Mona Lisa Brookshire

Mona Lisa Brookshire is a Ghanaian-American Marketing Executive.
Overview
She was born on Sunday, May 8, 1977 and was named after the famous Leonardo da Vinci painting, Mona Lisa by her parents because they believed that she was born with a beautiful 'enigmatic' smile. Mona Lisa Brookshire is known professionally for her intellectual achievements and professional accolades in Marketing, and was recognized in Ebony Magazine, other publications and international organizations including MENSA, (an organization for individuals with high IQs). However, Princess Mona Lisa is best known for her royal lineage and relation to her father, the infamous Dr. John Ackah Blay-Miezah, (also known as Nana Ackah Yansu II, the late African Chief of Half Assini in the Western Region of Ghana), who gained notoriety on 60 Minutes, during an intriguing interview with the late Ed Bradley in the 1990s.
Early life
Mona Lisa was born to Ghanaian parents: Dr. cockalock John Ackah Blay-Miezah and Gladys Naana Blay-Miezah (née Des Bordes). Her mother worked as a fashion designer (popularly known as Lady Butterfly) during the years that she was married to her father. Her father was a charismatic, charming and witty businessman with a knack for diplomatic relationships. He was a popular figure that garnered a lot of attention from the media for "allegedly" swindling international investors of millions of dollars by promising to pay back with monies hidden in a Swiss Bank Account by former President Kwame Nkrumah as well as gold bars from Ghana that were safeguarded by government officials. Her father died in 1992 before he could make good on his claims.
Her mother recently married Trokon Eustace Hill (a former Liberian Senator) and changed her name legally to Naana Blay-Hill. Daunted by the legacy of her late husband in the early 90's, Mrs. Blay-Hill naturalized as a Liberian citizen, worked with former President Charles Taylor in his government and is presently a real estate investor and hotelier living with her Liberian husband in Accra, Ghana.
Mona Lisa grew up in a lavish home setting that was provided by her late father who also sat on the royal throne for Half Assini in Ghana. However, at the age of 15, her life turned upside down when her father died and left the family penniless and destitute. Her younger brother, John Blay-Miezah Jr. recalls the initial years of poverty with angst and sadness but remembers that his sister's spirit was never affected by the turn in circumstances. Interestingly enough, today, Mona Lisa (by a 'twist of fate') ranks 'prominently' on East Africa's List of wealthiest people in Uganda.
Education
In High School, Mona Lisa was very active in the Drama Club and acted as the female lead in several plays. She also enjoyed Literature, Art and Music and loved to quote Shakespeare's Sonnets to her friends. She even penned a few songs in High School and had high hopes for a career in the arts. Upon graduating with 'Distinction' from Wesley Girls' High School a month after her 16th birthday, Mona Lisa continued on to Achimota Secondary School to study English Literature, History and Economics. She was a straight 'A' student that was known for mischievous behavior and comical tendencies. Known for her wit and charm, Mona Lisa usually credited her 'gift of gab' as one of the reasons why trouble oftentimes 'eluded' her.
In 1997, stellar academic grades gained her admission into Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America. At Spelman, she was offered a full academic scholarship for her undergraduate degree. She graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in English Literature and International Relations. Incidentally, Mona Lisa resided in the same freshman dormitory with Cosby Show's Keshia Knight Pulliam (Rudy Huxtable) and they both graduated in the same year of 2001. During her tenure at Spelman, she married Alvin Ray Brookshire in her sophomore year and delivered her first-born daughter Skye Brookshire during the mid-term period of her junior year.
Mona Lisa also acquired an M.B.A. degree when she graduated as a "Whirlpool Journey to Excellence Scholar" from Clark Atlanta University's Master of Business Administration program in 2005. She had benefited from another full academic scholarship for the graduate program and her second child, Raine Brookshire was also born the summer before she entered business school.
Career
During Mona Lisa's years at Spelman College, she worked for MBNA America Bank (now Bank of America) and BellSouth Mobility/Cingular Wireless (now AT&T Mobility). She was honored in 1999 by Governor Roy Barnes of Atlanta for her contributions to Junior Achievement and the Hands on Atlanta Read Program as a dedicated Community Service Mentor. In addition to being a Golden Key Honor Society Member, a Sigma Tau Delta, Mortar Board Member, National Dean's List Honoree and Presidential Scholar, Mona Lisa was also a United Way volunteer and UPS scholarship recipient. In 2000, United Parcel Service (UPS) went beyond the commitment to sponsor Mona Lisa's education by hiring her at their Corporate Office. She worked in the Mergers and Acquisitions department until she left to pursue a graduate degree.
In the summer of 2004, Mona Lisa was offered the highest paying MBA internship to work with Delphi Corporation in Troy, Michigan as a Graduate Marketing Intern. She excelled during her internship and received one of her first full-time offers of employment from Delphi. Upon evaluating other future offers, Mona Lisa accepted a position with General Electric to work as a Six Sigma Black Belt Marketing Manager. This opportunity allowed Mona Lisa to secure a 'six-figure' salary (and bonus) at the age of 28.
Through creative ingenuity, entrepreneurial vision and solid marketing strategies, she proceeded in 2006 --- to simultaneously launch two companies while working on her Six Sigma Certification from GE; (a) SkyeRaine XChange (SRX), a Global Career Placement & Human Resources Consultancy and (b) Kulture Shock Productions (KSP), a subsidiary company specializing in Urban Entertainment and Events Planning in the United States. KSP’s tagline; “Bridging the Kultural Divide” in new and unique ways to allow the promotion of cultural awareness and appreciation during sponsored business networking mixers. Mona Lisa also endeavored to exhaust the power of her ‘2 N’s’, ‘The Power of Negotiation’ and ‘The Power of Networking' in creating opportunities which she readily capitalized on. Redefining and reinventing herself was mandatory and she credited these attributes to her success, "I learned that I was a “Brand” myself and I decided to attach excellence to my identity in the business realm”.
After less than a year at General Electric, Mona Lisa was hired at Coca Cola as a Marketing Project Manager, leading a team of six (6) marketing professionls. However, due to a few personal problems, unplanned real estate acquisitions that needed managing, becoming insolvent and liquidating assets close to 1.2 million dollars in Atlanta, Georgia, Mona Lisa left her position at Coca Cola and moved to New York to work at a Bear Stearns Client Site: Wolters Kluwer. In this role as a Marketing Consultant, she single-handedly managed a US$2 million advertising campaign budget for the entire Product Marketing Division of Wolters Kluwer. Truly, it seemed that she lived in a different reality, where obstacles were opportunities and the 'will to succeed' was second nature.
Perhaps, it is this tremendous fervor for triumph that Ebony Magazine admired when they selected her as a finalist in March for the August 2008 Issue with a full-paged feature. She was documented as one of the first Ghanaian-American females to be featured in the magazine for her career achievements as a marketer. After the article in Ebony Magazine was printed, she was featured in Canoe Quarterly Magazine, Business Week, Silo Breaker, Mobile News, Technology Digital e-Columns, Green Telecom Publications, Golf 100 Magazine, Energy Harvesting Journal, Reader's Digest, MENSA USA Publications, African Business News, Marketing Africa Magazine, African Woman Magazine, on CNBC Africa and other international TV, Radio and Print Media.
At the age of 32, she became the youngest, and only female to be named as the Chief Marketing Officer at Uganda Telecom, a Lap Green telecommunication conglomerate in Uganda, East Africa. Mona Lisa continues to work as a Marketing Consultant to troubled multi-national firms in Europe, the Middle-East and Sub-Saharan Africa. She has endeavored to create innovative solutions that allow telecom businesses to embrace cutting edge technology and utilize online channels of distribution to maximize revenue.
“I want to leave my mark - a BOLD footprint in my academic, professional, entrepreneurial and philanthropic aspirations (for after all what else should be expected of me!?!)” Mona Lisa Brookshire (CNBC Interview)
Personal life
Mona Lisa and Alvin Ray Brookshire were married on February 15, 1999 during her sophomore year at Spelman College. Mona Lisa has a younger brother, John Blay-Miezah Jr. who resides in Atlanta, Georgia with his wife, and she also has at least 11 other half brothers and sisters from her father's side of the family.
Mona Lisa travels extensively and enjoys meeting people from different cultures and traditional backgrounds. She has a photographic memory and enjoys attending MENSA meetings and solving some of their newest puzzles. Her children, Skye and Raine enjoy playing the piano and the violin. Mona Lisa also plays the piano and is fluent in three (3) languages. She enjoys writing poetry, watching plays, collecting quotes and reading Shakespearean Literature.

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