Kofi Fynn-Aikins Oral History Transcript

Kofi tells about growing up in Ghana and how his desire to become a medical doctor resulted in him taking a full scholarship to study fish biology at the University of Michigan. Eventually earning his PhD in fish nutrition, Kofi’s post-doctoral studies introduced him to fisheries biologists from the FWS. His first permanent position with FWS was at the Tunison Laboratory of Fish Nutrition in Cortland, NY. The consolidation of research into the US Geological Survey caused Kofi to transfer for a 2-year stint in the Vero Beach, Florida Ecological Services Field Office. Wanting to get back to fisheries work, Kofi accepted a position as the deputy project leader of the Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Restoration Office. He describes his work in this office. He served on several multi-agency government committees focused on Great Lakes restoration. One of the highlights of that work was reintroducing coregonid prey species back into the Great Lakes to help increase the native lake trout population. Kofi initiated a very successful outreach and education program at his office, which led in part to the establishment of the first Friends group for a fisheries resource office. Kofi was a Diversity Change Agent in Region 5 and played a national role and also a regional role on different issues – Friends groups, outreach education and diversity. At NCTC, he served as a volunteer coach, instructor and mentor. Kofi ends the interview talking about the tours he leads to Ghana that support his non-profit, Hope for Sisi’s Kids.