1. Crain's asks ...
Are you a native or transplant
to NEO?
Transplant of 6.5 years from
Atlanta, GA
Do you have a pet? If so, what
kind & name?
No, but I do have an adorable 2-
year-old son.
Do you speak another
language? If yes, which?
I studied French in school.
What is your favorite Cleveland
landmark?
The Cleveland Cultural Gardens
What is your favorite local non-
chain restaurant?
Don's Lighthouse
Originally Published: October 04, 2014 4:30 AM Modified: October 07, 2014 8:41 AM
Joan Curran Darkortey, 34
Executive assistant to general counsel, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
By Kevin Kleps
Photo by MCKINLEY WILEY
On the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s website, Joan Curran Darkortey is an executive
assistant, but she functions as so much more.
“The candid truth about most organizations is people typecast people in current roles,” Curran
Darkortey said. “I want to be viewed as something greater than what I end up doing. I know that I’ve
demonstrated leadership capacity, not only through my service, but through the caliber of work that
I’ve done for the organization.”
In addition to helping William D. Fosnight, the Federal Reserve’s senior vice president and general
counsel, Curran Darkortey said she has made it her “duty to be involved” in as many areas of the
bank as possible — from networking groups, to planning and leadership activities.
“She’s demonstrated a very significant commitment to learning and growing,” Fosnight said. “She’s
very interested in expanding her horizons and making herself a better educated person. It’s always
very good when you have somebody that shows that kind of drive. It tends to work to their
advantage in other things that they do.”
After she was twice rejected in applications to law school, Curran Darkortey, a Liberia native who
moved to Cleveland from Atlanta in 2007, took an aptitude test that showed she was best suited to
work in communications, business or law.
“I said this law thing is not my friend. Let me try business,” she said.
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2. Who is the most famous
person you've ever met?
Tie between Pres. Bill Clinton
and Pres. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
(Liberia & Africa's first female
president)
If fat, calories, cholesterol, etc.
were not an issue, what food
would you feast on?
Any and all seafood – snow
crabs, shrimp, oysters, calamari,
escargot…
What did you want to be in 2nd
grade?
A doctor and motivational
speaker
What are you most looking
forward to in the next 5 years
in Cleveland?
I look forward to using my legal
and business training to work in a
leadership capacity at my
employer and find new and
meaningful ways to serve my
community by sharing resources
and opportunities with others.
In May, Curran Darkortey earned a master’s degree and graduated in the top of her class at
Cleveland State University’s Monte Ahuja College of Business. She envisions herself working in a
management role, preferably at the Federal Reserve, in the coming years, while, as is her nature,
remaining involved in many other functions.
Curran Darkortey and her husband, Rufus Darkortey, a senior financial accountant at Forest City
Enterprises Inc., launched the Liberia Economic Development Initiative in 2007, the year Curran
Darkortey moved from Atlanta and started her job at the Federal Reserve.
The Cleveland-based nonprofit, LEDI for short, has a simple mission: “Reduce poverty and change
lives” in the husband-and-wife team’s native country.
“We’re trying to build the first modern library in Liberia,” Curran Darkortey said. “That’s our goal,
because you can’t take everyone out of the country, but you can bring new ideas. You can bring
innovation. Some of these people, war is all they’ve known.”
LEDI recently gave out 10 scholarships to Liberian students, including one for a student entering
college. Curran Darkortey said the library project was launched in 2011, and she and her husband
hope to eventually hold a fundraising gala in Cleveland. Curran Darkortey said Liberian president
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had agreed to speak at the event, but that was before the Ebola crisis struck
the country.
Rufus and Joan Darkortey have a 2-year-old son, Rufus Jr. Curran Darkortey, who immigrated to
Atlanta from Liberia when she was 5, serves as the public relations and marketing chair of the Black
Professionals Association Charitable Foundation, and she is involved in several charitable functions
at the Federal Reserve. She was also appointed to the board of the Cleveland State University
Alumni Association.
“She’s very much a go-getter,” Fosnight said.
Curran Darkortey describes herself in a different manner.
“It’s education vs. homelessness and poverty,” she said. “I’m passionate about education. I’m passionate about helping
people.”
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