Dr. Ama Boakyewa discovered Anthropology as a Public Educator at the African Burial Ground Project (ABGP) in New York City. The ABGP is an archaeological/ancestral site discovered during construction in lower Manhattan. She was inspired to formalize her profession in Anthropology and returned to Indiana to pursue further education at the University of Louisville in Pan-African Studies/Anthropology and doctoral training in Anthropology/African Studies at Indiana University-Bloomington.

During her 2008 fieldwork, she explored how Guan and Akan cultures are enacted by the shrines and priesthood to create a unique religious pluralism. She has extensive and diverse teaching experiences in cultural anthropology, the anthropology of religion, gender studies, global health, and all aspects of the politics, history, culture, and religion of the African Diaspora.