OUR STORY

STK Sports Academy (STK) is a registered 501(C)3
non-profit organization.
STK was founded in 2019 by Thierno Diallo and his wife Dalanda. Thierno’s mother Salimatou Tiangey Khan was always passionate about helping those less fortunate. When she passed in 2003 from pancreatic cancer, he and his wife decided to carry the torch by founding the STK Sports Academy, named after her. Thierno and Dalanda both believe in leading lives of service and are continuing his mothers lifelong mission through his passion: sports. STK currently serves the youth in Freetown, Sierra Leone. As STK evolves and grows, we plan to expand our reach to other parts of Africa and across the globe.

OUR TEAM

Thierno Diallo
CEO/Founder

Thierno Diallo is a sports and conditioning coach from Queens, NY. As a first generation American with diplomat parents, he also has deep roots in Sierra Leone and Guinea. Thierno has implemented several fitness programs across the U.S. Now with an STK Headquarters in the works at his home in Freetown, Sierra Leone, through STK he has the goal of expanding into other parts of Africa.

Prior to founding STK, Thierno’s background consists of extensive experience in both youth and adult athletic training. Similar to his efforts with STK, Thierno built his career from the ground up. He entered the fitness profession in Manhattan as a personal trainer for members at New York Health and Racquet Club before moving on to become a fitness specialist a La Palestra Center for Preventative Medicine. Thierno’s career took off at La Palestra CPM as he embraced a holistic approach to health and fitness. 

After gaining significant exposure, he branched out on his own and became an independent fitness specialist across New York City for six years. During this time period, he developed and implemented strength and conditioning programs for a broad portfolio of clients ranging from private citizens to high-profile celebrities. 

Upon leaving New York for Tampa, Florida, Thierno continued and expanded his independent personal training business with a similar portfolio of clients as New York. In addition,  he was also trusted by current and aspiring professional athletes to design individually unique training programs to help take their game to the next level.

Thierno furthered his athletic training capabilities by gaining leadership experience as the Fitness Director for CAMP in Tampa. He was brought on at the inception of the project with the idea of creating a modern boutique gym. CAMP started with an empty space and Thierno was instrumental in conceptualizing and bringing to life an innovative, one-of-a-kind fitness studio. As Fitness Director, he had a variety of leadership duties including hiring staff, establishing and executing numerous workout  and managing schedules. 

After successfully assisting in the start up of CAMP, Thierno sought out a different challenge, more aligned with his core values and passion in life. He consulted at the ministry One Body Global where he developed an after school program for underserved youth in Tampa. Realizing the impact he could have on the lives of these youth, Thierno immersed himself in this position by going above and beyond his required duties of coaching and mentoring. He routinely herded groups of children to compete against elite talent in other communities, brought in soccer professionals from France to host a camp and donated all of his sporting goods, apparel and equipment to the organization. 

Thierno’s devotion to service and the country of Sierra Leone, cultivated by his mother, is what incited his vision for STK and his vast array of diverse experiences as an athletic trainer are what will bring that vision to fruition.

Dalanda Diallo
Health Education

Dalanda is of mixed heritage with Hungarian and Sierra Leonean roots. During her early childhood and adolescent life she lived in various countries including Hungary, Israel and the United States. Through challenging life experiences and adversity, Dalanda has learned early on the importance and need for community support, availability and access to enrichment programs, both academic and sports focused. 

Her early adolescent experience, the desire to help others and a rigorous clinical externship laid the foundation to pursue a career in medicine. Her early career was grounded in the biosciences with research centered around anti-malarial drug development.  Later her research interests shifted towards imaging science and medical 3-D printing and visualization as to aid in the understanding of pathology, ultimately leading her to pursue a career in diagnostic radiology.

Dalanda completed her medical education at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University and continued her training at the University of South Florida for residency and she is currently completing her fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dalanda’s passion is to add another dimension to the youth development through creating educational opportunities in a safe environment by providing material resources, electricity and internet. Future endeavors will include developing a close relationship with the medical school and hospital in Freetown with a focus on local needs creating new opportunities for exchange of knowledge. 

Ibraheem Khadar
Business Development - Wrestling - Football

Ibraheem Khadar is an entrepreneur based in Atlanta, GA with roots in Sierra Leone and Grenada. Ibraheem is a former high-school All-American football player, high-school All-American wrestler, college football player as well as college and youth wrestling coach. Ibraheem brings his years of athletic and business experience to STK Sports Academy to assist in growth strategy, funding strategy, wrestling coaching and football infrastructure.

Osman Mariano
Advisory Board / Business Development

Addressing health care and quality of life disparities has always been one of Osman’s life goals. While the root causes may differ, ultimately the most vulnerable populations have a lower life expectancy and other negative quality of life indicators compared to those who are not.

Osman wants to change this! After obtaining his MA in psychology and having worked in mental health and housing for several years, He is currently working on obtaining an MPH to be better able to gain knowledge and experience in policymaking.

Through an internship with the New York City Department of Health’s Bureau of Health Policy for Justice Impacted, Osman is working on to learning how to implement actionable, evidence-based, policy changes.

Michael Kwakye, MD

Advisory Board / Medical Doctor and Personal Trainer

Michael is a first generation American with parents who were born in West Africa, Ghana. From a young age, his parents instilled the importance of team work and service . He was involved in many community service and outreach programs during his high school and college years.  

Michael received his medical education at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse NY. During his time there he focused on medical outreach for students of color as president of the Student National Medical Association. He spent time educating potential prospective high school and college students who wanted to pursue medicine. It was at this point where he realized his passion for teaching and educating outside of patient care.

Michael trained in Psychiatry at Yale New Haven Hospital, but along his medical journey decided to switch gears and  focus on General Medicine. His transition to this aspect of Medicine has hit home for him and has been very relatable. He works currently with a private practice in NYC and focuses on their house calls/outpatient sector of the practice. It has been most meaningful to him because  the patient population that he treats are primarily minorities who are older and who often have limited access to resources for good healthcare. Michael plans to eventually have his own practice and may eventually focus on different specialities in the medical field.

Outside of medicine, Michael enjoys playing basketball and is also a personal trainer. He appreciates the importance of health and wellness and understands the necessity of education and expanding resources especially to the younger generation.

Michael is very thankful to be a part of this great organization STK and looks forward to the growth for years to come.

Kenton Kirby
Advisory Board / Make It Happen - Founder & Director

Mr. Kirby has worked as an adjunct lecturer with LIU’s School of Social work, and currently at Brooklyn College and has a wide array of experience providing individual and group therapy to those with complex mental health needs in sex offender, parenting, and drug treatment programs.  

 In his current role as the Director of Trauma and Healing at the Center for Court Innovation, Mr. Kirby is one of the founders in developing and implementation of the Make it Happen program. Funded through OVC (Office of Victims of Crime), Make It Happen is a revolutionary and nationally recognized program model which provides mentorship, intensive case management, clinical interventions and supportive workshops to young men of color ages 16-24 who have been impacted by violence. Through a trauma-informed and culturally competent approach participants are challenged to think about how their definition of manhood is intertwined in trauma and the implications it has on stereotypical gender roles. Mr. Kirby has presented at a number of local, national and international conferences on the success of Make It Happen and the program’s approach to trauma, healing and advocacy for victims. Through an expansion, Make it Happen is now participating in a number of inter-agency collaborations to integrate this model into other parts of New York City and across the country utilizing the program’s trauma toolkit “Responding to Trauma Among Young Men of Color: Adapting the Crown Heights Approach for Your Community”.

 Kenton was awarded the 2016 Emerging Leader Award by the National Association of Social Workers, New York City Chapter (NASW-NYC). He was also the recipient of the Community Impact Award from the Urban Justice Center in 2017.

Niza Disla
Advisory Board / The Assemblage - Head of Partnerships

Niza Disla recently served as the Director of Development at Bent On Learning based in NYC, where she worked on all aspects of partnership marketing, development, operations and donor relations. Niza believes the study of neuroscience, epigenetics, quantum physics, nutrition and consciousness should be an integral part of our education system. Her experience spans 15 years across licensing, advertising, entertainment and non-profit industries. She has an extensive background in the development and implementation of partnership operations and marketing standards, as well as a broad contribution to start-up entrepreneurial organizations and large scale multinational corporations. Prior to her role at Bent On Learning, Niza was Vice President of Partnerships at Marvel, where she successfully managed global partnerships generating over $60 million in revenue and $1 billion in media buys across 70 markets worldwide. An avid traveler of over 40 countries to-date,

Niza took a journey in 2016 acquiring various experiences and skills via home stays with indigenous tribes and wellness retreats, further honing her personal yoga and meditation practice. She holds awards for her achievements in international business, and held leadership roles within various organizations, including a local chapter of Amnesty International.

Niza’s passion centers on the intersection of travel, technology, education, wellness and social impact. Her continuous volunteer work revolves around education and youth development in underserved communities. She believes in the power of community & experience to transform personal growth, and has the ability to connect people and cultivate relationships across various industries, socio-economic backgrounds and continents.

Abubakr Dumbuya

Advisory Board / Vice President JP Morgan

Abubakr Dumbuya is a Vice President in J.P. Morgan’s Corporate and Investment Bank, focused on advising corporate clients on derivative strategies to manage their interest rate and foreign exchange exposures. Prior to joining JP Morgan in 2017, Abubakr spent 10 years working in a similar capacity with Bank of America, in both Boston and Chicago. In addition to his responsibilities at J.P. Morgan, Abubakr is involves in several entrepreneurial and real estate ventures. Abubakr has a Bachelor of Science from Bentley College, where he majored in Economics-Finance, and graduated in 2007. He resides in New York City, and considers both Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Lowell, Massachusetts to be his hometowns. He enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and exploring the global culinary, arts, and music scenes.

Abdul Kabba
Advisory Board / Music & Entertainment

Abdul Kabba is an entrepreneur with deep roots in the Sierra Leone political and business arena. He is currently residing in Boston, Massachusetts. Abdul has always played a pivotal role in the communities he’s lived in. As a young teenager he was the first Lead Youth Organizer for UTEC, a community outreach center based in Lowell, Massachusetts. Abdul is has over 10 years experience in athletics, entertainment and the culinary arts. Abdul is a veteran of the US Army.

SIERRA LEONE TEAM

Santigi “Coach Ola” Sawaneh

Athletic Director - U13 Soccer Coach - Jah Kingdom Community Organizer

Coach Ola was national champion in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011 for powerlifting through the Sierra Leone National Powerlifting Association. His passion for fitness began through his love of bodybuilding and developed as a power lifter. His approach to fitness emphasizes hypotrophy and power programming with a specific focus given to speed and agility training in combination with balance and mobility training. The Rock as he is called, has established long-term community interactions with the goal of integrating exercise, healthy diet and optimal wellness into the demands every day “Salone” life. He has developed a relationship with the gangs and created programs to keep kids from being involved through mentorship, community cleaning, exercise and service. Mustapha is responsible for identifying, hiring, and developing coaches. His duties also include the management and scheduling of STK community after-school programs. He has played an influential role in the development and execution of the Mountain Cut community after-school program.

Sheku Khan

Kusu Town Malama Lumley Community Organizer

Sheku is an electrician by trade and the STK Community Organizer for Kusu Town Malama Lumley in Sierra Leone. He was born and raised in Bo then as an adult moved to Freetown to seek greater opportunity. As a father of three sons, two of which are under the age of 10, he has grown passionate about improving Kusu Town at the grassroots level and energizing its citizens to promote the development of not just the youth but the community as a whole. In the role of community organizer he is responsible for identifying, hiring, and developing coaches. Sheku’s duties also include the management and scheduling of STK community after-school programs.