| Elizabeth Akua Nyarko Patterson | |
| Birth Name: | Elizabeth Akua Nyarko Patterson |
| Birth Date: | 2 January 1985[1] |
| Occupation: | Social Entrepreneur |
| Website: | girlsedgh.org |
Elizabeth Akua Nyarko Patterson (born 1985) is a Ghanaian social entrepreneur and the founder and executive director of the non-profit organization Girls Education Initiative of Ghana (GEIG).[2]
Patterson was born in 1985 in Kumasi[1] in the Ashanti Region, Ghana. Her family moved to America in 1995 and she attended school there. When she was in her final year in high school, she was involved in a motor vehicle accident in which she suffered a traumatic brain injury which affected her cognitive and intellectual abilities, and also left her with a physical disability.[1] [3] [4] [5] She completed high school while recovering in hospital.[1] She holds a BA in Political Science and Business Management from Caldwell College,[1] [4] and a Masters in Public Administration from the New York University Wagner School of Public Service.[1] [4]
Patterson worked as a communications and marketing associate at Junior Achievement in New York.[1] [4] After returning to Ghana in 2006, she was a volunteer teacher at the World Links Academy in Kumasi,[1] [4] and then director of communication and marketing for the Council of Young African Leaders.[1] [4] She experienced more difficulty accessing public facilities in Africa than she had in America. She also observed that a student at Kumasi who had learning difficulties was believed to be affected by evil spirits.[1] [4]
These experiences inspired her to found the Girls Education Initiative of Ghana (GEIG) in 2013, to provide support for disadvantaged girls, particularly those with special needs, to attend school.[6] [7] [8] GEIG supports girls in the Ashanti and Greater Accra regions, and has assisted over thirty girls to attend and complete school from the basic level through to the tertiary level.[9] [10] [11] Patterson was named Vlisco Ambassador in 2015,[12] [13] [14] because "despite all that had happened in her life, she has proven that disability is not inability. She has strong values and a big dream of ensuring all girls and women have equal footing in Ghana".[15] She has been a TedxAccra speaker.[16] [17] [18]