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Meet Amma Marfo
Avid advocate of creativity, humor, and finding the best use of your energy.
Amma Marfo is a thoughtful yet incurably silly independent higher education professional, writer, and editor based in Boston, MA. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from the University of Rhode Island, and a Master of Education from the University of South Florida.
Amma’s keynotes, workshops, and trainings don’t look like other events of their kind. Literally. Students and professionals alike are challenged to reflect on their ideas through writing and drawing, to leave their seats to interact with concepts and one another, and to laugh as much as they learn. All this can take place as she works with participants on topics like temperament and group dynamics, building a culture of creativity, instilling humor in your organization, values-based leadership and activism, and much more.
Orientation Leaders Sessions
Designing Your Wellness-Led Life
How are you doing? No, really? There are so many areas in which all of us could stand to think more about our wellness: physical, mental, social, financial, etc. This interactive session urges you to take a look at the areas of your wellness journey that are going well, those that need our attention, and how to use the tenets of the Cultivating Creativity framework to cultivate a better version of ourselves.
Lighting Up Your Team's Introverts
When you think about a successful and thriving member of your organization, what do you think of? It's possible that, without meaning to, you may be favoring extroversion in your procedures, expectations, and norms. This 60 minute session will help participants examine the five stages of the engagement journey, point out what elements of the experience may unfairly favor extroversion, and offer actionable tips on how to level the playing field.
Topics Amma Covers
Too often, organizations continue to execute the same ideas year after year – not because it’s tradition, but because it’s the path of least resistance. This session will help you combat the calls of “I’m not creative” and introduce a model that allows you to think in new ways about your events, practices, and goals.
Survey data from incoming freshmen reveals that 1 in 10 college students plans to demonstrate activism during their time at college. Sessions on this topic can work with students on how to define their activism goals and refine their strategies, or work with professionals on how to encourage and support activism on campus (institutionally and personally).
The skills that students and professionals build as they complete tasks, don’t always make it to their resumes, cover letters, or interviews. These sessions emphasize the importance of stories and narrative structure to help these experiences come to life when it comes time to articulate them professionally.
Organizations and individuals with strong values will stay dedicated to the work at hand. This session will allow you to explore your own personal values, align them to organizational goals, and help you explore a framework of how to advocate for change if these values differ.
At some point, we came to equate graduation and “the real world” with being boring and no longer having fun. These sessions talk about incorporating humor into the job search, our philosophies on work, and our relationships with colleagues and supervisors.
Whether driven by national events, campus happenings, or even organizational conflict, sometimes tough conversations need to be had to clear the air and facilitate healing. Sessions on this topic will address what makes these conversations so difficult, then help to define ground rules and group norms to create an atmosphere ripe for dialogue.
During transition season, the transfer of power and authority from one group to the next might be fraught with trouble. How do the two sides agree on a shared vision? What if the sides differ? How will the organization’s vision continue? This session aims to uncover the most common causes of transition difficulty, set up processes and communication norms that aim to address them head-on, and create an environment that allows transition to happen peacefully.
Communication, goal setting, and an understanding of group roles are essential parts of ensuring a group can work well together. These sessions will explore the dynamics currently at work in the organization, and provide a framework for making your group successful, efficient, and collegial.
The terms “extrovert” and “introvert” come with a host of assumptions, myths, and perceived limitations. By uncovering the makeup of your group, and dispelling the myths around the skills, abilities, and talents of its members, your organization will emerge from this training stronger, more focused, and aware of its assets.
The skills that students and professionals build as they complete tasks, don’t always make it to their resumes, cover letters, or interviews. These sessions emphasize the importance of stories and narrative structure to help these experiences come to life when it comes time to articulate them professionally.
All the knowledge, skills, and abilities you learn as a student leader can position you perfectly for a job after graduation...if you know how to talk about it! It's common to be at a loss to describe your many experiences, and this session is designed to help you clear that hurdle. Using examples from comedy, real employee expectations, and chances to craft and tell your story, you'll leave this session ready to spread the word in a way that would make any employer excited to bring you aboard.
This interactive session on networking will explore the limiting ideas around professional networks, help expand your mindset on the ways in which people around you can be helpful, demonstrate how to make meaningful connections, and answer questions about how to do all this!
Uncertainty is often paired with other "un" words: uneasy, uncomfortable, or unsettling. This session helps attendees reframe uncertain circumstances, offers resources to manage feelings of overwhelm, and creates a more comforting path forward for individuals and organizations alike.
Your team may be getting things done, but would you describe the work you're doing as excellent? There's always room to improve, and this session (inspired by the work of Patrick Lencioni and his four obsessions of an extraordinary CEO) helps you align your values and your people toward the best version of your common goal.
Most conversations we have about diversity, social justice, and inclusion work surround adoption of best practices and replication of strategies that have worked elsewhere. But little is discussed at the outset about how these strategies fit our populations, and what adaptations will be needed for our game plans to feel "at home" at our institutions.
Using the design thinking model and a creativity framework developed by Amma, participants will build on an existing knowledge set about diversity and inclusion to find a greater understanding of what institutional knowledge, creative thinking, and a commitment to exploration can do to promote justice and equity on campus.
Using the design thinking model and a creativity framework developed by Amma, participants will build on an existing knowledge set about diversity and inclusion to find a greater understanding of what institutional knowledge, creative thinking, and a commitment to exploration can do to promote justice and equity on campus.
See Amma in Action
Virtual Programming
Let Amma's humor and creativity light up your audience, no matter where you are! With Amma's virtual programming options you have more flexibility to engage participants on your own schedule.
In addition to the virtual sessions below, Amma is also available to consult/facilitate with teams looking to move award ceremonies, retreats, student officer transition, and orientation programs online.
Uncertainty is often paired with other "un" words: uneasy, uncomfortable, or unsettling. This session helps attendees reframe uncertain circumstances, offers resources to manage feelings of overwhelm, and creates a more comforting path forward for individuals and organizations alike.
When you think about a successful and thriving member of your organization, what do you think of? It's possible that, without meaning to, you may be favoring extroversion in your procedures, expectations, and norms. This 60 minute session will help participants examine the five stages of the engagement journey, point out what elements of the experience may unfairly favor extroversion, and offer actionable tips on how to level the playing field.
One of the most pervasive, and at the same time untrue statements I hear as a creativity speaker is, "I'm not creative." This interactive - yes, even from afar! - session will bust myths about what it takes to be creative, highlight why it should matter to your organization to have creative people, and highlight traits and abilities that help creativity thrive.
Is your hiring process truly open to anyone who wishes to take part in it? More often than not, the hiring practices we engage in appeal to extroverts and may intimidate or drain introverts. This session aims to bust myths about what an introvert looks or acts like, shines a light on common hiring practices that create a gap in our professional playing fields, and offers guidance on how to ensure that we create space for all sorts of team members - both in hiring, and later once they join our teams.
Your team may be getting things done, but would you describe the work you're doing as excellent? There's always room to improve, and this session (inspired by the work of Patrick Lencioni and his four obsessions of an extraordinary CEO) helps you align your values and your people toward the best version of your common goal.
How are you doing? No, really? There are so many areas in which all of us could stand to think more about our wellness: physical, mental, social, financial, etc. This interactive session urges you to take a look at the areas of your wellness journey that are going well, those that need our attention, and how to use the tenets of the Cultivating Creativity framework to cultivate a better version of ourselves.
There is already a steep curve in the path that female leaders face on their path to success. For introverted women, the incline can seem even more steep. But there are strengths inherent in this style of temperament, and this interactive session will help to identify, celebrate, and amplify those strengths.
