Welcome!
My name is Moiyattu Banya-Keister. I am of Sierra Leonean heritage and split my time between the diaspora and Sierra Leone. I am a Social Entrepreneur and non-profit development specialist with a decade plus of experience in Gender & Youth development and Communications. My educational background is in Public Health from Rutgers University and I hold a Masters in Social Enterprise Administration and Management with a focus in International Development from Columbia University School of Social work with a minor in Law.
My experience as Executive Director of Girls Empowerment Summit Sierra Leone (GESSL) and Creative Director and Founder of Women Change Africa (WCA) has allowed me to do exactly what I love – create communities on and offline for African women and girls. I have a passion for Africa and the diaspora and have been blessed to work in various cities across the world including: Freetown, Accra, New York, Entebbe, and Dakar. In 2012, I cofounded the feminist social impact not-for-profit organization, GESSL, which focuses on building the capacities of girls in Sierra Leone to become leaders and change agents in their communities. That same year, I launched WCA, which curates stories of African women owned brands, not-for-profit organizations and small businesses. WCA has now grown to a firm that provides strategy development, PR and coaching services.
My work was recently featured as a Okay100women honoree by Okay Africa Magazine, as well as on various online platforms, including Elle South Africa, Applause Africa, Radio France International. I have served as a Lecturer at Columbia University’s school of social work and a feminist educator at Temple University’s Gender and Sexuality studies program. I have consulted for companies and organizations such as the MasterCard Foundation, The University of West Indies Cave Hill Barbados, and UN-Women.
Currently, I am an advisory board member of The African Women’s Development Fund-USA and a published writer. I am a woman of faith. I take pleasure in traveling and spending time with my family.
Kindly reach out if you would like for me to attend paid speaking engagements or how I can help you build a sustainable social enterprise organization or business with my services. http://www.moiyattubanya.com/