The Liberian humanitarian, Mrs. Saya Doe-Sio, has been honored and named among “the 100 Women to Know in America for 2023.”
This prestigious recognition award honors women who have made significant contributions in their respective fields and have demonstrated exceptional leadership skills.
This award recognizes Saya’s amazing achievement among others, in establishing a primary and secondary school in Liberia providing more than 540 children in underserved communities with free education in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, Liberia.
Saya, who is the Founder of the Annie T. Doe Memorial Foundation, a non-for-profit organization catering to less fortunate children and women in Liberia, was honored and recognized along with 99 other women at the Black Tie Awards Dinner on Tuesday, April 25, 2023.
Among other things, the award is given to women who have made notable advances for women through community impact, activism, or philanthropy.
Award winners receive recognition globally. Every winner and finalist is profiled in the summer publication of KNOW Woman magazine.
According to the organizers, winning the 100 WOMEN TO KNOW IN AMERICA Award is a once in a lifetime honor.
Saya, a wife, business tycoon, career woman, influencer, and philanthropist, who is changing the world through Purpose, Passion, and Prayers, was born in Liberia and immigrated to the USA in 1998.
She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA), a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Internal Control Expert, and a Project Manager Professional (PMP). She is a Senior Director of Business Unit Risk & Control, leading compliance and technology risk at TIAA.
She is the founder of Annie T. Doe Memorial Foundation, which she runs along with her husband, Francis Sio.
The Foundation provides Free Christian education to 540 children, free women empowerment initiatives, and basic healthcare services to underserved communities. The Foundation also provides scholarships to graduating high school seniors in Charlotte, NC. The Foundation has impacted at least 30,000+ lives since 2010.
Saya and Francis have three children: Francis III, Fransaya & Emma.
In March this year, Saya, her husband and others broke grounds for the construction of additional annex meant for the senior high division of the Annie T. Doe Memorial Academy. The new annex and Community Health Clinic are estimated at US$100,000. The clinic will also house the high school science lab. The academy operates under the ATDMF.
The Foundation is aimed at providing a long-term solution to the educational, women empowerment, and healthcare problems in under-served communities in Liberia.
The Foundation provides free, quality Christian education, women’s empowerment programs, including free six-month sewing training, interest-free 12-month micro-financing loans, free computer literacy training and basic healthcare services to underprivileged or marginalized communities.
On March 4, 2023, a team comprising Board Members of the Foundation joined the Founder and the Office of Liberia’s Vice President Jewel Howard Taylor to break grounds for the construction of the high school.
When the construction is complete, the ATDOE Academy’s enrollment will increase from 540 students to 675 students.
“The Foundation also provides scholarships to graduating high school students in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA,” Mrs. Sio said.
On that ground breaking day, she remarked: “We will not rest until the first student from this institution becomes a Medical Doctor and can check my blood pressure; we will not rest until students of this institution return to teach in their own school. We will not rest until students of this noble institution become engineers and return to design the ATDOE University.”
See link to the KNOW Woman magazine for a write up on Saya. https://theknowwomen.com/know-women-announces-2023-class-of-100-women-to-know-in-america/ Also link to Saya’s Annie Doe website: www.atdoemf.org