Founders-story | Our Story
Founders Story
Travel as an inner journey began for E. Aminata Brown while attending Lycee Talma in Yerres, France at age 16.
As a Languages student, she fell in love with the romance of French culture and likewise, developed a deep intrigue in her cultrual African roots. By age 19, Aminata realized her longing to better understand her own ancestry and moved to Senegal to volunteer at the S.O.S. Childrens' Village as an English instructor, while studying at the nearby University de Dakar.
Aminata graduated with Honors from Brown University, earning a B.A. with dual majors in English Literature and African-American Studies with a focus on African Studies. During her Junior year, she attended the University of Ghana at Legon. She graduated from Brown after completing a thesis on the conflicts of reunification between the African Diaspora and continental African peoples. After college, she lived among Senegalese people in Montreal, Canada and Quebec City, Quebec. Throughout these life-enriching experiences, Aminata discovered a deep love for her own African heritage and a special interest in its rich cultural legacy.
Her professional career began as a Change Management consultant at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) where she worked traveling throughout the United States. Aminata later left her corporate career to facilitate political and trade delegations from Israel and the U.S. to Ghana and Cameroon during the years 1998-1999. She also worked as a private free-lance consultant supporting small business development in Ghana during that time. While serving as Ghana country director for International Child Resource Institute in Berkeley, CA, Aminata provided oversight to local child wellness projects.
A naturally artistic spirit and deep appreciation for indigenous people inspired Aminata to become a social entrepreneur. While living in Accra, Ghana from 1999-2003, Aminata founded a creative African women’s collective, consisting of young women from rural villages. With this collective, she leads the innovation, design and development of artistic textile products called BaBa Blankets™, which are exported to Europe and the U.S. Aminata's social enterprise continues providing under-educated women with a creative growth environment, as well as offering them sustainable income and other vital resources. Through the ongoing development of BaBa Blankets™, Aminata intends exposing the world to the vibrant beauty of West African culture and the boundless potential of its people.
E. Aminata BrownAminata holds a Master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica, CA. She continues to explore new ways of fostering supportive relationships between Africa and the Diaspora.
Aminata currently resides in both Los Angeles, California and Accra, Ghana. She is fluent in French and speaks some Twi.
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