Series 4, Episode 7. ”I am excellent. I am not a token.” Sophy Norris in conversation with Ama Frimpong. Head of Product at 52 North and IET’s Young ...

In this, our penultimate Episode of Series 4, our host Sophy Norris speaks to the, quite simply, inspirational Ama Frimpong: self-confessed tinkerer, creator, engineer, fixer, representor and mother (plus so much we have missed out).

Ama is Head of Product Development at 52 North Health, where she leads development across the company’s portfolio of healthcare solutions, including Neutrocheck® developed to help cancer patients avoid sepsis. She is also a multi-award-winning biomedical engineer, named the 2022 Young Woman Engineer of the Year by The Institution of Engineering and Technology, and one of the Top 50 Women in Engineering (Inventors and Innovators). With expertise spanning medical device development and global health innovation, Ama has contributed to the design, safety, and commercialisation of technologies addressing critical gaps in healthcare.

She is also an active advocate for diversity in STEM, herself growing up between the UK and Ghana (where her parents were born), working with organisations such as the IET, Women’s Engineering Society, and Bridges for Enterprise to support and equip the next generation of innovators. And she has achieved all this by the age of 35, and as the mother of two young girls.

Always passionate about creating and building things, and in the medical profession (her mother was a nurse), Ama has brilliantly combined these loves, and works tirelessly to spread this word to other women (and men) of colour – letting them know engineering is a dynamic and viable pathway.

Sophy and Ama cover so much in this Episode including being the child of immigrants, raising her own children, a relentless persuit of career goals, representation, and leaning in (and out) of the village she has created around her family. Highlights include:

1. The power and problems of growing up in two very different countries
2. Why conciously and relentlessly following the opportunties, following serendipity but with thoughtfullness and care can be career defining
3. Manifesting what you crave to make it happen, being tenaciously open to the journey
4. Why you must not let the environment control you, but you must control yourself
5. The impact of representation and advocacy, especially for women in engineering and even more so for women of colour in engineering
6. Why is it so crucial to see "other people like me"
7. And conversley how corrosive and undermining token representation is
8. Why simply being "the best" when you are a person of colour is not enough, and how important it is to stand on the shoulders of the representors before you
9. Taking setbacks is an important part of your journey and your future
10. Curating your own village, leaning in on them when needed. And understanding when you are at commitment overload so you can dial up and down on key priorities
11. And curating a network of mentors to unlock the widest range of opportunities and growth paths, and knowing when to respectfully step back from mentorships that no longer serve their purpose.

• Patricia Obo-Nai - LinkedIn
• Samantha Tross - LinkedIn
• The Alligator Pi Agency | LinkedIn
• Sophy Norris - LinkedIn
• 52North | Transforming emergency care
• Ama Frimpong - LinkedIn