Program Team
Lisa Lau
Founder/ Executive Director
Lisa Lau was born and raised in New York City. Throughout her professional career, she has maintained a passion for empowering youth through education and new learning opportunities. She has worked almost a decade in the international development field, including at World Links, an international education nonprofit, the World Bank, and at the International City Management Association (ICMA). She has managed international programs funded by USAID, US SOUTHCOM, and the World Bank. Although most of her international experience has been in Asia and Latin America, she developed a keen social interest in the cocoa sector in Africa as a lifelong chocolate aficionado.
While attaining her master's degree in International Education Policy at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, she examined the education system and the entrepreneurial climate in Ghana. She and her classmate put together a social enterprise business plan to address how to transform the way youth learn in school to inspire them to innovate, which later served as the platform to eventually launch EDUCOA. Lisa graduated from Brown University with a double major in Anthropology and International Relations.
US Team
The US team consists of a dedicated group of volunteer international development and education professionals who have a passion for the EDUCOA mission. The team works closely with the local coordinators in Ghana, providing logistical support and management over program design and implementation.
Josephine Lee
Program Development Adviser
Josephine Lee brings over 5 years' experience in international and domestic educational programming and policy advocacy. She currently works as a program manager at Girls Who Code, a U.S. organization that provides youth programming aimed at closing the gender gap in computer science and technology field in the U.S. Previously, she worked at the International/ City County Management Association (ICMA) where she met EDUCOA’s Founder, Lisa Lau. Prior to ICMA, Josephine interned for both the Institute of International Education headquarters in New York and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's(UNESCO) Asia Pacific Monitoring and Evaluation unit in Bangkok, Thailand. Josephine has also served as a teacher and coordinator in various cross-sector educational initiatives, such as English education in under-served rural areas of South Korea (Teach and Learn in Korea), HIV/AIDS education in Tanzania (Support for International Change), and higher education programming at University of California, Los Angeles. She holds a Masters degree in International Educational Development from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts in Literature with a minor in Global Studies from the UCLA. At EDUCOA, Josephine assists in developing program components and fostering partnerships to leverage local resources and opportunities for the program.
Kelsey Fisher
Teacher Resource Coordinator and Fundraising Extraordinaire
Kelsey is passionate about human rights and international development. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kelsey made the cross-country leap to Washington, DC to pursue a career in international human rights. She has her BA in Communication Studies from Cal Poly, SLO, and has a Master's in Public Administration in from San Jose State University. Kelsey spent over three years working at the Stanford Graduate School of Education - first as a faculty-support administrator, and then as the course management specialist. During this time, she also took on a volunteer leadership role as the Director of Communications, Development, and Outreach at a start-up nonprofit called Swings for Dreams, which ultimately brought her to a rural village in South Africa to build a playground for a primary school. After moving to DC, Kelsey worked as the West Africa Associate at Human Rights Watch for three months. Currently, Kelsey is the Operations Manager at the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC), which provides critical services to survivors of torture from all over the world. At EDUCOA, Kelsey gathers and coordinates educational materials to be shared with our schools, as well assisting in fundraising efforts.
Bao Le
Teacher Training Curriculum Design Consultant
Bao Le was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and raised in Houston, Texas. She holds a BS in Biology, specializing in the UTeach program, from the University of Texas – Austin and an MS in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. Bao taught middle school science for two years in Texas shortly after graduating from UT. She then taught English to high school students in Mozambique for two years as part of the Peace Corps program and then returned to the U.S. for graduate school at Carnegie Mellon. Currently, she works for the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, where she collects data from colleges and universities all over the nation. She specializes in curriculum development, survey collection management, and data analysis. For EDUCOA, Bao is helping develop the curriculum for the annual Teacher Workshop series and other educational materials.
Lindsay Lucas
Annual Contest Coordinator
Lindsay Lucas currently works as a Program Manager for the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) in Washington, D.C, supporting projects internationally and domestically funded by U.S. agencies. From2011-2013, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Rwanda, where she worked on youth and community development projects with the Ministry of Health. Lindsay holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Studies from Hollins University. Her favorite past time is curling up with a good book and traveling to new locals. She speaks English, Intermediate French, and basic Kinyarwanda. She joins EDUCOA as the Annual Contest Coordinator that is administered every year for our participant teachers and students.
Logan Bridge
Program Associate
Logan grew up in Northern California and graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor's degree in Political Science with a minor in Poverty Studies. Coming from a family of teachers, Logan is passionate about education, which is what led him to volunteer/intern with EDUCOA when he was in college. After graduating in May 2017, Logan continues to support EDUCOA's work and seeks to pursue a career in international development.
Ghana Team
The Ghana Team consists of a dedicated group of volunteer educators and community leaders who have a passion for working with youth and building their capacity to lead successful futures. The team works closely with partner schools, teachers, students, and local organizations and stakeholders to ensure the smooth running of program activities and the meaningful impact on our youth.
Seth Asare
Country Coordinator
Seth Asare is passionate about working with youth and enhancing their skills and life experiences to ensure they have brighter futures. He co founded Youth in Action, a local non-profit organization that reaches out to youth in rural areas to work on after school projects that confront social, health, and environmental issues that supplement their learning in schools. Seth was awarded a Certificate of Excellence by the Earth Day Network for a climate change project he worked on with youth, and attained recognition by the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award International Association. Seth is responsible for coordinating and implementing all day to day program activities on the school level and coordinate all efforts of the regional coordinators to ensure activities are synchronized.
David Odoi Jnr.
Program Manager
David Odoi Jr. is a financial professional with extensive experience in auditing and managing internal control systems in various organizations. Currently, he is a Senior Auditor at the Ghana Audit Service in Accra, Ghana. Previously, he served as a Senior Associate at Tedish Consult, Accra, Ghana. At EDUCOA, he provides support in the achievement of financial and operational program objectives and oversees the financial management of all activities. David is a qualified accountant. He holds the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy) certification. He is also currently enrolled in the Chartered Financial Analyst program and has passed the level 2 exams. As EDUCOA's Program Manager, David supports the achievement of financial, operational, and strategic objectives of the organization.
Gyamfi Attah Jnr.
Ashanti Region Coordinator
Born in Kumasi, Gyamfi is dedicated to education and is professionally trained as a teacher at St. Joseph's College of Education from 1999 to 2002. In 2004, he enrolled at the University of Cape Coast to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. He is currently a chemistry teacher at Kumasi Academy Senior High School in Ghana. Aside from teaching, Gyamfi juggles a busy schedule as he is also pursuing a masters program in Food Science at the prestigious Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana.
Afasi Richard Dzipha
Eastern Region Coordinator
Richard is passionate about education and alleviating poverty in Africa through modern means, by teaching and learning. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and then pursued a Commonwealth Executive MBA at KNUST. He holds a teacher’s certificate from the University of Cape Coast and was a classroom teacher for six years at Ayekokooso Presbyterian School located in Ayensuano District, from 2006-2012. Currently, he holds several educational positions including the Director at the Equity International School in Suhum, the District Budget Analyst for the Ayensuano District Education Office, Branch President for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Suhum, and an Education Instructor for Engaged Now Africa, NGO-Ghana.
Salifu Dokurugu
Northern Region Coordinator
Born in Gbullug, Salifu Dokuru is passionate about education. He received his Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Education, Winneba. As a professional trained teacher, he has been teaching for the past 14 years to date and currently works in Kukuo AME Zion Junior High School. Previously, he has also served as the Headmaster of Konkontreso Junior High School in the Brong Ahafo Region for four years (2009-2013). Salifu is a member of Ghana National Association of Teachers.
Ahmed Sadat Alhassan
Northern Region School Mentor
Born in Tamale, Ahmed is passionate about development studies and dedicated to youth development. He received his Bachelor degree in Integrated Development Studies from University for Development Studies in 2009. After four years in the field of development management, he pursued a Master degree in Development Management. During his gap years, Ahmed served as a national service personnel at the community development office of the Asutif District Assembly, engaged in water, sanitation and energy related projects. Currently, he serves as Public Relations Officer at the Youth in Development Association and a loans officer at Saha G20 Micro-finance Company Limited.
US Interns
EDUCOA's Interns are undergraduate and graduate students who assist in the development of critical program components, based on their interests and skillsets.
Soyoon Kim
Born in Seoul, Korea, Soyoon Kim is a current undergraduate at Brown University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Education Studies. Since high school, Soyoon has fostered a passion for early childhood education and has previous work experience in after-school program development, mentorship, and other community-building projects. Her interest in creative and collaborative interventions in education that combine life-skills with globally-centered values and missions drew her to EDUCOA’s mission. Beyond her current familiarity of U.S. and Korean educational systems, Soyoon hopes to expand her knowledge by gaining experience with and researching educational climates within international contexts. As an intern with EDUCOA, Soyoon looks forward to contributing her own knowledge towards curriculum development & integration. She is grateful and excited to have the opportunity to learn from the EDUCOA team and hopefully contribute to the organization’s greater goals of international development through education.
Rachel Lee
Rachel Lee moved around a lot when she was young - She was born in Seoul, South Korea, raised in Boston, MA, went to a boarding school in Buckinghamshire, England for middle school, and went to an international school in Seoul for high school. Currently, Rachel is a Sophomore studying Health and Human Biology at Brown University. After graduation, she plans to attend to medical school or gain experience in the non - profit field. Rachel has a passion for working with children and has volunteered as an elementary science teacher during high school. As an intern for EDUCOA, Rachel is assisting with research needs and developing educational resources.
