Operating Team
At WoMen of Connections Ministry we are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all members of our staff, clients, volunteers, interns, subcontractors, and vendors. As an organization, we serve, educate, and empower families within their communities through mothers of all ages, and the secondary school students to support them to successfully complete high school with diplomas and to seek post-secondary education. The Board believes that our community of interns enriches our programs, promotes a positive environment, and improves our community relations. The time and talents of our interns are valuable assets to the WoMen of Connections Ministry.
Aanu-Oluwapo Adewusi - Founding Director
Education:
- Special Education Teacher certification training at Virginia Union University, Richmond, Virginia
- Bachelor of Science of Science Degree: Environmental and Health Management Ferris State University, Big Rapids Michigan.
- Associate of Science Degree: Industrial Chemistry Technology, Ferris State University, Big Rapids Michigan.
Aanu came to the United States on June 15, 1990. She began her career as a substitute teacher with the Chicago Public School in 1996. She moved with her family to Richmond Virginia in December 2000. She has been working for Richmond Public School since February 2001 until present.
As a trained educator, she has worked with the secondary school special education population and English Language Learners (ELL) student, formally known as English as a second language, in both the classroom and as a homebound teacher.
Interns
As an intern you will work with colleagues on the project assigned to you. Our interns provide many services such as: one-on-one and peer tutoring, administrative assistance, language translation, mentorship, online teaching, and even social networking assistance. As an intern, your help and dedicated support will enable our organization to continually reach a diverse population of families with limited educational backgrounds and often limited time.
Sahira Akhtar- Communications Department, Web Development & Social Media
Education:
- Bachelor of Science: Criminal Justice, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
- Bachelor of Arts: Political Science with a concentration of Politics and government, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
- Associates Degree: Social Science, J Sargent Reynolds, Richmond, Virginia
Sahira comes from an immigrant family who fled here to give her and her siblings a better life. Her mother is from Afghanistan and her father is from Pakistan. Sahira is fluent in Urdu, Farsi, Hindi, Dari, and English. Sahira recently graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a dual Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice. She was the Fundraising Chair for Afghan Student Organization which in turn helped raise money to build schools in Afghanistan. Sahira had a double internship with Virginia Interfaith Center of Public Policy in policy making and justice reform. She was also Public Relations Chair for Student Power, so I would advertise on social media platforms to give students a voice and get the word out on issues that are going on. Sahira got accepted into VCU’s Masters Program, so she is looking forward to that! Sahira is excited to work with WoMen of Connection Ministry and bring her skills and talent to help make a change.
Lae'sha Reed- Communications Department, Web Development
Education:
- Bachelor of Science: Information Systems, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia
Lae’sha comes from an African American family that is from and still resides in Hampton, Virginia. Coming from the lower middle class, she attended public schools such as Merrimack Elementary, Syms Middle School, and finally Kecoughtan high school where she could finally challenge herself which built the foundation to getting accepted into Virginia Commonwealth University. In addition to her major, she is involved in extracurricular activities such as ASPiRE living learning community, Altria Scholars for first gen students, and the Financial Association Club.
Her contributions to WoMen of Connections Ministry will be a web developer who is responsible for developing/designing websites. With the role comes a lot of responsibility such as performing website updates, problem solving with the team, evaluating code to ensure it meets standards, and more.
Palmata Mutah- Academic Support and Service Department, Community Health Coordinator
Education:
- Bachelor of Science: Public Health/Health Promotion, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia
- Minor: Global Studies, Liberty University, Lynchburg Virgina.
- Associates of Science: General Studies, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, Virginia
Palmata comes from West Africa where the rest of her family still reside. Coming from Northern Nigeria where terrorists kidnap and kill children especially women for going to school, Palmata Fled to get a better education and not be afraid of getting adopted. Palmata is fluent in Hausa, Kibaku, and English. Palmata recently graduated from Liberty University University with a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health and Minored in Global Studies. In addition to her major, Palmata was a member of the Liberty University’s Public Health Students Association and the National Society of Leadership and Success honors.
Palmata is excited to be part of the WoMen of Connection Ministries where she will use her skills and talent to assist in implementing their programs. Her position at Women of Connections Ministry will be a Community Health Coordinator for their Mentoring Reading program. Palmata plays the role of Coordinating all the health-related exams, creating the program’s policy and procedure, and documenting students and staff’s medical records in compliance to the State laws.