Amma Marfo


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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.

Some of Amma’s Insights:

1. Student leader selection is designed to reward leaders who are articulate, forthright, and effortlessly energetic- but are you overlooking strong leaders for whom this energy doesn’t come as naturally?

Amma’s exceptional at working with students and professionals alike to shine a light on the assets that introverted leaders have to offer an organization?

2. Do your students know how to relate to their introverted classmates, peers, or fellow leaders?

Amma truly enjoys enlightening students of all types on their strengths, as well as how to best bring out these strengths in their residents, orientation students, team members, and more.

3. Does your student group struggle to move out of the “we’ve always done it this way” mold?

Amma, a strong proponent for creativity, helps students do the difficult work of pursuing big ideas while paying attention to the people and policies around them. As students start to realize their power to make change on their campuses and in their student groups, many struggle with how to implement the change they wish to see. Amma is highly dedicated to helping students define problems, and attack them creatively while acknowledging other factors in campus and organizational decision making. Let her work with your students to spark their engines for new, original, and impactful thought.

 

Topics Amma Covers:

Group dynamics
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.

Understanding temperament
The terms “extrovert” and “introvert” come with a host of assumptions, myths, and perceived limitations. But 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.

Idea generation
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.

Value based leadership
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.

Empowering and supporting student activists
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).

Conducting and navigating tough conversations
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.

Developing and articulating career skills
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.

Incorporating humor into group norms
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.

Transitions through difficult conversations
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.

Interested in working with Amma? Learn more by calling 781-436-3187.

 

 

See Amma In Action

TEDxBSU: Lessons in Laughter
2016 NASPA SA Speaks

 

What People Are Saying

“It was a great balance of interaction and new material, and they loved the practical problem-solving that was tailored to our campus specifically.”
-Professional staff, Eastern Nazarene College

“I learned a lot about myself and how I can do better. I thought Amma was great! This was the best part of the conference.”
-Student, Colby College

“I can’t imagine how [our organization] worked without something like this, before!”
-Student, Wheelock College


Get more from Amma!

Stay up-to-date with Amma! Get her latest insights and updates on her blog. Some highlights include:

Rethinking Rewrites

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5 Ways to Embrace Introverts in a Residential Community

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Pushing Past Pair and Share 

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 Solving Problems Through “Stealth Designed Solutions”

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Treat Student Staff Like Rubber, Not Glass

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Make Your Failures Funny

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Seeing I to I

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There’s Always Money in the Banana Stand: New Life from Old Programs

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Sifting Through Your Values amma-wordle-1

Cross-Training for Creativity

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Balancing Humor and Humanity

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The Defectors

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FUN Enterprises Speaker for Educational and Corporate Events and Sessions

Call 781-436-3187 for more information.