Founder, CEO & Board Chairperson

Professor Francesca Colecraft Dwamena, MD, MS, FACP, FAACH

Francesca Dwamena is a physician, educator, researcher, and an academic leader whose career has spanned more than three decades in clinical and academic medicine. She is retired Professor and past Chair of the Department of Medicine at Michigan State University, USA, and is recognized for her work in evidence-based patient-centered and relationship-centered healthcare communication. In 2024 she was inducted into the Physician Hall of Fame at University of Michigan Health-Sparrow for her outstanding contributions to the institution and its community.

She is a product of Aburi Girls Secondary School, Ghana; Wellesley College, in Massachusetts, USA; Howard University College of Medicine in Washington DC, USA; and is a graduate of the Program for Chairs of Clinical Services at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Cambridge Ma, USA.

Prof. Dwamena founded Vibrant Aging Community Center (VACC) Ltd Company in Winneba to provide compassionate, relationship-centered care for older adults and to help advance standards for assisted living in Ghana. She is the company’s Founder, CEO and current Chairperson of its Board of Directors. She divides her time between the United States and Ghana.

Co-Founder and Director

Dr. Catherine Colecraft Sarbah, MD, MPH

Dr. Sarbah is a Medical Doctor, in Internal Medicine, sub-specializing in Infectious Diseases, practicing in USA, with over 20 years clinical practice experience. Comprehensive education from distinguished institutions including The George Washington University (Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Psychology), DC; Howard University College of Medicine in Washington DC (Doctor of Medicine), and University of South Carolina Norman J School of Public Health (Master of Public Health in Health Promotion and Education).

She is Co-Founder of VACC and serves as a board director.

Director

Professor George Acquaah-Mensah, PhD.

Prof Aqcuaah-Mensah is Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at MCPHS University with over 20 years experience in pharmacology, toxicology, and computational biology. He integrates machine learning to diseases like cancer and addiction. A licensed Pharmacist, he holds a PhD from the University of Texas and is the Founding President of the Convention for Biomedical Research, Ghana. He is a member of VACC Board of Directors.

Director

Professor Esther Sakyi-Dawson

Prof. Sakyi-Dawson is a retired Associate Professor of Food Science at the University of Ghana and a Certified Food Scientist.  She attended the University of Ghana for her BSc and MPhil degrees and obtained her PhD from Cornell University, USA.  She started her journey as a lecturer in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Ghana in 1987.  Administrative positions she held in the University prior to retiring included Director of Academic Quality Assurance, and Head of the Female Hall of Residence. Her expertise as a Food Scientist is in Quality Assurance Food Product Development and Food packaging. She has served on various committees and boards within and outside the University.  An advocate for dietary diversity and exercising for a healthy lifestyle, she loves natural surroundings and flower gardening. She is a Board member of the Chartered Institute for Supply Chain Management and also chairs the National Advisory Council of the Hunger Project Ghana.   She is a member of the Vibrant Aging Community Center Board of Directors

Director

Mr. Samuel Boadu

Mr. Boadu is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Ohio, USA and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He holds an MBA from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Oh, USA and a BA in Accounting & Economics from Central College, Pella, Iowa, USA.

He is founder and CEO of Boadu & Associates, a business advisory services company and is also Sr. FP&A Manager with Advance Partners, a subsidiary of Paychex Company. He was previously Global Finance Manager with Lubrizol Corporation, and Manager FP&A with AzkoNobel Paints LLC. He joins VACC as a member of its Board of Directors.

Company Secretary

Mr. Eric Boateng Siaw

Mr. Siaw is a final-level candidate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG). He holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting with First Class Honors from the University of Cape Coast and pursued further academic training at the University of Birmingham, UK. He holds the FMVA (Financial Modeling & Valuation Analyst) and BIDA (Business Intelligence & Data Analyst) certifications from the Corporate Finance Institute. He trained as an auditor with Ernst and Young Ghana, where he contributed to high stakes audit assignments across sectors such as insurance, telecom, and financial services. Eric serves as the Manager for Business Solutions at Nexus BI and Company Secretary for VACC on behalf of Nexus BI.

Co-CEO and past Interim Director of Operations.

Dr. Esi Adu Afarwuah, DrPH.

Dr. Esi Adu Afarwuah (widely known Dr. Esi K Colecraft), has built her career at the intersection of nutrition, public health and community empowerment. A Senior Lecturer in the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Ghana, her academic journey has taken her from Cornell University in New York, to The Pennsylvania State University, and later to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she earned her Doctor of Public Health in International Health. Driven by a passion to improve the well-being of vulnerable populations, she returned to Ghana in 2004 following her postdoctoral training at Iowa State University, and served as Project Manager on a USAID-funded initiative aimed at strengthening child nutrition in rural communities.

Since joining University of Ghana in 2009, Dr. Colecraft has continued to pursue work that bridges disciplines and responds to real world needs. In 2017, her collaboration with Dr. Francesca Dwamena examining the support needs of older adults in Ghana provided important groundwork for establishing the Vibrant Aging Community Center. Hence her work reflects her enduring dedication to forging systems that support well-being across the life course. She is co-CEO of VACC and also served as its first Interim Director of Operations.

Finance Director

Mr. KNT Danquah

Mr. KNT Danquah is a product of the University of Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). Previously Management Accounting Officer, then Logistics Manager, Ghamot/Toyota Ghana. Currently retired Non-Executive Director, Toyota, Ghana. He has served as Finance Director of VACC since 2022.