BOARD MEMBERS

Osu Children's Library Fund, Canada

Deborah Cowley, Chair

Deborah, a graduate of Western University, has international experience as a CIDA officer, a writer, and a broadcaster. She made 17 visits to Ghana as a volunteer and wrote The Library Tree to document OCLF’s  history.

Janice Tye, Treasurer

Janice, a graduate of University of Guelph (BSc) and the University of British Columbia (MBA), is a CPA, CA with a experience working for corporations and serving on non-profit boards. She travelled to Ghana in 2001 as a volunteer.

Kathy Knowles, Program Director

Kathy worked as a nurse before moving to Ghana with her family in 1989. Soon after, she started reading to neighbourhood children, an initiative that led to the creation of OCLF. She returned in 1993 and visits Ghana twice-yearly.

Richard Beattie, Secretary

Richard has worked in international development for 50 years. He studied in Ghana in the 1960s, and while posted there with the Canadian government in the 1990s, he became – and has remained – involved with OCLF.

Lyn Beattie, Member

Lyn, a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Library Science (MLS), has worked in government, corporate, public, and law libraries. She is a founding Board member.

Attah Boame, Member

Attah, a graduate of KNUST, Ghana, completed graduate studies in Norway and a Doctor of Economics at the University of Manitoba. He now works as a Senior Specialist at CMHC and teaches at Carleton University.

Sally Bleecker, Member

Sally, a graduate of Queen’s University (BA) and the London School of Economics (MSW), works as a family therapist. She travelled to Ghana as a volunteer in 2014 and 2015.

Osu Library Fund, Ghana

Ronke Ampiah, Chair
Ronke, a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, USA, (BA) and Cambridge University, UK, (MPhil) is a pharmaceutical market access and pricing professional. She cofounded Smiles for Christmas, a charity which provides gifts to disadvantaged children in Ghana at Christmas.
Kathy Knowles, Program Director
Kathy has maintained her role on both OCLF and OLF boards since their inception and registered OLF with the Department of Social Welfare in 1993. She enjoys writing for young  children and sharing her enthusiasm for books.
Martin Adjei Legend, Secretary
Martin spent his childhood at the Nima Library and is now employed as the theatre director for the Nima Centre. He coordinates OLF’s August Theatre Festival and is an accomplished playwright with many plays to his credit.
Emma Amoo-Gottfried, Member
Emma is a founding board member. In 1988, she and her late husband, Oswald Amoo-Gottfried, founded Faith Montessori School. She was instrumental in creating a Montessori Training Centre at their school. 
Florence Adjepong, Member

Florence, a founding board member, was born in the UK of Jamaican parents and studied there. She moved to Ghana with her Ghanaian husband, Samuel Adjepong. In 1998, she and Samuel founded Alpha Beta Montessori Learning Centre. 

Joana Felih, Member

Joana Felih is our longest serving librarian. She has witnessed OCLF’s growth from an informal library in a small room to a network of libraries in the Greater Accra Region along with outreach to more than 200 communities.

David Asiedu, Member

David, a lawyer with 18 years of experience, is a partner at ENSafrica. He mentors young people and works with law students to develop amazing writing skills using plain language. He is interested in children’s books and how they shape the identity of young people. 

Kafui Dei-Tutu, Member

Kafui loves to discover the world through story books and enjoys helping young children uncover new worlds and experiences in books. She is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and currently works with Ecobank Ghana Ltd.