Roots & Identity
As a biracial woman with Ghanaian and American roots, I grew up navigating multiple cultures, spaces, and versions of myself. My grandparents immigrated from Ghana, and my family moved often — which taught me early that identity is layered and that belonging is something you sometimes have to build yourself. That experience of navigating different worlds became the lens through which I see almost everything I create. It shaped my deep belief that the best products and communities are the ones that make people feel genuinely seen.
Ana Mission & Early Entrepreneurship
During the pandemic, I launched Ana Mission, a catering business that grew to more than 80 orders per week. What started as a small idea became my first real lesson in entrepreneurship — learning how to recognize a need, build something people genuinely value, and manage the full complexity of running a business entirely on my own. It taught me that execution is everything, and that problems worth solving rarely announce themselves clearly. You have to go looking for them.
Black Girl Unity
I co-founded Black Girl Unity, a mentorship program designed to create a supportive space for younger girls to talk openly about identity, leadership, and mental health. The program brought together high school mentors and middle school students to discuss issues that many young women face but rarely have safe places to explore — conversations about confidence, self-worth, and navigating who you are in a world that doesn't always make space for you. Building BGU reminded me that community isn't just a nice-to-have. It's infrastructure.
CurlWize & Inclusive AI
I founded CurlWize, an AI-powered platform that helps people understand and care for curly hair through personalized recommendations and visual analysis. It grew out of a personal frustration many people with textured hair share: a lack of accessible, personalized guidance and representation in traditional beauty spaces. Building CurlWize deepened my belief that AI and design can be used not just to create efficient tools, but to build technology that is more inclusive and genuinely reflective of real people's lives and experiences.
Resilience & Rebuilding
Health challenges — including long COVID — forced me to slow down and rethink how I approached both work and life. That experience gave me a new perspective on persistence, patience, and adaptability. It reminded me that growth doesn't always happen in a straight line, and that some of the most meaningful progress comes from learning how to rebuild with intention. Creativity, to me, has always been a form of adaptation. It's what you do when the original plan stops working.
Disney, MIT & What I've Learned
I was selected as one of 100 students nationwide for the Disney Dreamers Academy, where I was mentored in entrepreneurship by Daymond John. During the MIT LEAD summer program, I led my team to 1st place in a real estate design challenge focused on sustainable community development. But more than any award or program, what excites me most is the process of creation itself — the moment an idea starts to take shape into something real, something that might actually change how someone moves through the world.