Mbakwe R. Okafor

Biography

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, I arrived in the United States at the age of eight and spent most of my childhood in New York City.  

I have always enjoyed school. I attended Berkshire School for my postgraduate year, before earning a basketball scholarship to The College of the Holy Cross. My four years at Holy Cross were life-changing.  I met extraordinary teachers and administrators, and that is where I decided to dedicate my career to education.

Most recently, I served as the coordinator of multicultural recruitment & assistant director of admissions at The Fessenden School in West Newton, Massachusetts. While at Fessenden, I was a founding member of the Diversity Consortium in Boston, a collective of AISNE schools working to increase the enrollment of historically underrepresented groups in independent schools.

Before Fessenden, I spent nine years at the Codman Academy Charter Public School in Dorchester, Massachusetts. In May 2012, I received The Boston Globe’s The Globe 100 award in honor of my work as a community organizer, combating chronic diseases in urban schools and communities. 

For fun I participate in Hoop4Hope, a 24-hour basketball marathon that raises funds for the Sihanouk Hospital Center of Hope in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

I enjoy reading books with my two sons, watching movies with my wife and playing basketball with friends.

You can be reached by email at mrokafor@exeter.edu.