Working Motherhood Initiative Announces Estelle Sackey-Obe as Founding Executive Director
Estelle Sackey-Obe, Founding Executive Director, Working Motherhood Initiative
The Working Motherhood Initiative (WMI) today has announced the appointment of Estelle Sackey-Obe as its Founding Executive Director, effective immediately.
The appointment coincides with Founder, Larisa Akrofie, transitioning into a non-executive role, marking a deliberate and planned shift as WMI enters its next phase of growth, delivery and long-term sustainability.
A Values-Driven Leader for the Next Phase
A strategic communications and partnerships leader, Estelle Sackey-Obe brings experience in programme design, network building and shaping conversations that drive meaningful social impact. Her leadership of WMI is grounded not only in professional expertise, but also in lived experience.
During her pregnancy, Estelle was hospitalised with pregnancy-related anaemia after collapsing on the way to an appointment, a moment that underscored how easily women’s health and wellbeing are sidelined by work expectations. Even in crisis, her immediate concern was meeting deadlines and ensuring smooth handovers.
That experience crystallised the very problem WMI exists to address: systems of work that push women to the brink, expect recovery to happen in personal time, and normalise early returns before mothers are physically or emotionally ready.
As Founding Executive Director, Estelle is focused on advancing practical, structural solutions that make work more sustainable for mothers, including stronger pre-maternity protections, aligned job opportunities, responsible funding models, employer accountability and policy reform.
Her leadership philosophy reflects the change WMI seeks to create. She champions rest, sustainability and wellbeing as essential — not optional — foundations for effective organisations and equitable systems of work.
Her vision is clear: a world of work designed with mothers in mind, not as an afterthought.
Founder Transition and Organisational Maturity
The appointment follows Founder Larisa Akrofie’s decision to transition into a non-executive role, where she will continue to provide long-term vision and strategic direction.
“As WMI has grown from an idea into an institution, it became important to put in place a leadership structure that supports scale, sustainability and accountability,” said Akrofie. “Appointing a Founding Executive Director allows the organisation to deepen its work, strengthen partnerships and remain mission-led for the long term.” Akrofie added, “Estelle brings clarity, conviction and care to this role. Her leadership embodies the values WMI stands for, and I am confident in her ability to lead the organisation into its next chapter.”
Strengthening Impact Across Africa
Founded to address the structural barriers facing African working mothers, WMI operates at the intersection of careers, community and systems change. Its flagship platform, Motherboard, supports a growing pan-African community of over 700 mothers across the continent and the diaspora.
With this leadership transition, WMI is positioned to strengthen delivery, expand partnerships and deepen its advocacy and policy engagement, while remaining grounded in the lived realities of working mothers.
About the Working Motherhood Initiative
The Working Motherhood Initiative is a pan-African non-profit organisation working to redesign the systems that shape work, care and opportunity for African mothers. Through career pathways, advocacy and its flagship community platform, Motherboard, WMI advances practical solutions that allow mothers to thrive without being forced to choose between caregiving and economic participation.
