Oluwatoyin Adewumi, Ed.M, Executive Director

Oluwatoyin Adewumi (Toyin) is a serial afropreneur, who uses her voice, talent and resources in the hospitality, health advocacy and business development space.

Toyin left Nigeria in the late 90s to pursue her IB diploma in Norway, and arrived in the US in 2000. A graduate of top schools, her multifaceted experience in strategy and workforce development has allowed her to work with start ups prior to starting her own businesses.

She is currently the executive chef of TamBo’s Kitchen, an African themed restaurant network in the south shore of Massachusetts.

In 2017, Toyin was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer that was metastatic to her right lymph nodes. Not to waste her pain, she founded TamBo Foundation, a non profit organization focused on tearing down the ethno-religious barriers and misconceptions prevalent in Afrodiasporic communities. She also serves on the Dana Farber Cancer Institute Adult Patient Advisory Council. She is a board member of the Brockton City Women’s Commission.

She is an author, a blogger, a speaker and a woman in ministry.

A mother of 2, she is joyfully married to her darling husband of 19 years and they both live in Brockton, Massachusetts.

H.E Betty Anyawu-Akeredolu, Honorary Chairwoman

Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu is the founder of the Breast Cancer Association of Nigeria (BRECAN), a leading NGO that galvanizes action against breast cancer in Nigeria. She founded BRECAN in October 1997, following her personal experience with breast cancer. She was diagnosed in March 1997, underwent treatment the same year, and survived the life-threatening disease. The ordeal became her driving force to start BRECAN, a nonprofit organization with the mission to bring about positive and lasting change in Nigerian society, which has deeply entrenched misconceptions about what causes breast cancer and how it can be treated. Mrs. Anyanwu-Akeredolu is a passionate woman who has won numerous awards both nationally and internationally in recognition of her continuous efforts, against all odds, to raise awareness about breast cancer all around Nigeria. In late 2017, she launched a two hundred million-naira (N200 million) crowdfund to provide financial support to indigent breast cancer patients in Nigeria.

Mrs. Anyanwu-Akeredolu is widely traveled. Her hobbies include reading, gardening, jogging, yoga, and playing lawn tennis. She is the wife of the 6th Executive Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN.

Dr. Akinyemi Ojesina, Ph.D

Dr. Ojesina is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), with appointments in Epidemiology, the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. The Ojesina Lab utilizes cutting-edge methods to investigate how microbes (viruses, bacteria, etc.) synergize with genetic changes in cancer, and how these interactions influence cancer development, progression, and response to treatment. This work is applicable to a wide variety of cancers, but the primary focus is on infection-related cancers, squamous cell carcinomas and women’s cancers like breast cancer and cervical cancer. The ultimate goal is to identify better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. Dr. Ojesina’s work has been recognized and supported by the V Foundation, the Damon Runyon Foundation, and the Avon Foundation.

Dr. Ojesina obtained his medical training at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria (with Distinction in Biochemistry), and his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences in Public Health at Harvard University. Before his recruitment to UAB, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship in cancer genomics and pathogen discovery at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

Sherrif Olanrewaju Oladejo, MBA

Sheriff has had a distinguished career that spans two decades in investment banking and finance.

He has an Executive MBA from the J. Mack Robinson School of Business of Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. He also holds a degree in International Business Economics from the Lord Ashcroft International Business School at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, England.

His wife was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Unfortunately, she passed away after eighteen month-long battle with the disease. He resides in the UK with his children.

Uju Obu, MSPM, Secretary

Uju joins the board with extensive experience in social development and non-profit management.

She has been involved in multiple projects centered on the advancement and empowerment of women and families. Uju earned her B.Sc in Information Systems Technology from the University of Houston in Texas and M.Sc. in Project Management (MSPM) from Northeastern University in Boston. She is also a member of the Project Management Institute.

Timothy G. Ndamati, EA, MBA, Treasurer

Tim joins the board with years of valuable experience as an IRS registered agent. He is the president of S & T Associates, an accounting and business advising firm.