Envisioning Change through Cognitive Science in Ghana with Dr. Nefertiti Puplampu

 Ms. Chikwanda has 6 years of experience in the non-profit sector focusing on community development, conservation, climate change, public health, and is very passionate about gender equality, social justice, and youth empowerment issues. Ms. Musonda has a master’s degree in Public Health and has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Education.  Additionally, she has worked on targeted water, sanitation, and hygiene programs in Southern Africa while serving as a fellow on the prestigious Global Health Corps Fellowship program. Ms. Musonda also worked at the Africa Union Commission in Ethiopia on the Campaign on Accelerated Reduction on Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) and focused on advocating for better health outcomes and expanding understanding of ending maternal mortality in 52 member states in Africa.  In her early career, she worked on access to quality education programs with the United States Department at the U.S Embassy in Zambia under the EducationUSA program, where she helped high school students prepare successful applications to U.S universities and colleges. She later interned at the Clinton Foundation In New York, on a renewable energy project and facilitated an outreach Environmental Club program to promote sustainable development. For the past three years, she has been working as Regional Manager for Africa with the United Nation Foundation under an initiative called Girl Up, she mentors and provides training on leadership to youths from different African countries and coordinates advocacy programs on gender equality lead by adolescents’ girls to help bridge the gap in access to education and stimulate/engage girls to take up careers in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Ms. Musonda continues to promote the importance of investing in girls' education and ending harmful traditional practices (Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), child/early marriage, etc.  Musonda enjoys traveling, trying out new food, and learning French.

Dr. Djibril Diallo has over 35 years of experience in international relations. Dr. Diallo serves as the  African Renaissance and Diaspora Network (ARDN) President and Chief Executive  Officer. In this role, Dr. Diallo leads ARDN’s global “Pathway to Solutions” initiative which aims to popularize the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and spread the goodwill of the United Nations, in close consultation and collaboration with partners including the office of the Deputy-Secretary-General of the United Nations, the United  Nations Senior Africans Group, United Nations system entities, and the United Nations  Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Agbenigan Amouzou, or as most people know him “Coach Fofo'', is a former professional soccer player from Togo. He played professionally for almost 20 years splitting his time between teams in Europe and Togo. After retiring from the game, Fofo became a paraprofessional educator in Prince George’s County Public Schools where he built strong connections with many of his students. In 2010, Coach Fofo established a non-profit soccer organization titled Elite Soccer Youth Development Academy, or ESYDA for short. With ESYDA, Fofo trains and coaches Maryland students aged 5-19 in the game of soccer. But Coach Fofo’s mentorship does not end there. He makes it a mission to instill civic engagement and responsibility in all his players so they can become active citizens in their adult life.

Dunia Mekonnen Tegegn, Human Rights Lawyer and Gender Equality Advocate. Prior to her role as a Media Rights Research Fellow with Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) &amp Human Rights Consultant with the American Bar Association, Dunia worked as an Almami Cyllah Fellow with Amnesty International USA. She also worked as a Program Associate with Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Peace, and Development. Before coming to the United States, Dunia worked as a Human Rights Officer with the UN High Commissioner for Human Right’s East Africa Regional Office, and as an Alternative Care Expert with UNICEF. Dunia also worked as a Program Officer with UN Women Ethiopia on Human Rights and Ending Violence against Women and supported Ethiopian Women Lawyers’ Association, through pro bono services to victims of gender-based violence and providing legal advice on common property rights, child custody, maintenance, and other family law matters. Dunia is the first African scholar within Georgetown Law’s Women’s Law and Public Policy Program to hold a Master of Laws in National Security. She holds a Master of Arts in Human Rights from Addis Ababa University, Center for Human Rights. Dunia earned her bachelor's degree in law from Bahir Dar University. Leadership positions held Dunia served as the Co-chair of the Africa Program for the United Nations Associations in the National Capital Area, and as a co-lead for the Africa Program of Young Professionals in International Affairs. Dunia also served as a Legal Compliance and Diaspora outreach coordinator with Your Ethiopian Professionals Network. Dunia recently co-founded a Women’s rights organization in New Jersey, the USA that focuses on girls’ education and reproductive health rights in Sub-Saharan Africa. Memberships Dunia is a member of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), the Ethiopian Bar Association, and the Ethiopian American Bar Association in Washington DC. She is an active member of the Advocacy Network for Africa Forum (ADNA Forum) in Washington DC and contributes to its Human rights and Democracy, and Security working group.  

Mr. Florindo Chivucute is the founder and Executive Director of Friends of Angola (FoA), and Paginas Tech, activist, and blogger. Florindo earned his Master’s degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University and has over 6 years of experience working in non-profit organizations, international development, international relations, peace-building, and education while being active in the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) in the United States. Since founding Friends of Angola in April 2014, he has led the design and implementation of five projects in Angola: Radio Angola (an online radio station); Strengthening Nonviolent Civic Engagement Among the Youth; Strengthening Democracy in Angola Through Community Journalism; Zuela Application – a pro-democracy and social networking smartphone app focused on fostering good governance, eradicating corruption, monitoring elections and human right violations and more. All projects were envisioned as part of a larger theory of change (ToC) to strengthen the capacity of civil society, empower women and youth while promoting nonviolent civic engagement by using new and existing technologies in Angola and the South-Western African Region. These projects were funded by The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Embassy of Canada in Harare, Zimbabwe, and the U.S. Embassy in Luanda, Angola. Florindo has also published two research papers: “Urban Youth Activism and the Peace Process in Angola” and “Angola and China - Bilateral Economic Strategy.” 

Tosin Akibu has over 15 years’ experience designing and implementing development programs. She trains, mentors, engages in story-telling to enhance positive shift in perception and influence policy change.  She is an ardent social inclusion enthusiast and speaks on gender, gender equality, GBV, social and behavior change as well as designing interventions for the hard-to-reach, neglected and under-served. She was a speaker on different panels at Women Deliver in 2019. She is a entero-cutaneous and entero-uterine fistula survivor and seeks to support other women experiencing fistula in Nigeria.   Tosin has a BA in English with a focus on language and communication. She also has a master’s in public health (Social and Behaviour Change Communications) from Wits University in South Africa. An alumna of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Fall Institute with a certificate of participation in health policy and management. She has certificates in gender equality, gender in development, gender in energy, gender response in humanitarian settings, and gender integration, from various institutions. She has a certificate in Leadership & Management from Washington University and a certificate in Communication for development (C4D) from UNICEF awarded by Wits and Ohio Universities.

In this episode, we welcome Reuben Quansah the host of "ChopXchange" Podcast that discusses the experiences of brand new investors of African descent who want to do more than attain career success. Co-host Reuben Quansah is a first-generation Ghanaian residing in New York City.  Mr. Quansah earned his Bachelor’s degree at Bucknell University and his Master’s degree from the Colin Powell School of Global Leadership at the City College of New York. 
He works as student support in higher education, helping students through to college completion.  Interestingly, helping students explore, discover, and embark on their academic/professional/entrepreneurial career paths has had a profound impact on Mr. Quansah's journey.  Thus, he engages in passion projects involving tech, finance, and entrepreneurship with his sights set on supporting his community here and in Ghana.   Co-Host Fatima Sherif, is a First Gen Liberian residing in NYC by way of Boston. She currently works as a Higher Education Associate.  In addition to being a public servant, Fatima is a Doctoral Student in the Urban Education-Policy and Leadership track at the CUNY Graduate Center. Prior to attending the Graduate Center, she received her Master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University.  Her professional experiences working in education have reinforced the notion of an opportunity gap which has contributed to her sense of urgency to be a catalyst of change. More specifically, she is interested in educational inequities, accountability standards, and how economic decisions impact outcomes. 

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Nefertiti A. Puplampu to Momentum Africa Podcast. Nefertiti, who is Ghanaian-American, holds a Ph.D. in Instructional Systems and Learning Technologies with a professional certificate in project management. She is the founder of the Nefertiti Project, an organization that brings 21st-century cognitive science to everyday practice in teaching and learning as well as organizational change management. Nefertiti has been teaching and training faculty, staff, and students for over 20 years at numerous organizations across the United States, internationally, and online. Nefertiti has recently returned to working and living in Ghana after over two decades away. She is driving the movement towards learner-centered, active teaching practice, and relevant 21st-century curriculum across sub-Saharan Africa. She has won multiple awards for excellence in teaching, engagement, and administration.  

In this episode, I sat down with Dr. El-Tinay. He is an author, thinker, diplomat, and politician, and advocate for peace and justice. Dr. El-Tinay lived and worked for 20 years in Paris, France where he founded in 1985 the International Peace Quest Institute. Dr. Hashim El-Tinay has dedicated 45 years of his life advocating and promoting peace in Sudan, Africa, the Middle East, and the world. In this episode, we talk about his book “Liberation: Anew Quest for New Humanism.”

In this episode, we welcome Ms. Negesa Zainabu from Uganda to Momentum Africa. Ms.Negesa Zainabu has worked as journalist for Radio Station in Jinja in 2015 for one year. Ms. Negesa Zainbu also worked as  a lecturer at the Metropolitan International University lecturing in journalism, news writing, public relations, public speaking and sociology from 2016 -2019. Currently, Ms. Zainabu  is a small business owner running a bridal shop that sells and hires out Ugandan traditional wear.  At the moment, she is running for District Woman Councilor to represent her people in her city.