Meet The Founders
Nosakhere Griffin-EL, Ph.D. is the Co-Founder of the Young Dreamers’ Bookstore. In 2016, Dr. Griffin-EL began working in the literacy space as a stay-at-home dad. When he noticed both of his pre-school aged sons’ formal learning was not enriching or culturally relevant , he co-created the ideal learning environment at home with his wife Dr Eliada Griffin-EL. The co-creation of this environment led him to search for books and educational resources that met his sons at their educational needs. While searching for these resources, he observed his sons gravitate towards books that would later inspire them to dream and develop an appreciation of reading.
After a year working with his sons, Dr. Griffin-EL began writing book reviews and sharing insights with parents and educators on Facebook. This work with lead him to create a Facebook Group named The Young Dreamers’ Book Club. One of the main components of this group was in-person story time event at the local library. Organizing literacy events at the local library allowed Dr. Griffin-EL the opportunity to be a resource to families and children in the community. In April of 2018, he co-founded The Dreamocracy Learning Lab, which is an innovative literacy organization that connects dreaming to reading. Wanting to see if he could inspire more kids, Dr. Griffin-EL sought to organize a reading tour.
In the summer of 2018, he created that reading tour around the city of Pittsburgh. During this tour, Dr. Griffin-EL organized small and large group sessions where he read thematic organized books. In addition to reading these books, he would assist kids and their parents in finding books based on their dream. Finding books for kids based on their dreams offered a powerful insight on how to assist students in developing a love for reading. This insight inspired him to create an innovative approach to engaging kids in the reading process.
This innovative approach led to Dr. Griffin-EL being awarded the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Community Advocate of the Year. His community based literacy work was also received 90 Communities 90 Great Stories Award from WESA 90.5 (Pittsburgh’s local NPR radio station).
In addition to his awards an recognitions, Dr. Griffin-EL has served as contributing writer with Read by 4th, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Story Pockets Blog, and Philly 7th Ward. He also organized a city-wide Dr. Martin Luther King Jr celebration for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Lastly, He served as advisory board member (Community Champion) for The Pittsburgh Study Early School Age Cohort Scientific Committee (3Rs). During his time on the committee, he informed the the approach to the 3Rs Initiative, provided feedback on how to serve families, identified educational and scholarly resources to enhance their committee’s offerings, advocated for pictures books to display Black protagonist characters being agents of change, designed community based program, and curated booklists. Dr. Griffin-EL is regarded as an early childhood literacy expert, children’s book expert, community advocate, and thought leader in literacy innovation.
Dr. Griffin-EL completed his undergraduate degree in History at Lincoln University of PA. He also holds a Ph.D in Administrative and Policy Studies from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Education. After graduating, he spent 4 years as a lecturer of Inclusive Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business.
Dr. Griffin-EL is married to his soulmate, mind-mate, and helpmate Dr. Eliada Griffin-EL. They are the proud parents of two energetic boys named Nosakhere Jr. and Onyemachi. In his spare time, Dr. Griffin-EL enjoys visiting to African countries, visiting museums, creating art, reading, and writing.
Dr. Eliada Wosu Griffin-EL is co-founder of The Young Dreamer’s Bookstore, alongside her husband, Dr. Nosakhere Griffin-EL. As a global educator of innovation and scholar of entrepreneurship, she joins the Dreamocracy Team with experience and passion for inclusive business model development. With more than 15 years in the entrepreneurship field as both a scholar, professor, innovator, coach, and board member, she compliments Dr. Griffin-EL’s vision is building the Dreamocracy’s mission.
Eliada Griffin-EL has advanced entrepreneurial education at several universities, and currently, is an Associate Professor of Management at Robert Morris University’s (RMU) School of Business (SBUS). She is the lead faculty of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and also teaches Leadership an International Business. Dr. Griffin-EL is experienced in creating collegiate ecosystems for entrepreneurial learning. At RMU, Dr. Griffin-EL serves in directing RMU’s campus-based Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, which includes serving as Director of RMU’s Massey Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Co-Founding Director of the Rockwell Fellowship for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and the Faculty Lead of the Undergraduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship curriculum.
Prior to RMU, Dr. Griffin-EL served as the Senior Lecturer of Social Entrepreneurship at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (GSB) in Cape Town, South Africa for more than 5 years. She was the Founding Academic Lead of the GSB’s Bertha Center for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Africa’s first international center of excellence for social innovation practice and teaching. As an economic sociologist and global scholar, Dr. Griffin-EL’s research examines entrepreneurship from a networked perspective, and explores the sociological underpinnings of innovation and venture creation for systemic change, both in the African continent and in the US. She is a published scholar and co-editor of the book, The Business of Social and Environmental Innovation: New Frontiers in Africa (Springer Publishers, 2015), and she sits on a numerous boards.
For her work she has received numerous recognitions such as the 2021 RMU Global Engagement Faculty Award, New Pittsburgh Courier Fab 40 under 40 Honoree of 2018, a 2019 Aspen Fellow, and a featured Guest Speaker on the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s’ Business and Usual’ webcast for 2021, among numerous speaking engagements.
Dr. Griffin-EL received her PhD in Global Political Economics and Masters in International Development from the University of Pittsburgh, and Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from Yale University.
Together with her wonderful husband, they are the proud parents of two energetic boys, Nosakhere Jr. and Onyemachi.