Estelle Acquah

Estelle Acquah, MPA, CPC, is a dynamic speaker, expert learning facilitator, and certified leadership coach with over 17 years of experience in the non-profit, public, and private sectors. As the founder and CEO of Aya Advisors, LLC, Acquah partners with individuals and organizations to build the knowledge, skills, and mindsets necessary to disrupt systemic barriers to equity and inclusion and drive sustainable transformation.

Most recently, Acquah served as a senior Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) leader in the eighth-largest school district in the United States, where she led efforts to embed racial equity, inclusion, and cultural responsiveness into policies and practices. She has facilitated transformative learning experiences for corporate executives, government agencies, non-profits, and educational institutions, specializing in equity-centered leadership, policy and systems change, facilitation and group coaching, power, presence, and cultural transformation, and organizational development for inclusion and belonging.

As a sought-after speaker and facilitator, Acquah has headlined and led sessions for global foundations, non-profits, and school districts. She has received advanced training in racial equity, inclusion, and community organizing from The National Equity Project, Community Equity Partners, The Equity Lab, Bread and Roses Community Fund, New Leaders Council, and Bright Morning Consulting. Acquah is an International Coaching Federation Certified Professional Coach and holds degrees from Brown University, where she earned a BA, and the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned an MPA. A founding board member of Novastar Academy in Kasoa, Ghana, Acquah is committed to global education and leadership development.

Beyond her professional work, Acquah enjoys cooking foods from the Black diaspora, fitness, and reading novels by Black female authors, while joyfully raising her energetic toddler with her husband.