen Gluckman

Advisory Board, Ghana

• Hon. Prof. Sakyi Amoa
  
• Dr. Abena Busia
  
• Mr. Kofi Anku
  
• Mr. Clement Entsua-Mensah

Officers

• Arthur Whitman, President and CEO
  
• Agya Boakye-Boaten, Dir. Summer Volunteer Program
  
• Oscar Hagen, Dir. in Country Logistics
  
• Percy Dennis, In Country Liason
  
• Christy Laakmann, Business Consultant
  
• Jason Sendaula, Web Page Design

Other technical support provided by Nano Whitman, Adam Gilman, Kanu Okike, Letizia Rubino and many others.

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Professor Ephraim Isaac, Princeton University
Ephraim is the Chairman of the National Ethiopian Peace Council, and founder of the Ethiopian Movement for Literacy, which has educated over two million people in Ethiopia. He was instrumental in the creation of the Harvard African and Afro-American Studies program in 1969, and now teaches at Princeton University. He sits on the board of some twenty social justice organizations.

Professor Yusef Komunyaaka, Princeton University
Yusef is one of the most celebrated American poets of his time. He has won numerous literary awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his book Thieves of Paradise, in 1994. He is a leader in the fight for artistic expression to initiate positive social change. Yusef currently teaches in the Princeton University Creative Writing Department.

Dr. Kwaku Ohene-Frempong, Director, Sickle Cell Center, CHOP
Kwaku is the director of the Sickle Cell Center at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, which has done ground breaking research in the field of Sickle Cell diagnosis and treatment. He is the founder of the Sickle Cell Research and Treatment Center in Kumasi, Ghana. He is known throughout Ghana for his participation in the Commonwealth Games on behalf of the country as a long and triple-jump star.

Mr. Kwevi Quaye, CEO, Diaspora International Inc.
Kwevi is the CEO of Diaspora International Inc., an international architectural and business development firm operating out of Tucson, Arizona. He has participated in the development of numerous entrepreneurial efforts, including the formation of Essence Magazine. Kwevi currently sits on the board of several African-centered organizations, including Technoserve and African Mosaic.

Dr. Stephen Gluckman, Chairman, Infectious Diseases, UPenn
Stephen is the Chairman of Infectious Diseases at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. Most recently, he was the leading fellow in the Gates Foundation/Merc Inc. effort to work with the government of Botswana to comprehensively reduce AIDS infection rates there.

Prof. Sakyi Awuku Amoa, Chair of the Ghana AIDS Commission
Prof. Amoa is the highest authority on AIDS in the country, and is the chair of the governmental body mandated to tackle the issue. He has access to all relevant networks in this sector which exist in the country, and has a deep perspective on ways to approach the problems which surround community sensitization to HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Abena Busia, Professor of Literature, Rutgers University
Dr. Busia is the daughter of the former Prime Minister of Ghana's 2nd Republic, K.A. Busia, and teaches African and English Literature at Rutgers. Dr. Busia brings with her a significant amount of clout at the highest levels of Ghanaian and international society, and sits on the board of the African Women's Development Fund, the first and only pan-African funding source for women-centered programs and organizations.

Mr. Kofi Anku, Managing Director of Volta Investment Co.
As the young Managing Director of Volta Investments Ltd., Kofi is in a unique position in the country as a socially-minded entrepreneur. The company was started by his father, Dr. Vincent Anku, to bring investment back to Ghana. Volta is now primarily a holding company, under whose umbrella fall various initiatives Kofi is taking. Kofi is enthusiastic about the GEP, and as a recent graduate of Columbia University, is a strong counterpart to the younger members of our American board.

Mr. Clement Entsua-Mensah, Dir., GIST
Mr. Mensah is the Director of the Ghana Institute for Science and Technology, and the president of the Ghana Library Association. As a citizen of Komenda (his hometown), Mr. Mensah will sit on the Ghana board as the representative of Komenda, our 'home' community. Mr. Mensah is a very well-connected and influential member of Ghana's intellectual and governing elite, and his contribution to the program will extend well beyond his simple representation of Komenda.