Who We Are

Esi Madge Gill Willis, Ph.D. - Director and Co-Founder  

Dr. Willis has been involved in education in many roles for over 25 years. She has been a classroom teacher, school psychologist, college professor, and teacher trainer. Her work has focused on understanding how children learn and on developing the best environment and teaching strategies to facilitate educational excellence for children of African descent. She has researched and published on the roles of culture and language in children's learning and on successful schools for our children She earned her A.B. (Brown University in psychology), M.S. (University of Pennsylvania in psychological services in education), and Ph.D. (Georgia State University in educational psychology and under the direction of Dr. Asa G. Hilliard III) . "Mama Esi," as the children call her, and her husband, Kwabena, have two children, Jehuti, a graduate of Nsoromma, and Kisa, a graduate of Howard University.

Kwadwo Gyase Nkita-Mayala - Teacher

Kwadwo brings nearly a decade of professional teaching experience alongside a deep commitment to Afrikan-centered excellence to the Nsoromma family.  He has served as an instructor at public, private, home-school and community-based institutions within the Atlanta area at the elementary through high school levels and beyond. In 2002 he completed a bachelor's degree at Morehouse College in African-American Studies and most recently received a Master's degree in African Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Kwadwo has traveled extensively throughout West Africa including the countries of Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali.  He is an enthusiastic student of several Afrikan cultural traditions and currently teaches the Akan language of Ghana to both children and adults. His interests include: creative writing, martial arts, music and photography. Kwadwo and his wife, Ayo who is also a teacher, have two daughters and a son. 

Lynda Lee Osborne – Teacher

Lynda Lee is an educator with over twenty years of experience in public, private and non-profit sectors.  She has been recognized numerous times for stellar work in her field including having been named Teacher of the Year at one of her schools.  Lynda Lee’s research, as part of her doctoral program in educational psychology at Georgia State University involves using proverbs to teach critical thinking in middle schoolers.  Through the Chocolate Cupcakes website, stories and events, she is helping girls develop positive self-images and values.  Lynda Lee’s scholarly interests include media literacy, cultural aspects of learning, writing education, teacher training/advocacy, and accessing human cognitive potential.

Carol Phelps – Teacher

Carol brings to Nsoromma a background in elementary education as well as an M.B.A. in finance and many years of experience as a financial analyst.  Not surprisingly, she teaches entrepreneurship and financial literacy at Nsoromma and has helped many students start and maintain successful businesses.  Carol has been an active promoter of entrepreneurship in the community and has worked closely with South West Atlanta Youth Business Organization (SWAYBO) and NFTE-related organizations for many years. She and her husband Danny have two children.  Their son, Marcus, is an Nsoromma graduate.

Adeyemi Toure - Teacher 

Adeyemi Toure first responded to the college freshman orientation question, “What direction would you like your life path to take?” with an energized, “Teaching!”  After working as a journalist and writer, Adeyemi enjoyed a successful career in progressive and Black theater as an actor, director and producer.  He also counseled young adult males and instructed young people in theater arts.  He has continued his commitment to institution-building and come full circle in his career by becoming a teacher at Nsoromma. Ade is married to Safi and has two adult children (one is a graduate of Nsoromma) and one grandchild (who attended Nsoromma). 

Part-time and Enrichment Teachers

The part-time and enrichment teachers are diverse in terms of the skills and interests they have -- they may have strengths in writing, art, music, languages, or computers. What they have in common is that they all bring a wealth of knowledge, experience, dedication to learning, and commitment to the children.