Lydia Maclean is a seasoned Communications Professional with extensive experience in Public Relations, Corporate Affairs and Humanitarian work.

Prior to joining AWDF, Lydia worked as the Customer Service and Public Relations Manager of A-Plus Life Assurance Ltd, and has also been the Communications Manager of the Ghana Red Cross Society.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Modern Languages from the University of Ghana, a Certificate in Marketing, Advertising and PR from the Ghana Institute of Journalism and a Master’s Degree in International Development from Andrews University, Michigan.

Lydia is a passionate advocate of Social Justice and is strongly committed to the promotion of women’s rights.

 Maame Akua Kyerewaa Marfo is a singer, a feminist and a writer. She is passionate about social change, progressive feminist thought and using the arts to effect social change. She is an avid reader and continues to broaden her knowledge on feminist thought and development whenever she can. She holds a B.A in Political Science from Dickinson College.

Ablodegbo is a Communications professional (Bilingual), passionate about using communication as a tool to promoting feminism and gender equality. Prior to joining AWDF, Ablodegbo worked at Borderless Alliance as a Communications Specialist and at International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) as a Communications Assistant.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Management Option) from Ghana Technology University College as well as a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Bilingual Secretaryship and Management Studies from Accra Technical University.

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Dahmata Yabre is a development practitioner and a professional translator, with a strong interest in gender initiatives and women empowerment issues. Prior to joining AWDF, she worked with the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) on the Mandela Washington Fellowship Programme under YALI, the Young African Leaders Initiative.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Translation from the School of Translators in Ghana. She also holds an interdisciplinary Master of Public Policy (M.P.P.) Degree with a specialisation in Conflict Studies and Management from the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt in Germany.

Rita Nketiah is a second-generation Ghanaian-Canadian currently completing her PhD research in Critical Human Geography at York University, with a focus on second-generation immigrant transnationalism among young adults of Ghanaian origin. She completed two previous degrees (Honours Bachelors and Masters) in Women and Gender Studies from Western University and the University of Toronto, respectively. 

Rita is currently an advisory board member for the Sankofa Initiative (ISDAO), a new LGBT fund supporting activists in West Africa. She also has over ten (10) years of experience of feminist activism and scholarship with a focus on Black/African women’s empowerment, anti-racism and Pan-Africanist movement-building. Rita has had the opportunity to work for several international development agencies including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF HQNY) and the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) as a Gender Research consultant. She is also a creative writer, publishing in online spaces, such as This Is Africa (TIA) and Pambazuka. Rita has joined the African Women’s Development Fund as the Knowledge Management Specialist.

A writer, an actress, and an activist, Nana Akosua Hanson was recently selected as an Obama Foundation leader in recognition of her feminist activism in Ghana.

She has worked for seven years in radio and TV and curates a personal blog at darkmosaic.blogspot.com. She has published articles such as ‘Ebola and the Africa-hating Single Story’, ‘A Girl’s hopes for Women’s Day’, ‘Shashii, Ghanaian Twitter and Slut Shaming’, ‘Could We Be Protecting the Cosby Next Door?’ on thisisafrica.me; this includes short stories such as ‘Love is a Two-letter Word: Me’ on ‘Adventures from the Bedrooms of African Women’ and some poetry.

Akosua runs Drama Queens, a non-profit theatre organization, which has feminism and pan-Africanism as its core defining values. Drama Queens seeks to centre women’s stories through theatre and aims to contribute to a cultural revolution by having the necessary conversations through Public Conversations called Speakeasies and sex education workshops dubbed ‘Let’s Talk Consent’.

As an actress, Nana Akosua has graced the stages of the National Theatre and the Efua Sutherland Drama Studio in plays such as The Seamstress of St. Francis Street, Vagina Monologues, A Raisin in the Sun amongst others. She is currently acting in the popular web-series, An African City playing the role of the latest returnee Adomaa, and in Leila Dzansi’s action packed drama series, 40 and Single.

With a Bachelors degree in English and Philosophy, she just completed her MA/MPHIL degree in African Studies at the University of Ghana, with a focus on Gender and African Philosophical Thought. She finalized her research on the topic “Does Accra have a Rape Culture? Rape, a Gendered Society and Social Media.” She is a 2016 Mandela Washington Fellow.

Fauzia Kassim Ziblim is a Development Professional with strong passion for humanitarian ideals focusing on women and children affairs, especially the ‘girl child’. Prior to joining the African Women’s Development Fund(AWDF), she worked with Palladium as the Programme Support Officer on a DFID funded project, the Ghana Adolescent Reproductive Health(GHARH), in partnership with the National Youth Authority.

Fauzia obtained a Master’s Degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science in the UK, after she had graduated with B.A(Hons.) in Sociology from the University of Ghana, Legon. She has joined the African Women’s Development Fund(AWDF) as the Executive and Resource Mobilisation Officer and is committed to her role in a spirit of teamwork in pursuit of the vision of the AWDF

 Belinda Amankwah is the program assistant of AWDF and contributes to managing AWDF”s grant making portfolio in the six thematic areas. She holds a B. A in Social Work with Sociology from the University of Ghana with special interest in gender studies.  Prior to joining the AWDF she worked as a customer service assistant at Alliance Waste Limited to complete her National Service.

Growing up she has always wanted to work in the development sector specifically on women’s rights issues.

Madonna Kendona is an economic development specialist with over a decade of experience working on issues of gender, social development and economic empowerment. Most recently she was the Country Manager for Reach for Change, a venture philanthropist organisation that invests in early stage social entrepreneurs whose work impacts children.

Madonna started her career at Ghana’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and has worked in both business and social worlds, as Head of Business Development for Cape Logistics, an energy infrastructure and consulting firm, as Lead Consultant at New York University Abu Dhabi’s Center for Technology and Economic Development and at the New York Women’s Foundation.

She is also passionate about sustainable design, entrepreneurship and gender-focused ethical fashion. In 2013, she founded Raffia, a womenswear brand that works with women indigenous textile weavers in Northern Ghana.

She has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Economics and French from the University of Ghana and a Master of Public Administration from Columbia University.

Shirley Serwaa Boakye is a burgeoning feminist who is passionate about women’s rights. She previously worked with the Seedshare Group and the Multipack Recruitment Agency, and is a graduate of the University of Cape Coast with a degree in Management Studies.

Although her past career was in the financial sector, Ayesha Abukari has always had a passion for development work and advancing women’s rights issues. She worked with the Africa 2000 Network (UNDP) to complete her national service by making direct impact with project beneficiaries.

She holds a B.A in Integrated Development Studies from the University of Development Studies, Ghana, and is currently pursuing an M.B.A. in Marketing at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).

Zeytuna Abdella Azasoo has expertise in project management, policy formulation and analysis, strategic development planning, and monitoring and evaluation. She has coordinated and managed public and private programmes for local and international organizations for over 22 years in Ethiopia and in Ghana. She holds Masters Degree in economics and statistics and two post-graduate diplomas in urban poverty reduction and children, youth and development. She also holds a diploma in commerce and accounting. Zeytuna is a member of International Development Evaluation Association and alumna of International program for development evaluation training.

Rose is a Programme Officer for Anglophone Africa. She works to resource African Women’s networks, organisations and groups with capacity, financial and technical support to enable them undertake innovative interventions to promote the rights of women across the African Region and also supports strategy development to inform AWDF’s programmatic activities.

Rose has worked in different capacities for the last 17 years as an Environment, Gender and Livelihood Expert for various national level organisations.

Having worked with diverse groups including women, young women, marginalised communities, institutions, networks and donors, she has gained deep insight, experience and understanding of development issues and programming as well as implementation across various thematic areas.

Rose is currently a PhD Candidate at the Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies, University of Ghana, researching into climate change adaptation and the wellbeing of rural women farmers. She also holds an MSc. in Environmental Resources Management and a BSc. in Renewable Natural Resource Management all from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. Rose has also served as a Strategic Advisor to the Global Fund for Women since 2017.

Rose is very passionate about issues of environment, gender and livelihoods. For her, gender and other factors intersect to influence women’s vulnerability and capacity to respond to climate change Impact.

Rose enjoys watching movies in her spare time.

Gifty Ayebea Anim holds a Bachelors Degree in sociology and philosophy from the University of Ghana. She is also a graduate of the African Women’s Leadership Institute. Prior to working with the AWDF, she worked as a nursery attendant at Creator Early Childhood Development Centre. She is currently a student of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Prior to joining AWDF, Nana Bamea worked as a faculty intern at Ashesi University and then as a graduate assistant at the Statistics department of University of Ghana. Nana likes teaching and believes quality education is one of the major drivers of development.

She also utilizes her in-depth statistical knowledge to improve decision making in a challenging environment. Nana Bamea holds B.A in Statistics & Economics and an MPhil degree in Actuarial Science from University of Ghana.

Nancy is a gender, and monitoring and evaluation consultant with seven years’ experience in gender and development, research, policy analysis, participatory community engagement and project monitoring and evaluation. She has worked for over 5 years as the Project Manager at JMK Consulting Ltd where she was responsible for the design of capacity building programmes, implementation of research, as well as monitoring and evaluation.

Prior to joining AWDF as the Capacity Building Specialist, she was the Gender Expert for SMEC International Pty Ltd, a Progrmme Management Consultant for the Ghana Power Compact II, under the Millennium Development Authority.

Nancy holds a master’s degree in Environment, Development and Policy from the University of Sussex (UK) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Integrated Development Studies from the University for Development Studies. She has certificates in Gender Mainstreaming from the University of Sussex and a certificate in Project Management from the Project Management Research Institute of Ghana. She also holds a certificate in Gender and Diversity from the Radboud University in the Netherlands.

Nancy is a member of the Ghana Gender and Energy Networking Group.

Joyce started her career at the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) as a volunteer and later became a staff working as a Project Officer for the Accra Young and Wise Centre. She recently worked with the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development as a Consultant on the World Bank funded Ghana Social Opportunities Project (GSOP). She has also served on the UNFPA Global Youth Advisory Panel, National HIV Anti-Stigma Taskforce, PPAG National Governing Council and the Board of Purim Youth Development Platform (PAYAD).

She holds a Master of Arts Degree in International Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Ghana. She also holds a certificate in Project Management / Procurement and Financial Management from the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) and a certificate in Monitoring and Evaluation from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). She is an alumnus of the African Women’s Leadership Institute (AWLI); International Programme for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET) by Carlton University and the Ghanaian Women Social Leadership Programme by New York University.

In her free time, Joyce writes and directs original plays on socio-religious themes for audiences of diverse backgrounds. Some of her recent pieces are Crack in the Pulpit: When the Women Decided to Form Their Own Church; God Loves the Fishermen and Melodies from Our Family Well.

Abena Bomo Afari joined AWDF in November 2018 as a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Associate. She completed her national service at the Ghana Institute of Languages, where she taught French. She has a bachelor’s degree in French and Marketing from Central university and a Master’s degree in Gender, Peace and Security from the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center. 

She is passionate about women’s rights issues and issues of conflict in Africa.