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Fanta Traore

Co-founder, The Sadie Collective

Howard University, B.A. in Economics and Political Science
Yale University MPP/MBA (Pending)

Fanta Traore is pursuing a joint Master of Arts and Master of Business Administration degree at Yale University. Fanta’s commitment to championing economic inclusion is ignited by her fascination with the economic complexities witnessed growing up in the dynamic, culture-rich and also heavily unequal city of New York. A desire to serve the marginalized and disenfranchised, globally, brings Fanta to Yale, where she studies economic development, management, and public-private partnerships. Prior to attending Yale, she worked as a senior research assistant in the Federal Reserve System’s International Finance division, where she analyzed cross border transactions data and the impact of financial market development on inequality. Fanta also spent nearly a decade in the social entrepreneurship ecosystem, working for Echoing Green and the Anzisha Prize, where she supported 100+ organizations leveraging her ability to use data for social impact and brokering partnerships across francophone Africa. In 2018, she co-founded the Sadie Collective, the only organization dedicated to addressing the pipeline and pathway access for Black women in economics and related fields. The Collective has been featured on NPR, Fortune, Forbes, and the World Economic Forum. She has been recognized as a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum and is on the Board of Directors of WAKE Academy, an all-girls school in Guinea. Fanta speaks four languages, and is a proud alumna of Howard University where she obtained dual degrees in economics and political science.

GET TO KNOW FANTA

What are you most proud of in your work or life?

Building the Sadie Collective from what I know deeply.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

Run, watch the sunset, travel, write poetry

Do you have a personal motto or other words to live by?

“When I dare to be powerful—to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” – Audre Lorde

Favorite snack food?

Plantains!

MORE INFO Fanta Traore CV