Our Founder

Mrs. Nana Fosu-Randall was born in Kumasi, Ghana. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA in finance. Nana retired from the United Nations after nearly 30 years, the last 18 years as the Chief Financial Officer. She served in countries such as Tanzania, Namibia and the Ivory Coast. She also served with the Peace Keeping Missions responsible for the rebuilding and clean-up efforts following war and conflict situations in places such as Liberia, Israel and Lebanon, and in Kuwait and Iraq during the Gulf War. She saw much suffering during her service with the UN and grew to believe that there is an alternative to war – the promotion of peace, the sharing of resources and the creation of understanding among all people.

 

A passionate advocate for causes she champions, her life’s work is driven by compassion and an experienced world-view. Nana has always believed that education leads to empowerment, peace and better lives.

During her years with the UN, she saw global gaps in educational opportunities that she wanted to try to close; thus, the John William Montessori School (JWMS) was established in Kumasi, Ghana by Nana and her husband, John, in 1997. JWMS was named for her late husband, John, a professor, and her son, William, the “main supports” in her life.

Nana, who shares her residency between New York and Ghana, stands before audiences all over the United States and the world to deliver a message of peace and hope. Her mission is to raise awareness and assemble a coalition of helping hands to build up what war has torn down for generations of women and children.

Nana received her compulsory education in England and attended college in the United States, but her roots remain in Ghana. Her father wanted her to be a nurse, but she chose accounting. “I was good with figures,” she said. For her, it’s been a helpful profession of another kind. After she obtained her master’s degree, she met a United Nations Ambassador, who supported her application to join the world peace organization in 1974. “They were looking for women,” she says. “It was very hard at that time; there was a quota system.”

Recently, Nana was honored with an appointment to the board of Tanoso Community Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana “in appreciation of (her) tremendous contribution to the hospital and the community as a whole.” In 2014, Mrs. Randall was presented with a Special Recognition by the Westchester County Board of Legislators and The United Nations Association of Westchester for Women’s History Month and honored for her promotion of peace for the women and children of Africa. This Special Recognition was visibly highlighted by the Declaration of March 28, 2014 as “Nana Fosu-Randall Day” in Westchester County, NY.

Over the years, she has been involved in community and civic organizations both in Ghana and New York. In New York, she is a past member of the Nepperhan Community Center Board of Directors in Westchester County; and a current member of the National Council of Negro Women of Hudson Valley (NCNW-HV, NY).

This is E. Nana Fosu-Randall, the visionary and humanitarian, who has and will always be sensitive to the mothers and children of Africa and the world.

It is Nana’s fervent belief: “Wars do not build nations; Wars destroy them. Wars bring unnecessary pain, hunger, distress and suffering. There is an alternative to war: the promotion of peace, the sharing of resources and the creation of understanding among all people.”

Board of Directors

Honorary Chairperson and Patron
H.E. Constancia Mangue de Obiang

International Board
Nana Fosu-Randall, Founder and President
Kachina Akua Afriyie, Executive Director
Constance Fowler, Board Secretary
Carolyn Hubbard-Kamunanwire, UN Liaison Officer
Dr. Sylvester Rowe, Special Adviser, UN & Foreign Relations
Kenny Frimpong, Communications Director
Frederick Ihonde, Business Director

Advisory Board
Dr. E.M. Debrah, Chairperson
Dr. Judy Kurlansky, Special Advisor
Dr. Rosemary Uzzo
Rev. John H. Boyd, II
Hon. Delores Brathwaite, Esq.
N’Dri Therese Assie-Lumumba
Chriss Portella
Sabina Anokye Mensah, Ghana Coordinator
William K. Randall
Samuel Ritholtz

Youth Ambassadors
Lushima Kwajo Lumumba Kasongo­­­
Eden Brachot
Blake Brown