With a background in Law and Development, Yaa works as an Assistant Vice President (AVP) within Barclays Sustainability & ESG team, focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) impacts.

Yaa’s responsibilities include developing approaches to addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); developing the governance framework and position statements on the bank’s ESG-related commitments; and conducting research on emerging ESG trends. She also works to showcase the work she does in Sustainability & ESG, such as through work shadowing, to increase the diversity in this growing area for businesses.

At Barclays, Yaa is a proud member of the Barclays Black Professionals Forum (BPF) Leadership team, and was recently appointed Deputy Co-Chair, leading responsible for leading on career development and community engagement initiatives. For nearly three years, Yaa has also co-led BPF’s flagship RISE mentoring programme, equipping Black and Ethnic Minority students with the skills and confidence to achieve their future goals; nurturing talent from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds; and creating a pipeline of diverse talent into Barclays. Under her my co-leadership, the programme has expanded its annual intake by 250%, included work experience hosted at Barclays Headquarters, expanded to include a dedicated Insight Programme for Year 10 students, and increased our partnerships with other schools and organisations.
She also helps organise the bank’s annual Black History Month events. In June 2019, the BPF Leadership team won the 2019 Barclays Citizenship and Diversity Award for Inclusion Champion, as result of the RISE Mentoring Programme, amongst other successes. BPF were nominated again in 2020 and have been nominated again in 2021.
Yaa is also part of one of the bank’s Race at Work Taskforce, helping to embed the Bank’s Race at Work Agenda commitments, to ensure tangible, and long-term changes across the organisation.

Passionate about African development, Yaa’s previous experience includes working as a Researcher at the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, a Research Assistant at the Constitution Review Commission in Ghana, and volunteering as a Team Leader in Tanzania, as part of Raleigh International’s International Citizenship Service (ICS) programme.

Outside of work, continues to be involved with her alma mater, as a Trustee to the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Board of Lay Trustees.