Worcester Business Journal

B U S I N E S S L E A D E R S O F T H E Y E A R F O C U S BY ISABEL TEHAN WBJ Staff Writer W hen African Com- munity Education moved into its new space on Gage Street in Worcester in early January, it marked the beginning of a new era for the 16-year-old nonprofit. ACE came to be in 2007, when Kaska Yawo, a Liberian refugee, and co-found- er Olga Valdman, then a UMass Chan Medical School student, solidified the tutoring and assimilation services they had been providing for children who were new to Worcester and behind in school. Yawo, who himself fled civil unrest in Liberia, experienced firsthand the challenges for new members of the com- munity coming from war-torn countries. Becoming a member of the community helps ease the transition, he said. Now in its 17th year, ACE has helped hundreds of students through school and into college and degree programs. He started going door-to-door throughout Worcester to reach out to families with young children who might require ACE's services. Within the first week, he had nearly 150 interested in the programming. Since then, ACE has only grown and added programming, offering adult education and further establishing itself as a lifera for struggling students. ACE offers career and workforce develop- ment programming for adults, as well as citizenship readiness classes for those eligible. With its success, it gained attention from the public school system, said Yawo. Students were scoring well on state testing and heading to college. "It made them think we really have something to our program," said Yawo. at successful track record has allowed ACE to obtain millions in grant funding, including to the tune of $3 million in federal funding at the end of 2022 to renovate its new facility, money secured by Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Worcester). Prior to the purchase of the building at 51 Gage St., which was previously occupied by Seven Hills Charter School, ACE was dispersed around the city. is meant employees would have to drive from location to location, and the organization did not have a place to call home. In the fall of 2022, Yawo connect- ed with a private donor from California. A "God-sent individual," he said. e donor made the $1.8-million purchase Yawo is growing ACE into a multi-million nonprofit of the building a possibility, which gives it a true home base for the first time in its nearly two-decade history. Yawo himself is a home base for the Liberian refugee and immigrant com- munity, said Charles Allison, former community president of the Liberian Association of Worcester Country. "He is a mentor in the community in so many ways," said Allison. Allison credits Yawo and ACE with helping children reintegrate into society aer coming from intense hardship. ey experience intense culture shock, said Allison, and ACE is a resource to help families move forward. Yawo's ambition, too, sets him apart, said Allison, who knows Yawo socially from playing in the same soccer league, another aspect of Yawo's community involvement. "He's not going to stop. When he's focused, he's focused. He never stops things that he starts," said Allison. Yawo's ambitions for ACE don't stop with the new building, which he hopes will be an all-encompassing resource for African refugees. Beyond the building's extensive renovations, which aim to turn the former school into a true com- munity center, Yawo is in the process of developing an ACE-run driving school, something cost-prohibitive to refugees and immigrants. An ongoing capital campaign seeks to bring in $7 million, he said. While programming is ACE's focus, Yawo wants its presence in the com- munity to serve as a signal for what refugees can contribute. "Refugees aren't coming to take from the community, but to add to it. Our experiences are a benefit to the city, and we will add to it," Yawo said. Nonprofit Business Leader of the Year Kaska Yawo Co-founder & executive director African Community Education Organization location: Worcester His birthplace: Behwallay, Liberia Residence: Auburn You never really retire: Yawo is a retired player on the Liberian community soccer team, though he continues to mentor younger players and gets on the field with the older division. wbjournal.com | March 6, 2023 | Worcester Business Journal 17 W PHOTO | MATT WRIGHT

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