Introducing

Babu is Kojo’s older sister. She lives in Falls Church Virginia with her husband, Michael. They have two adult daughters, Araba and Yacoba. Ekua specializes in procurement strategy and business intel at Deloitte. She’s the founder of Nature’s Essentials, an agro business and sesame oil company. Hometown: Komenda and Nyakrom. Education: B.S. Mathematics and Computing, University of Brighton; MBA, Virginia Tech.

Angie is part of our Seattle crew. She now lives in Chicago where she’s Director of the Illinois office of the Corporation for Supportive Housing. In January 2023, Angie became the first Black female to be elected President of the American Planning Association. Hometown: Seattle. Education: B.A. Urban Studies, Jackson State; Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning, University of New Orleans.

Trinity is Tiffany’s younger sister. She and her husband, Kelvin, live in Los Angeles and run their church small group ministry. Trinity is Financial Controller at Olea Kiosks. Hometown: Tacoma. Education: B.A. Accounting, Washington State. Kelvin is Account Manager for Strategic Accounts at Eaton Aerospace. Hometown: Los Angeles. Education: B.A. Applied Psychology, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Kojo and Tiffany Dufu are your hosts for The Return Home and thrilled to be celebrating Kojo’s 50th with all of you. They live in Harlem and are traveling with their son, Kofi Abiam (17), and daughter, Ekua Amala (14). Kojo is a technology and finance executive. Hometown: Accra. Education: B.S. Electrical Engineering, University of Washington; MBA, MIT. Tiffany is a writer and Founder of The Cru. Hometown: Tacoma. Education: B.A. and M.A. English, University of Washington.

Tyrone and Monica are part of our Seattle crew. Tyrone stood next to Kojo at our wedding. They’re traveling with their sons Jason(10) and Jordan(7). Tyrone is Professor and Chair of Biomedical Engineering at University of Texas at Austin. Hometown: Detroit. Education: B.S. Engineering, Prairie View A&M; Ph.D. Bioengineering, University of Washington. Monica is Director of the TIP Scholars Program at UT Austin. Hometown: Hawkins, TX. Education: B.S. Biology, Hampton; Ph.D. Molecular and Cellular Pathobiology, Wake Forest.

Desiree is Tiffany’s youngest sister. She lives outside Denver with her wife and two adorable kids. Desiree is a technology project management maven, currently serving in Digital Implementation at VISA. Hometown: Tacoma. Education: BS/BA Finance, University of Denver, where she played Division 1 basketball.

Jasmine has supported our family for seven years. When she’s not coordinating travel or planning events, she’s on stage as a vocalist and actor. Credits include RENT 20th Anniversary Tour, The Full Monty, and A Bronx Tale - where she actually lives. She’s accompanied by her friend, Shanice Henderson. Hometown: New York. Education: B.A. History, Vanderbilt.

Belinda became a member of our Seattle crew during her tenure at Immunex, a Seattle based pharmaceutical company. She now lives in San Francisco and serves as Associate Director, Managed Markets, Patient Support Strategy at Gilead Sciences. The Return Home is literal for Belinda, as she is Ghanaian and her parents reside in Accra. Hometown: Metairie, LA. Education: B.S. Marketing, Louisiana State; MBA, Georgetown.

Adam and Colleen are members of our Boston crew and they’re still in Beantown. Joining them is their daughter, Hannah(8). Adam is Associate Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Hometown: New York. Education: B.S. Economics and Materials Science and Ph.D. Materials Science and Engineering, MIT. Colleen serves as Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer at American Tower. Hometown: New York. Education: B.A. Political Science, Wellesley; M.Ed., Harvard Graduate School of Education; AMP, Harvard Business School.

Tiffany went to college with us and is Tiffany’s line sister. She’s traveling with her sister, Cristi Devers. Tiffany lives outside Seattle with her husband and two children. She serves as Senior Counsel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Hometown: Seattle. Education: B.A. University of Washington; J.D. Seattle University.

Shana attended college with us and is Tiffany’s line sister. She serves as Executive Director of Education at STEM Paths Innovation Network. Shana resides in Seattle and is accompanied by her cousin, Naomi Morris. Hometown: Seattle. Education: B.A. English, University of Washington; M.A. Elementary Education and Teaching, American.

Sean and his wife, Tessie October, are part of our New York and Seattle crew. We became friends with Tessie when she was in medical school at the University of Washington and fell in love with Sean when they started dating in New York. They live in Silver Spring, Maryland with their three children. Sean is accompanied by Ros October, Tessie’s sister. He’s the founder of Cranked Design, LLC., a general contracting company. Hometown: London.

Debbra is Tiffany’s stepmom. She and her sister, Annette Davis, live outside Atlanta and they are both lifelong educators. As military brats, their hometown was the world. Debbra formerly taught at the American International School in Lagos and now teaches Kindergarten in Clayton County Public Schools. Education: B.A. Elementary Education, Washington State; Master of Social Work, University of Washington; Ed.S. Teacher Leader, Thomas University.

Lala is Kojo’s older sister. She lives in London where her two young adult daughters also reside. She specializes and teaches family medicine, reproductive and sexual health and is a child protection champion. Hometown: Accra. Education: Bachelors Medicine and Dental Surgery, Kings College University; Fellow Royal of College of Surgeons of England; Member Royal College of General Practitioners of England.

Dawn went to college with us before transferring and is Tiffany’s line sister. She and Kojo both served as Resident Advisors for their dorm. That’s how she had his phone number to give to Tiffany. The rest is history. She resides in Baton Rouge where she’s Creative Services Director at Louisiana State University. She’s accompanied by her sister, Niki Hampton. Hometown: Baton Rouge. Education: B.F.A. Colorado State; M.A. Advertising Design, Syracuse.

Jeanette went to college with us and is a member of our Seattle crew. She serves as Senior Director of Planning and Strategy for the Office of Minority Affairs at the University of Washington. Hometown: Chicago. Education: B.A. Communication, Western Michigan University; M.A. Communication, Michigan State University; Ph.D. Education Leadership and Policy, University of Washington.

Frank is a dear family friend and spiritual mentor. He currently serves as the RESA(leader) of ECKANKAR(our spiritual teaching) for Washington State. In 2020 he retired from the Northshore School District after 30 years of service as an educator - and that wasn’t his first district. Fun fact: Frank taught at Hunt Middle School in Tacoma, Washington when Tiffany was a student there. Hometown: New York.

Ayana is a member of our Seattle crew. She lives in Durham with her two awesome kids and serves as Director Clinical Research Operations at FHI 360, a non-profit human development organization. Hometown: Philadelphia. Education: B.A. Mathematics, Spelman; M.S. Applied Mathematics and PhD Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington.

Damian went to college with us and is part of our Seattle crew. He’s in Oakland but is a global citizen. Damian's work focuses on applied research and insights to help organizations better serve their people. He's done this work for government, nonprofits, and companies including Salesforce, Amazon, AirBnB, Electronic Arts and the NFL. Hometown: San Leandro, CA. Education: BS/BA Psychology and Sociology, University of Washington.

Dom and Satrina are our neighbors in Harlem. Satrina and Tiffany worked together on the board of Harlem4Kids and their teenage sons are friends with our son, Kofi. Satrina is Assistant Director of Development, Community Impact at Columbia. Hometown: New York. Education: B.S. Marketing, Hampton; MBA, Duke. Dom is Director NYC Health and Hospitals Harlem. Hometown: New York. Education: B.S. Biology and Community Health, Brown; Master’s of Public Health, Columbia.

Agenia served as a Trustee of Simmons University with Tiffany. In September 2023 she was named the 18th President of Fisk University, its third female President, after serving for nearly two decades as CEO of Girl Scouts Middle Tennessee. Agenia lives in the Nashville area with her husband. She’s accompanied by Haley Clark, one of their two adult children. Hometown: Mobile, AL. Education: B.S. and MBA, University of Tennessee; Doctor of Education, Vanderbilt.

Sam and Irene are Kojo’s parents. They met in London where Irene studied midwifery and Sam earned a Ph.D. in Engineering. Since returning to Ghana in 1968, they’ve made an indelible mark on their nation. Irene was the regional director of the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana in the Ashanti Region and later set up the Family Planning unit for the Ghana Armed Forces at the military hospital in Accra before launching a small fishing company she named Cactus Enterprise. Sam played a major role in establishing the rural banking system in Ghana and served as Managing Director at Ghana Sanyo until 1984 when he joined Irene. Cactus Enterprise became one of the largest commercial fishing ventures in the country. In 2020, Sam retired as the RESA for ECKANKAR serving three nations: Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Kofi is Kojo’s older brother. If that name sounds familiar it’s because our son was also born on a Friday. Just try having both of their contacts in your cell phone. Kofi resides outside Detroit with his young son. He’s served as an engineer at Chrysler for nearly three decades. Hometown: Accra. Education: B.S. Engineering, University of Hertfordshire.

Aaron and Natasha are our neighbors in Harlem. They’re traveling with their sons, Aaron IV(9) and Harrison(7). Aaron is Co-Founder and Managing Partner at 645 Ventures. Hometown: New Orleans. Education: B.S. Computer Science, Morehouse; MBA, Cornell. Natasha is Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets. Hometown: Cleveland. Education: BS/BA Political Science and History, Xavier; Master’s of Public Policy, Harvard.

Chassidy is curating your journey for The Return Home. She lives on multiple continents as travel is in her blood. Chassidy is Founder and CEO of Keynect Global, an international business development and impact tourism firm committed to connecting people around the world. Hometown: Chicago. Education: B.S. Finance, University of Illinois Chicago; MBA, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Nihal and Reshma are in our New York crew. They’re traveling with their two sons Shaan(8) and Sai(3). Nihal is Co-founder at Eniac Ventures. Hometown: Cedar Falls, IA. Education: BSEBA Computer Engineering & Philosophy, University of Pennsylvania. Reshma is founder of Moms First and Girls Who Code. In 2009 she became the first Indian-American woman to run for U.S. Congress. Hometown: Chicago. Education: B.A. Political Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; Master’s of Public Policy, Harvard; JD, Yale.

Kadisha was a founding team member at The Cru and led social media marketing. She resides in Brooklyn and serves as a Marketing Specialist for Shopify’s Black Entrepreneurship Initiative. She’s also the Founder and CEO of Cecilia’s House, a home décor company. Kadisha is traveling with her father, Derick Phillips. Hometown: New York. Education: B.S., S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Toyia attended college with us and is Tiffany’s line sister. She lives in Seattle and is accompanied by her mom, Faye Williams. Toyia is Founder and Executive Director of Speak With Purpose, an award winning youth public speaking program that serves thousands of low-income students. Hometown: Seattle with roots in Louisiana. Education: B.S. Political Science and History, University of Washington; M.F.A., Seattle University.