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Strawberry Letter

Uplift: Former Coca-Cola executive created over 325 women entrepreneurs in Ghana, West Africa.

Strawberry Letter

iHeartPodcasts

Relationships, Society & Culture

4.41.6K Ratings

🗓️ 25 July 2025

⏱️ ? minutes

Summary

Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Reverend Dr. Adrian Booth Johnson.

  • Founder of the Woye Bra Initiative under the nonprofit Infinity Global Empowerment.
  • Former executive at Coca-Cola and U.S. Department of Energy.
  • A passionate advocate for women’s empowerment in Africa, especially in Ghana.
  • Known affectionately as “Reverend Granny” in African villages.

🌍 Key Accomplishments

  • Created over 325 women entrepreneurs in Ghana, West Africa.
  • Launched a program to produce and distribute reusable sanitary pads to combat period poverty.
  • Travels to Africa twice a year to train and support women in business, marketing, and financial literacy.
  • Developed partnerships with organizations like Zeta Phi Beta, Alpha Kappa Alpha, and The Links, Inc. to support her mission.

🧭 Personal Journey

  • Became a mother at 17, earned her GED, and later a business degree from the University of Louisville.
  • Worked her way up from secretary to project manager in nuclear energy and later to corporate leadership at Coca-Cola.
  • Inspired by a lifelong dream to go to Africa, which she fulfilled in 2001 and has continued annually since.

💡 Programs and Initiatives

  • Woye Bra: A program that empowers women in Ghana to make and sell reusable sanitary pads, helping girls stay in school.
  • Youth Engagement: Connects U.S. students (e.g., from Cass Tech in Detroit) with African youth through Zoom and cultural exchanges.
  • HBCU Engagement: Took 21 HBCU students to South Africa during the 2010 World Cup as part of Coca-Cola’s “Open Happiness” campaign.

🗣️ Inspirational Quotes

  • “If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.”
  • “The question is not who is going to let you be successful, but who is going to stop you.”
  • “Sometimes it’s just a bend in the road, not the end of the road.”
  • “When I walk into a dark room, I don’t look for light. I know God is there.”

🌐 How to Support

  • Website: www.woyebra.org
  • Donations support training, materials, and expansion of the Woye Bra program.

#SHMS #STRAW #BEST

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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