NOV 19: Homecoming with Purpose – Sierra Leone  Honor Heritage. Build Legacy. 
19:00–20:30 GMT | 14:00–15:30 EST | 11:00–12:30 PST 

Marva Goldsmith is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of SierrAfrica Diaspora Connect (SADC), where she leads a multicultural coalition of more than 40 members across the United States, United Kingdom, Sierra Leone, Canada, and Jamaica. SADC grew from five founding participants into an international network united by a shared commitment to heritage, sustainable development, and stronger relationships between Sierra Leone and the African diaspora.

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Under Marva’s leadership, SADC’s work addresses the most urgent needs of Tasso Island, a historically significant community of approximately 5,500 residents. Accomplishments include installing solar power at schools, places of worship, and the community health center; supporting education and community programs; and securing five LifeStraw water purifiers that now provide safer drinking water for 539 schoolchildren.

Marva manages SADC’s 10-day Heritage and Legacy Tour, which brings together Gullah Geechee, Black Loyalist, Jamaican Maroon, Krio, and other descendant communities to explore their shared history in Sierra Leone. 

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Marva brings more than 25 years of experience in strategic planning, process improvement, organizational change, leadership development, and project implementation. She is the CEO of Consult DSA, a management consulting firm.

She holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Michigan State University.

Hailing from Pujehun, one of Sierra Leone’s major rice-growing districts, Mr. Bun Wai is a dedicated leader in agriculture, community development, and national unity. He currently heads the Tormabum Rice Project and leads the National Platform for Rice Value Chain Development, Sierra Leone’s national chapter of the ECOWAS Rice Observatory.

After serving for ten years with the United Nations, he returned home with a vision to organize communities, promote peace, and strengthen national cohesion. In 2023, he founded the Bo Festival Organization and has since successfully organized the Bo Homecoming Festival in 2024 and 2025. Through this initiative, he is helping to reconnect Sierra Leone’s diaspora with their homeland, fostering solidarity, collaboration, and shared prosperity.

Ibrahim Fofana serves as Cultural Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Sierra Leone in Washington, D.C., the country's principal diplomatic mission to the United States. In this role, he supports the Embassy's work promoting Sierra Leonean culture, heritage, and people-to-people ties as part of the mission's broader diplomatic, consular, and trade portfolio across the U.S. and the nine other countries to which the Embassy is accredited.

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The Embassy of Sierra Leone in Washington, D.C. is led by H.E. Ambassador Amara Sheikh Mohammed Sowa, who presented his Letter of Credence in July 2025.

A native-born New Yorker, Luana M. Graves Sellars, quickly discovered that, weather-wise, she was really "a misplaced Floridian". Even though she has a degree in Journalism and Black History, she wasn’t prepared to live on Hilton Head Island, one of the most culturally rich and historic areas of the South.

A passion for her Gullah Geechee roots led her to become a cultural influencer and preservationist through her writing which is focused on educating others, as well as documenting Gullah culture, it’s history, and people. In 2021, started her own company, Sankofa Communications, which expanded into visual media, where she also writes, directs, and produces multi-award winning cultural videos, documentaries, and the award winning Lowcountry Gullah Podcast. The Founder of the nonprofit(s) Lowcountry Gullah and the Lowcountry Gullah Foundation, Luana is also a keynote speaker and community activist who is doing her part to sustain and preserve Gullah Geechee culture for future generations.

Abdulai Makalor Braima is a seasoned professional with a passion for writing and a strong background in education, communications, and community engagement. He attended Government Secondary School Kenema and Government Secondary School Bo before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He furthered his education by obtaining an MA with Merit in Creative Writing and Publishing from Kingston University in the United Kingdom.

With a passion for education, Abdulai worked as a teacher in various schools across Sierra Leone in The Gambia, and in the United Kingdom, shaping young minds and developing people.

Currently, he serves as an Information Attaché at the Sierra Leone High Commission (SLHC), where he plays a key role in information management, public relations, and promoting Sierra Leone’s image internationally.

A firm believer in African socio-economic development, Abdulai is passionate about initiatives that connect Africans in the diaspora with their homeland. He advocates for stronger ties between Sierra Leone and its global citizens, promoting investment, tourism, and cultural exchange.

With passion and dedication, Abdulai Braima continues to be a driving force in professional and developmental spheres.