Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Nanaefua Afoh-manin
Hi Dr. NanaEfua, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started my journey with a deep-rooted sense of responsibility to the community I grew up in. Raised by an African Immigrant single mother who was both a registered nurse and an unofficial foster mom, I saw firsthand the power of empathy, grit, and determination. Our home was a revolving door always open to those in need, and this ingrained in me the belief that wealth isn’t just about money—it’s about the wealth of connections and service to others. There was a season that I became a latchkey kid because of the lack of childcare – I saw my mom struggle to stretch the dollar, but no less determined to make a difference in peoples lives. This early exposure to community care shaped my understanding of wealth as something far beyond financial assets—it’s about giving back and uplifting those around you.
Becoming a physician came with immense rewards but also a heavy burden in the form of six figures of student loan debt, a burden that I knew too many others in my field were facing as well. Black women carries some of the largest debt burdens yet we are leaders across industries and sectors. Our stories are often buried while our grit is exploited. It became clear to me that this debt was not just a personal issue, but a systemic problem limiting the potential of countless professionals who could be solving serious social issues while building generational wealth.
In response, I co-founded Shared Harvest, a mission-driven platform aimed at addressing the intersection of student loan debt, community service, and workforce wellbeing. Our goal was simple yet ambitious: to help people do good in the world while doing well for themselves. We wanted to actualize that through volunteerism, professionals could make meaningful contributions to society while earning credits toward their student loan repayment. This was our way of tackling two massive challenges—the overwhelming burden of student loans and the critical need for human resource capacity for nonprofit organizations.
Shared Harvest has since evolved into a think-and-do tank that sits at the intersection of wellbeing, technology, and philanthropy. As the platform matured, so did I in understanding how structural racism and financial insecurity is deeply embedded in our education and health systems. Yes, we’ve embraced AI to refine our matching process, making it even more efficient to connect professionals with impactful service opportunities. But alongside these tech innovations, we recognize that burnout in the healthcare and social services sectors is real and urgent and addressing root causes and shedding light to the moral injury minoritized leaders face when working within a system to impact change. This is why we’ve focused on elevating the voices of everyday heroes who have become social impact influencers, pushing them into the spotlight where their stories and their work can be supported.
Today, our work involves matching these changemakers with policy initiatives and philanthropists who are ready to invest in meaningful solutions. Through our efforts, we’re not just closing the wealth gap by eliminating student loan debt; we’re fostering a culture of empathy and service that strengthens communities. Our mission is to scale that empathy and drive systems change, ensuring that those who give back are rewarded, financially and emotionally, for their contributions. Shared Harvest remains committed to lifting people out of debt while advancing health equity and sustaining a thriving workforce for the future.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has been far from smooth. Remember, my co-founders and I started this journey with debt of our own. I always thought that education would be the great equalizer, but now with the backdrop of burdensome student loan debt, I think very differently. If the only people who are trained to be doctors are those who can afford the cost of medical education, you are leaving out a significant percentage of society out – a portion of lived experiences that are simply not represented in the fabric of medicine. How then do we create a workforce that can connect with and understand communities who are also challenged by the social drivers of health like food security, lack of childcare, mobility, and social capital?
One example, when I was pregnant with my son – I was told to stack up my shifts (which meant work as much as I can in the 9 months so I can afford to take four months off) – I didn’t even question this advice, but if you think about how crazy inhumane that would sound in other developed countries where women are protected during pregnancy. I followed the formula, and why was I surprised when it did not work out for me? I went into premature labor and got sick, hospitalized and delivered early. The ordeal was dangerous for me and my baby. Thank God, my son was healthy, but I incurred twice as much medical debt that I had in savings from all that shift work – and in a matter of two weeks I lost my economic safety net.
I thought to myself, man if someone like me with “earning potential” is feeling this wiped out, can you imagine what others are going through. Then four years later, I didn’t have to imagine because the pandemic hit and I saw in real time the struggle of every day people getting wiped out economically, physically, and emotionally. I saw families torn apart and the inequities and leaks in our healthcare and social safety net were insufferable. It’s an interesting dichotomy of history now to talk to the people who thrived during the pandemic while still haunted by the faces of patients who’s lives were lost, business that could not stay afloat, and children who ended up in the foster care system. It saddens me that we so quickly forget. But there is just something about how I am wired that will not allow me to forget, but keep working and building through social entrepreneurship, the business ROI for a more equitable, just and trusted systems. Bringing empathy to scale.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
NanaEfua (Nana) Afoh-Manin, MD, MPH, is an impassioned and mission-driven leader, emergency physician and innovator dedicated to advancing health equity and social justice through public policy, technology, and philanthropy. She earned her degrees from esteemed institutions, including a medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health from Columbia Mailman School, reflecting her steadfast commitment to multidisciplinary approaches in addressing complex societal challenges.
As a recent graduate at the Harvard Kennedy School of Public Policy, Dr. Afoh-Manin not only achieved academic excellence in management, leadership, and decision science, but also demonstrated exceptional leadership as the President of the Student Government. In this capacity, she spearheaded initiatives fostering courageous discourse and pioneered the convergence of business acumen with philanthropic endeavors to drive meaningful societal impact. As an Emergency Medicine Physician and Humanitarian Crisis First Responder who brings her frontline experience to the forefront of health equity and systemic change. Her work spans academic research, leadership in disaster response, and community advocacy. Through her work with the City of Los Angeles’ Digital Divide and Health Equity Task Force, she tackles the social and political determinants of health and systemic inequalities in urban healthcare. As a recent Commonwealth Fund Fellow she integrates AI-driven innovation to enhance patient-provider relationships and reduce healthcare workforce burnout. Dr. Afoh-Manin leads a national study with Physicians for a Healthy California on the impact of State Loan Repayment Programs (LRP) in diversifying the clinical workforce, while serving on the Academy Health Research Workforce Advisory Committee.
Her clinical research portfolio encompasses critical areas such as workforce financial well-being, burnout mitigation, and navigating the intricate grand technological challenges posed by emerging AI in emergency care. Dr. Afoh-Manin’s overarching ambition is to influence federal policy, particularly in reforming loan forgiveness programs for healthcare professionals and bridging the intergenerational wealth gap, thereby empowering minority and first-generation clinicians and scholars.
Prior to her sabbatical to delve into health policy studies, Dr. Afoh-Manin served as the founding member and Chief Medical & Innovation Officer at Shared Harvest. This pioneering social enterprise and nonprofit organization tackled pressing social determinants of health crises such as burnout and educational debt while playing a pivotal role in emergency response efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic, rendering aid to over 10,000 Angelenos. Her innovative civic-tech contributions earned her investments from the Google for Startup (GFS) Black Founders Fund, underlining her impactful endeavors in community development by working closely with dozens of community clinics and nonprofit organizations to build human resource capacity. Additionally, she acquired residency with esteemed tech accelerators such as the Los Angeles CleanTech Founders Business Accelerator, UCLA Techquity, and PlugIn South LA, further showcasing her dedication to innovation and social impact. She believes strengthening the workforce and alleviating debt is a fundamental component of achieving equity and economic mobility.
Dr. Afoh-Manin’s commitment to community welfare extends beyond her professional roles; she has actively contributed to various task forces and was a recipient of community service awards. Notable recognitions include the Service Award from the National Medical Association, the President’s Service Award from the Association of Black Psychologists, and a nomination for LA Sparks Women of the Year. Furthermore, her initiatives have received grants from esteemed foundations such as the California Wellness Foundation, the Weingart Foundation, the Direct Relief Fund for Health Equity, the Annenberg Foundation, HRSA, and the California Department of Public Health.
Merging her academic and creative prowess, in 2021, Dr. Nana co-produced “I Am Not Your Hero,” a documentary short film and educational core curriculum with Oscar Gold recognized director, Kellie Kali, that addresses structural racism, mental health, and suicide in medicine. She teaches this curriculum to medical students as a Clinical Instructor at Charles Drew Medical School and the University of California, Riverside. Dr. Afoh-Manin’s current initiative, Project #RESUS – short for resuscitating the hope in medical education pathways – chronicles the people’s lived experiences through a collection of articles, poems, and case studies on BIPOC physician well-being that she hopes will become part of national medical training and help to inform health policy. As Chief Medical Officer of Shared Harvest Foundation, she spearheads initiatives such as Project RESUS and StoryCorps, which amplify the voices and wellbeing of BIPOC healthcare professionals. Her body of work lives at the intersection of philanthropy, civic engagement, and healthcare drives meaningful change in underserved communities.
Dr. Afoh-Manin hopes to grow her business acumen at the junction of government, tech and philanthropy. Beyond her professional pursuits, Dr. Afoh-Manin finds fulfillment as a devoted soccer mom and traveling background dancer, embodying a holistic approach to life that encompasses family, creativity, and community service. Her journey exemplifies the transformative potential of empathy-driven servant leadership and the profound impact of interdisciplinary collaboration in creating lasting improvements in society.
What I am most proud of is my UCLA community programs roots. I was mentored by great activists of the Black Liberation Movement of my time and those who fought against apartheid in South Africa. Resistance and self-determination was all around me. I did not know it then, but those were the fundamental elements that have allowed me to traverse all the places and IV tours with purpose and not imposter syndrome. What I believe sets me apart is probably the fact that I don’t see myself as different at all. I see myself in Kendra Lamar as much as I see myself in Shirley Chisholm and Ida B. Wells. I sit in rooms with people “not like us” unafraid, unapologetic and abashed about advocating for all of us.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
I do not do this work alone. I have had a strong partner in my husband for now 24 years. We met at UCLA and our first date was to a free Mumia Abdul Jamal protest rally. You can see where I’m going with this. He’s now general council for a labor union. Likewise my fab five Black and Brown women who I started medical school with and my co-founders Briana Young and Joanne Moreau, both fierce leaders and physicians of their own who keep me balanced. Briana, an emergency physician practicing in Illinois- is all about the numbers – Joanne is a brilliant researcher and one of only a handful of Black Allergists in the nation. Also, Christine Simmons, former president of the LA Sparks, is a behind the scenes operator extraordinaire. She has been extremely valuable in helping me see through how we operationalize impact, how to leverage stories for good, and our entire board of 12 tremendous individuals committed to the vision. Bridgid Coulter Cheadle – Founder of the Blackbird Collective, an amazing designer & force of good bringing women of impact and their allies together in one shared space. Bridgid has been an amazing confidant and connector pouring the love and emotional support for the journey. WE all cared deeply about the mission and invested our own money and sweat equity. I also thank Google for their first investment in our platform and countless other foundations who supported us including Direct Relief, CalWellness, and the Annenberg Foundation to name a few. Most recently, I found my second tribe with the Commonwealth Fund at Harvard and the legendary Dr. Joann Reede and all the professors, mentors and sponsors that I have engaged with in the past year alone. So many to mention, they all really opened my eyes to all the levels of people working within, adjacent and outside the system and government to make measurable impact in advancing health equity. Like our leaders from civil rights knew at the time, this is a long game. Endurance, joy and community is everything. It’s been hard, but it hasn’t been lonely and I’m sincerely thankful for that.
Now that we are shifting gears a bit, I have been reaching out to more venture capital in the education and impact investing sectors. As more minority lead firms develop so does the variety in their portfolios to be more inclusive of not just women and minority led businesses, but the actual business of doing good. From RF Smith and Vista Group, Melinda Gates – Pivotal Ventures to MacKenzie Scott to Beyoncé’s BeyGood. I’m hopeful that there are a lot more opportunities now than there were when we started our company in 2018 for social entrepreneurs in blended venture and foundation support. People are starting to recognize the opportunity costs to ignoring issues of economic immobility and access and ready to put their money where they want the impact.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sharedharvestfund.org
