Meet Our Members

Bernadette Sanko Kamara, is the Founder/President/CEO of BSK STUDIOS LLC a studio dedicated to telling the African stories the African way. The studio is one of its kind in our community and its fully equipped for Actors and Musical Artists. The Studio has currently released two movies, Recompense and Albatross which are now being marked to streaming providers.

Bernadette Sanko Kamara has been working with the Embassy of Sierra Leone for more than 20 years in various capacities including being an Executive Board Member to many organizations/foundations that work with the Embassy to benefit the Sierra Leone community here and in Sierra Leone. She is the First National Vice Chair for the COVID TASKFORCE for the USA/SIERRA LEONE . When Ebola ravaged Sierra Leone, Bernadette represented her communities in Congressional and Senate hearings, HHS, DHS meetings to name a few to plead on behalf of the three countries that were devastated with the Virus. She has represented her country in many capacities over the years including the United Nations, IMF, USA Senate and Congress, department of Home Land Security, to name a few. She was the General Secretary for the Ebola Taskforce that worked tirelessly to bring needed attention and relief for the African countries that were devastated by that disease and later worked with the team that helped the people after gain TPS status in the USA.

Bernadette Sanko Kamara is the Founder/President/CEO of the BERNY’S HOPE FOUNDATION where she is increasing her territory by continuing to work and build communities and increase hope for our women and children which in fact is how to bring about development. Her goals and current programs include providing advance education for children so she is building an International Academy in Lungi in Sierra Leone, provides free clean drinking water in many towns and villages, build houses of Warship, provides food for the disabled and poor provides free small business training and interest free micro credit for women in different villages, and provides food security by plating acres of lands of rice and other cash crops in different villages for women and children and much more. Bernadette Sanko Kamara has donated tens of thousands of dollars to courses that includes, Free Education Basket Fund to help educate our people. The ministry of Education and Hands off our Girls Foundation to name a few.

Bernadette Kamara has been working with other community leaders to advance the issues that can and has improved the communities at large for more than 20 years. She has been championing issues like Infant mortality, Mental Health Services, and Education, Healthcare for those that need it the most to name a few. Bernadette works as a Board Member of the Sierra Leone American Businesses Association (SLABA) one of the first organization to bring forward the problem of infant mortality, the Sierra Leone Arc of Hope, the President/CEO of The Brima Obri Kamara Foundation, a nonprofit Foundation in honor of her late Father Mr. Brima Obri Kamara set to help the Youths in Sierra Leone West Africa by creating vocational schools, adult education program, youth programs, help young woman prevent early pregnancy, empower them to know their value, bring to them educational programs and much more.

Bernadette is also working as one of a community Taskforce leader that is working to educate the community at large on mental health issues and the importance of talking to their healthcare professionals to disuses available resources for their well-being. She is the Director of Safe Heaven Children Care Center (SHCCC) an Orphanage that currently takes care of about one hundred and fifty (150) Orphans in Lungi, Sierra Leone West Africa.

AREAS OF INTEREST/STUDY/SPECIALTY

• Corporate Management – Planning and Budget, Organizing and Staffing, Controlling and Problem Solving, Critical Thinking and Decision Making, Management and Supervision, Managerial Traits and Skills: Negotiation
• Leadership – Ethical Leadership and Diversity, Developing Leadership Skills, Strategic Leadership, Setting A Direction For The Organization, Aligning People With Decision Through Communication, Motivation And Mobilizing For Action.
• Communication Skills/English Proficiency – Public Speaking, Script Development, Proof Reading, Final Project Writing, Teaching English To Speakers Of Other Languages (TESOL), Conference Speaker On Church And Social Issues, Outreach Speaker.
• Advocacy – The Millennium Development Goals, Christian Campaign against Poverty; Campaign against Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs). Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP).
• Governance – Understanding Politics And Power; Church And Politics; Decentralization; Diplomatic And International Relations; Corporate Governance; Voter Education; Conflict Mitigation; Disarmament Process; Writing And Reviewing Constitution; Elections Monitoring & Observation.

CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS

• 1993 (3 weeks) Consultative Conference on Re-branding Gospel Recordings & Language Recordings – London, England
• 1996 (2 weeks) Essential Coaching Skills for Managers and Leadership Development Seminar, High Wycombe, England.
• 1998 (2 weeks) – Organizational Development, Corporate Governance & Strategic Management Consultative Seminar – Kathmandu, Nepal
• 2001-2002 – Various Workshops on Election System Organized by West Minister Foundation UK and National Elections Commission SL, Freetown.
• 2006 (2 weeks) Consultation on the MDGs and Integral Mission by Micah Network – Chiang Mai, Thailand.
• 2007 (Various dates) – Conflict Mitigation; Voter Education; Election Observation & Monitoring, Opinion Polls; Presidential Debate; Setting up and running a civil Society; – National Democratic Institute, Freetown.
• 2008 (4 weeks) – Training on Strategies for Poverty Reduction in Africa, Israel