On November 19, 2015 Mayor Muriel Bowser led the swearing in ceremony of new Board and Commissioner members, including the DC Commission on African Affairs (COAA). The members contribute the rich diversity of the Commission and the of the African community.
Akua G. Asare, M.D. – Chair
Appointed on March 7, 2014 | First Term Commissioner
Country of Origin: Ghana
Dr. Akua Asare’s work focuses on the linkages between health disparities, including psychological, emotional, and social, as well as cultural, career, and personal development and advancement among those in the African Diaspora. She serves in a diversity of roles and on a variety of civic and community boards, including as Co-Chair of the Montgomery County African-American Health Program’s Executive Committee’s Mental Health Collaborative. Akua is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University with a BA in International Studies, and a Medical Doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She was awarded the 2010 University of Miami / Jackson Memorial Hospital Psychiatry Residency Senior Research Award and the 2010 Bernard Goodman Award. As a 2011 American Psychiatric Association’s Jeanne Spurlock Congressional Fellow, Akua worked as the Health Legislative Fellow for Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), addressing domestic and global health care issues.
Loide Rosa Jorge, Esq. – Vice Chair
Appointed on January 3, 2012 | Second Term Commissioner
Countries of Origin: Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique
With over a decade of experience in the immigration legal arena of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Loide Rosa Jorge brings a wealth of hands-on experience, dedication, and integrity to her practice. She upholds her mission of providing clients with a safe space of honest and thorough legal counsel. Having immigrated to the U.S. as a child with her family, Loide credits the honest and kind-hearted pro-bono attorneys who helped her family successfully navigate their immigration issues as one of her inspirations to provide the same quality of service within her practice.
Loide also serves as an advocate for the needs of local immigrants in and around the DMV, frequently appearing on television and radio programs addressing the African immigrant’s unique perspectives. She regularly partners with local churches and community service providers to conduct free immigration legal workshops.
Loide holds a Juris Doctorate from American University, Washington College of Law and is a Member of the Bar, Maryland Court of Appeals. She is an active member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She is fluent in Portuguese and is a recording jazz vocalist.
Kedist Geremaw EDS, MSA – Secretary
Appointed on March 7, 2014 | First Term Commissioner
Country of Origin: Ethiopia
Kedist Geremaw is a healthcare administrator who resides in the greater Washington, DC area. She has worked as an educator, a television reporter, a mentor, a campaign organizer, and a volunteer with organizations in the DC area and internationally. Kedist is particularly committed to addressing issues facing women and children and creating awareness and empowerment for people with disabilities both in the U.S. and internationally. She advocates for DC statehood and ending workforce disparity faced by African immigrants in the Diaspora. An Ethiopian by birth, Kedist holds a BSc. in Biology from Oklahoma City University, an MS in Health Administration from Central Michigan University, and an EDS degree from The George Washington University. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Disability Studies at The George Washington University.
Chime O. Asonye
Appointed on January 3, 2012 | Second Term Commissioner
Country of Origin: Nigeria
Chime O. Asonye currently serves as Executive Director of NaijaDC, a collaborative network of leading Nigerian emerging leaders on the continent and in the U.S. Chime has worked as an Associate for the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (OSSAP-MDGs). He was nominated for the Excellence in Public Service Award, described by Forbes Magazine as “Nigeria’s most important award for outstanding young Nigerians”. He has served as a Program Assistant for the Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa portfolio in the Africa Division of the International Republican Institute (IRI), the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the United Nations, the Illinois Human Rights Commission, and the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. He is a Chancellor’s Scholar graduate with a BA in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a recipient of the University of Illinois’ Black Alumni Network and African American Cultural Center Global Footprint Award in 2014. Chime is currently pursuing his juris doctorate degree at Northwestern University School of Law.
Ify Anne Nwabukwu
Appointed on January 3, 2012 | Second Term Commissioner
Country of Origin: Nigeria
Ify Anne Nwabukwu is the Founder and Executive Director of the African Women’s Cancer Awareness Association (AWCAA). For the past ten years, Ify has raised awareness about breast cancer among African immigrant women and their families in the Greater Washington Metropolitan Area. Her work through AWCAA has served over 30,000 Africans and facilitated mammography screening for over 1,000 women. In 2012, she won the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leaders Award and the State of Maryland’s Governor’s Service Award. She is an executive member of the African Advisory Group in Montgomery County, Maryland. Ify organizes and leads medical missions to Africa and has donated two mammogram machines to Nigeria and Tanzania. She is a Certified Breast Health Awareness Volunteer Speaker for the American Cancer Society, a certified Patient Navigator, and an inspirational speaker. Ify obtained her BA in Nursing from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and a degree in Hospital Administration from Strayer University.
Lafayette Barnes
Appointed on January 3, 2012 | Second Term Commissioner
Country of Origin: USA
Lafayette A. Barnes directs the Office of Partnerships and Grant Services (OPGS) in the Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser where he is responsible for leading a variety of philanthropic functions and services for District government, and nonprofit entities. Lafayette leads the District’s competitive grants development process as well as its policies and procedures for authorizing the solicitation, acceptance, and use of private donations made to the government. He heads the office’s capacity building technical assistance and training services for local community, faith-based, and nonprofit organizations. Lafayette is a graduate of Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Executive in State and Local Government Program; Georgetown University, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service’s Masters of Science in Foreign Service; Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Business Foundation’s 2011 International Business Certificate Program; Management Concepts’ Grants Management Certificate Program, and the National Forum for Black Public Administrators’ Executive Leadership Institute.
Louisa Buadoo-Amoa, Ph.D.
Appointed on July 3, 2010 | Second Term Commissioner
Country of Origin: Ghana
Louisa works as a Human Resources Specialist/Recruiter at the District of Columbia Department of Mental Health. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Caribbeana Communications Incorporated and Region XI Council Representatives. Louisa is also the current Treasurer for Blacks in Government
Yinusa Yusuff
Appointed on July 13, 2010 | Second Term Commissioner
Country of Origin: Nigeria
Yinusa has served and worked with various organizations within the Washington Metropolitan area. Currently, he is a member Of Ibarapa-Oyo Pacesetters and a former Chief Whip of the Alliance of Yoruba Organizations and Clubs.
http://oaa.dc.gov/page/commission-members
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