Kwadwo Nyarko

2014 AYE IT Recipient and Fellow
Cofounder of Shypmate and Sankofa Tech

Kwadwo Nyarko is a passionate technologist on a mission to use his tech skills to pay it forward. He was born in Ghana and moved to Bronx, NY to join his parents when he was five. Mr. Nyarko holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT, and a Masters of Engineering in Computer Science from Cornell University. In 2014, Kwadwo was the recipient of AYE's Young African in ICT Award, and has since gone on to cofound Shypmate and SankofaTech. Kwadwo currently works at Shoobx, Inc.

Susan E. Wilcox

Principal of SEW Consulting
Co-Director of Firebeads Media

With over 25 years of experience cultivating liberatory and trans-disciplinary education initiatives, Susan Wilcox launched SEW Consulting in 2011 to collaborate in the creation of humanizing pedagogy that is informed by heritage knowledge. Merging her long-term focus on culture, identity, equity, and Pan Africanism, and a background in educational TV and documentary, in 2015 she co-founded Firebeads Media that in the same year produced the inaugural Bɛnpaali. Young Filmmakers Festival in Accra. From 2013-2015 she held a teaching and research Fulbright appointment in the Department of Archaeology & Heritage Studies (University of Ghana, Legon). Previous experience includes serving as Co-Executive Director of The Brotherhood/Sister Sol, a nationally recognized, Harlem-based youth organization that she helped expand to include girls/young women, an international study program in the African Diaspora, and a publications/professional development project. Susan is a co-founder of Free Minds Free People, a national conference on social justice organization, and helped to seed Urban Youth Collaborative, the NYC organizing collective. She has taught at Teachers College, Eugene Lang College and The City College of New York, and served on several boards (including Education for Liberation Network and Nah We Yone that addresses the needs of displaced Africans). Showing a wide range of interests, her writing and research has been published in books, journals and blogs, and she is an accomplished designer and photographer. Susan earned a BFA from Parsons School of Design, an EdM from Harvard Graduate School of Education and an EdD from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Kaitlin Beauchamp

Human Resources Manager, University Relations
Office of Talent Acquisition
The Hanover Insurance Group

Kaitlin Beauchamp is the manager of the University Relations team at The Hanover Insurance Group, an emerging national property and casualty insurance carrier headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts. Kaitlin joined The Hanover shortly after earning her Bachelor’s degree in English from Providence College in 2008. Kaitlin is currently earning her MBA with a Human Resources Concentration from Assumption College.

Kaitlin joined The Hanover in February 2009 as a Business Analyst supporting Community Relations and The Hanover Foundation, where she leveraged her communications background and passion for community service, while developing a strong project management foundation. In 2012 Kaitlin moved into a role in Marketing and Distribution supporting the Business Development arm of the organization to deepen her knowledge of the property and casualty insurance industry. Today, Kaitlin has since moved back into Human Resources and manages Hanover’s enterprise wide college recruiting strategy, where she is responsible for hiring over eighty new-to-insurance professionals into the organization annually, manages the company’s summer internship program and drives strategic conversations and initiatives on-campus to attract talented early in career professionals to the insurance industry.

When she’s not out on college campuses promoting The Hanover and coaching undergraduates about their career options, Kaitlin enjoys running half marathons, paddle-boarding, reading fiction and spending time with family and friends down in southern Rhode Island. She is thrilled about an opportunity to network and connect with local professionals and students at this year’s African Youth Excellence Awards!