A devotion to sports, entrepreneurship, cultural diversity, and giving is at the heart of Mimi and Kofi’s dynamic partnership. Both born in the United States to American mothers and Ghanaian fathers, Kofi and Mimi met while she was playing soccer for Ghana’s 2003 Women’s Team at the FIFA World Cup in Los Angeles, and his father hosted a team dinner. “A day or two after that dinner, I was asked to do an interview with the Los Angeles Times,” Mimi remembers. “About 10 minutes into the interview, the reporter revealed himself to be Kofi playing a practical joke! He got me with his sense of humor!” Kofi Nartey, MBA, played football at UC Berkeley and also spent ten years as an actor before becoming National Director of the Compass Sports and Entertainment Division. Dr. Mimi Nartey is an accomplished athlete, model, and Columbia University graduate who is an Adjunct Professor of Sustainability at Occidental College and Loyola Marymount University. She is also the Founder and CEO of Race, Class and Parenting.
This talented and ambitious duo combine their strengths, compassion and humor to reach their potential, which is key to their success at work and in life. “The fact that we both appreciate diversity of thought and experience is our unifying bond,” Mimi says. “Kofi gives our family wings, while I give us roots.” “Our sports backgrounds make us a team,” Kofi adds. “We flow seamlessly together through our various identities: Some days we are Barack and Michelle; some days we are Jay-Z and Beyonce.” Mimi and Kofi work hard to instill humanity and a sense of fun into their family. “Every year we celebrate our children’s birthday parties in the theme of a different culture. We’ve had everything from an English tea party to a Brazilian Carnival with Samba dancers,” Mimi reports. “We parent from a social justice and inclusion perspective.” This year, the couple launched the Nartey Sports Foundation to support sports-related interventions for underserved youth.
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