Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman (born 1996) is a Ghanaian-born American activist and writer. She is a co-founder and the CEO of the Sadie Collective, as well as a co-founder and co-organizer of Black Birders Week.

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman
Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman in 2019
Born1995/1996 (age 24–25)
Kumasi, Ghana
Known forSadie Collective
Black Birders Week
AwardsMeyerhoff Scholarship
Academic background
EducationUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore County (BA)
Websitewww.annagifty.com

Early life and education

Opoku-Agyeman was born in Kumasi, Ghana, and moved to the United States as a child.[1]

Opoku-Agyeman graduated from St. John's Parish Day School in Ellicott City, Maryland in 2007,[2] and from Glenelg Country School, also in Ellicott City, in 2014.[3] In 2019, she earned a B.A. in mathematics with a minor in economics from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).[4] As an undergraduate, Opoku-Agyeman was a Meyerhoff Scholar and NIH MARC U*STAR Scholar, and was enrolled in the UMBC Honors College.[5][6][7]

After graduating from college, Opoku-Agyeman attended the American Economic Association’s summer training program, which aims to increase diversity in economics "by preparing talented undergraduates for doctoral programs in economics and related disciplines".[5][8] She then spent the 2019–2020 academic year enrolled in the Harvard University Research Scholar Initiative postbaccalaureate program.[5] While Opoku-Agyeman was in the Harvard postbaccalaureate program, she was a research assistant to an economics professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education[9] and concurrently affiliated with the National Bureau of Economic Research.[10]

Career

The Sadie Collective

In 2018, Opoku-Agyeman and Fanta Traore co-founded a nonprofit organization called the Sadie Collective, which aims to increase the number of Black women working in quantitative data fields, including economics, data science, and public policy.[11][12][13] The collective offers mentorship and hosts programming, including the annual Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Conference for Economics and Related Fields.[11][12][13] Opoku-Agyeman serves as the CEO of the organization.[1][10][14] Several of her published works and media features, which advocate for the advancement and inclusion of black women in economics, have been the result of collaboration with Lisa D. Cook, a Professor of Economics and International Relations at Michigan State University.[10][15][16]

Black Birders Week

In 2020, Opoku-Agyeman co-founded and co-organized Black Birders Week, a series of online events organized to highlight and celebrate Black birders, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts.[17][18][19][20] Her aim was to improve the visibility of Black people in non-stereotypical situations,[21] and to advocate for science organizations to give Black people the platform and resources to engage in engagement and outreach activities.[22][20][23] Additionally, the inaugural Black Birders Week produced content in collaboration with the National Audubon Society and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.[24]

Selected publications

Academic publications
  • Campbell, Petreena S.; Mavingire, Nicole; Khan, Salma; Rowland, Leah K.; Wooten, Jonathan V.; Opoku-Agyeman, Anna; Guevara, Ashley; Soto, Ubaldo; Cavalli, Fiorella; Loaiza-Pérez, Andrea Irene; Nagaraj, Gayathri; Denham, Laura J.; Adeoye, Olayemi; Jenkins, Brittany D.; Davis, Melissa B.; Schiff, Rachel; Brantley, Eileen J. (2019). "AhR ligand aminoflavone suppresses α6-integrin-Src-Akt signaling to attenuate tamoxifen resistance in breast cancer cells". Journal of Cellular Physiology. 234 (1): 108–121. doi:10.1002/jcp.27013. ISSN 0021-9541. PMC 6202151. PMID 30076704.[25]
  • Opoku-Agyeman, Anna Gifty (2020). "The Impact of Early Childhood Malaria Risk on the Probability of School Delay in Ghana" (PDF). UMBC Journal of Undergraduate Research. 21: 47.

Other publications

References
  1. "Meet Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, Co-Founder and CEO of the Sadie Collective". GUBA Awards. June 2019.
  2. "Awesome Alumni Alert!". St. John's Parish Day School. May 17, 2019.
  3. "Glenelg Country School Class of 2014". Baltimore Sun. June 7, 2014.
  4. Cheryl (April 22, 2020). "Profile: Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, Research Scholar in Economics & Co-Founder of The Sadie Collective". We Rep STEM.
  5. Dansberger Duque, Catalina Sofia (June 17, 2019). "The Power of Community". UMBC Magazine.
  6. "Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman". Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  7. "BSOS Welcomes 2017 Summer Research Initiative Scholars". University of Maryland - College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. 2017.
  8. "AEA Summer and Scholarship Programs". AEA Summer and Scholarship Programs. American Economic Association. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  9. Hasenstab, Maria; Opoku-Agyeman, Anna; Traore, Fanta (September 18, 2019). "Anna Opoku-Agyeman and Fanta Traore". Women in Economics. Federal Reserve of St. Louis. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  10. Cook, Lisa D.; Opoku-Agyeman, Anna Gifty; Bhattacharya, Jhumpa (September 1, 2019). "Episode 27: Dr. Lisa D. Cook and Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman". Insight.
  11. Casselman, Ben; Tankersley, Jim; Smialek, Jeanna (January 7, 2020). "A Year After a #MeToo Reckoning, Economists Still Grapple With It". The New York Times.
  12. Dansberger Duque, Catalina Sofia (March 6, 2019). "UMBC students Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman and Olusayo Adeleye co-create 1st U.S. conference for Black women economists". UMBC News.
  13. Dansberger Duque, Catalina Sofia (April 2, 2019). "Inside the Conference for Black Women Economists". Ms. Magazine.
  14. Omeokwe, Amara (January 3, 2020). "Economics Profession Turns Attention to its 'Race Problem'". Wall Street Journal.
  15. Opoku-Agyeman, Anna Gifty (September 30, 2019). "It Was a Mistake for Me to Choose This Field". New York Times.
  16. Garcia, Cardiff (December 18, 2019). "The Indicator from Planet Money: How Economics Excludes Black Women". NPR.
  17. "#BlackBirdersWeek aims to raise awareness, grow community". BirdWatchingDaily. May 29, 2020.
  18. Kutz, Cat (June 4, 2020). "#BlackBirdersWeek: Celebrating and Encouraging Diversity in Conservation". Smithsonian Magazine.
  19. Calma, Justine (June 4, 2020). "How one viral video sparked a black birders movement online". The Verge.
  20. Thompson, Andrea (June 5, 2020). "Black Birders Call Out Racism, Say Nature Should Be for Everyone". Scientific American.
  21. "These Black nature lovers are busting stereotypes, one cool bird at a time". CNN. June 3, 2020.
  22. Bale, Rachael (June 4, 2020). "Everyone can watch the birds". National Geographic.
  23. Cat, Linh Anh (June 1, 2020). "Opening The Outdoors: Inaugural Black Birders Week". Forbes.
  24. "#BlackBirdersWeek: Black People Belong In The Great Outdoors Too". WBAA. June 1, 2020.
  25. Program of the UMBC 19th Annual Summer Undergraduate Research Fest Hosted by the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences Wednesday, August 10, 2016 shows that this is the same Anna Opoku-Agyeman
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