Dr. Akua Duku Anokye (Duku to all who know her) is a beloved servant leader, teacher, mentor and world traveler for the global community. She teaches others how to love diverse cultures, languages, and communities while providing an exceptional service to future leaders. For this and many other reasons, she is one of the six Positively Powerful Woman Award recipients who will be honored during the June 5 gala luncheon of the all-day Leadership Conference.
Duku has many ways that she gives to the community. In fact, her CV is more than 20 pages long. She is an Associate Professor of Africana Language, Literature and Culture in the School of Humanities Arts and Cultural Studies (HArCS) and Director of the New College Office of Interdisciplinary Global Learning and Engagement (IGLE) at Arizona State University.
She is a sociolinguist whose research focuses on African Diasporic women activists as community mothers. As a sociolinguist, she analyzes the many ways in which language and society entwine. Her work has led her to produce several documentaries on local African-American women activists. In the classroom, Duku is more than a teacher. She is a motivator, encouraging her students to become active and engaged in community issues. A writer of numerous publications, Duku is also the author of “Stories from the Other Side,” a documentary on a Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad 2010-2011.
In addition to being a faculty member and administrator at ASU, Duku is currently fulfilling a four-year term as chair of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC). In 2009, she was invited by the College Board and US State Department to conduct workshops with teachers from the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA). She is the chair of the College Board’s Advanced Placement English Language and Composition Development Committee.
Duku is tremendously multifaceted; much more than an educator. She is a spiritual leader, a community servant, and a humanitarian. Duku also believes in uplifting members of the community and as such, she serves as the lead coordinator of ASU West Black History Month Celebration activities and creator of the Pioneer Awards program. The program honors African American leaders whose works have made an impact on the Arizona community.
Are you ready to take your life to the next level? Join us on June 5 at the 2015 Awards Luncheon and Leadership Conference and collaborate with women who have been where you are and are going where you want to go. In addition to a day of speakers who will leave you charged and ready to take on the world, you will attend the Positively Powerful Awards Luncheon where six inspiring women, including Duku, will be honored. The day begins at 8 a.m. and will be held at the extraordinary Ritz-Carlton, Phoenix. It is a program like no other and you will not want to miss it. Visit this website for more information and to register.
Positively Powerful Sponsors: Southwest Airlines, Salt River Project (SRP), Desert Botanical Garden, Henkel, City of Scottsdale, Arizona State University, Southwest Gas, National Bank of Arizona, The Whitaker Group LLC, Rev. Sheriolyn Curry Lasley and The Terraces of Phoenix, ABHOW.
Dr. Joel Martin, Triad West Inc. Speaker, Trainer, and Executive Coach is the producer of the Positively Powerful Woman Awards & Events. Continue the journey with Dr. Martin on June 19 at the one-day “Bust Loose Your Leadership Workshop” and July 19 at “The Branding, Marketing, PR & Sales Event.”
