Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | August 16, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 27 Community-based healthcare equity has been the hallmark of Boama-Nyarko's career. Currently a PhD student at UMass Medical School, she was the clinical research coordinator in the Department of Emergency Medicine, where she focused on suicide prevention within healthcare settings, including training, clinician engagement, and quality involvement. In the future, she hopes to investigate differential participation in perinatal mental health services for women of color. Before pursuing her doctorate, she worked at the Worcester Family Resource Center, where she engaged with leaders from refugee and immigrant African communities to expand the network of resources to food access, housing assistance, childcare, and mental health care. She co-founded the African Ministry of the Catholic Diocese of Worcester, where she now volunteers as the administrative secretary. As a representative of the African Ministry, she sits on the board of St. Anne's Free Medical Program, which seeks to provide high quality healthcare services to the uninsured and underinsured members of the Greater Worcester community. - K.H. What TV character would you like to be? Aunt Viv from Fresh Prince of Bel Air, originally played by Janet Hubert. The original Aunt Viv was sassy, multi-talented, and a great example of a strong black professional woman. What's the nicest thing anyone has done for you? Check in on me to see if I am okay. It's simple, but it shows a lot of care. What life goal will you accomplish in the next 10 years? Finish my PhD and begin to impact change in the health system through community-engaged research on the mental health and wellbeing of communities of color. Congratulations Ryan Foley, Tax Enthusiast, on your 40 Under Forty Award. It's nice to see you getting credit for all the tax credits you've helped local businesses recognize. Your partners at Cunningham & Associates, 218 Shrewsbury Street, Suite 202 Worcester, MA 01604 Phone: (508) 797-5003 Fax: (508) 797-4080 4 0 U N D E R F O R T Y Esther Boama-Nyarko, 30 Student UMass Medical School, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Clinical & Population Health Research Program, in Worcester Residence: Worcester Birthplace: Ghana, West Africa Colleges: UMass Amherst, Boston University School of Public Health As COO and COVID-19 manager of the $2.1-million nonprofit, James has been an advocate for Worcester's youth through one of the toughest years young people have seen. James did the impossible by developing procedures to keep Girls Inc. fully operational throughout the entirety of the pandemic. She created new programming for Camp Kinneywood, a summer camp for girls, to ensure young girls could avoid achievement gaps created by the pandemic and summer vacation. A member of the Worcester Together Youth working group, James has contributed immensely to remote learning initiatives. Under her leadership, Girls Inc. became the licensed- exempt program to provide a safe place for remote learning. Thanks to her collaboration with the Learning Hub Consortium, more than $2 million has gone toward remote learning hubs, serving 90 classrooms. James led the completion of a five-year, $5-million capital campaign and renovation of Girls Inc, which finished on time and on budget during the pandemic. She is on track in driving the strategic direction's goal of doubling the number of girls served in three years. Now, it serves 1,000 girls annually, 66% from low-to-moderate income households and 71% girls of color. - K.H. What decade would you like to time travel to? 2050. I want to travel briefly to the time I will retire. I want to see the success of the work our local nonprofits are doing to ignite potential in our youth. In particular, I want to see how Girls Inc. has impacted change in the workforce and see all of the strong, smart, and bold girls in positions of power. Favorite Central Mass. restaurant? Volturno, in Worcester When a statue eventually gets built of you, what will the plaque say? She was always there for the kids that needed her the most. Allison James, 39 Chief operating officer Girls Inc. of Worcester Residence: Worcester Birthplace: Andover College: Assumption University

• Cover