# Mac Sarbah

MacLean Sarbah, MA, MPhil, MDes, is a Ghanaian philanthropist, Social entrepreneur, and Innovator. He is currently the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Leader within the Global Health Office of the President at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

## Early life

MacLean Sarbah, popularly known as Mac, grew up as one of his parents' eight children in a small farming community that lacked basic amenities. He was born and raised in Yeji, a rural town in Ghana’s Brong Ahafo region to immigrant parents from Mepe, Battor North Tongu in the Volta region. Growing up without a mother figure, he and his siblings were guided by their strict father, who instilled in them the values of hard work and responsibility.
His father observed him to study for several hours each day by the light of kerosene lanterns. He used to walk a long distance to Lake Volta, their water source for drinking and bathing.
His father had a critical stroke, which made him move from Yeji for treatment elsewhere. As a result, he went to an under-resourced school. He will walk long distances every day to the school, work to save money to buy his books, and study hard.

## Education

Mac had his early education and Junior high in Yeji before moving to Adidome, a small farming town, to attend the Volta Region's Adidome Day Senior Secondary School.
After passing his final Secondary exams, he was admitted to study at the University of Ghana in 2002 and graduated with first-class honors with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences. In 2010, he started his Master of Arts in Social-Organizational Psychology at Columbia University. He graduated in 2012, also earning an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Cooperation and Conflict Resolution.
The same year, he was accepted into the University of Cambridge's Master of Philosophy in Innovation, Strategy, and Organization program, graduating in 2013.
In 2017, Mac pursued another master's degree in Risk and Resilience at Harvard University and completed it in 2019

## Career

He is currently the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Office of the President.
Before his current position, Sarbah founded and led EdAcme, an initiative dedicated to equal access to higher education and career opportunities for marginalized groups.
He has been featured in numerous media outlets and has spoken at global events where he shared great concerns about youth unemployment and entrepreneurship.

## Social Initiatives

Mac Sarbah Founded EdAcme, an initiative that helped young people achieve their entrepreneurship and educational talents. He is also the president of Sarbah Foundation, a newly formed initiative to help contribute to education, entrepreneurship, and social impact in Ghana and the African continent.

## Personal life and family

Mac has seven siblings born to their father, John Kwame Mensah Sarbah. He was raised in Yeji, a rural town in Ghana’s Brong-Ahafo region. His mother left home when he was less than two years old, but his father, who had no formal education and who was a disciplinarian, guided and shaped him academically in the early years

## Awards and recognition

Early in his academic career, Sarbah was awarded the Best Student Award in the North Tongu District, Ghana.
During his time at the University of Ghana, he received an academic excellence award in his second year of study
In 2019, ICEF honored him as a groundbreaker for his contributions to global education.
In 2019, Mac was recognized as a Stellar Harvardian by the Harvard Gazette at Harvard University. He also received the Social Impact Leadership Award from the University of North Texas at Dallas in 2019.
In 2019, Bonsu Royal Educational Complex in Yeji honored Maclean Sarbah by naming a school block after him, the MACLEAN (MAC) SARBAH BLOCK, for his contributions to the primary and junior high school he once attended.