About

Awisi Quartey Bustos is a dynamic public servant, nonprofit executive, and first-generation Ghanaian American with over 16 years of leadership in state and federal government administration, social and human services, strategic leadership, youth development, human rights, law and public policy. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Illinois Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs, where she oversees a $11 million budget and leads statewide efforts to support over 60,000 youth across 159 Club sites throughout Illinois. In 2024, she successfully secured the organization’s first-ever $4 million state appropriation, reflecting her strategic and results-driven leadership.

Awisi brings a deeply global lens to local and national issues. She holds a B.A. in Political Science, French, Spanish, and International Studies from Purdue University, and a J.D. from UIC John Marshall Law School. Her career spans service under U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Governor Pat Quinn, and the Illinois Department of Human Services, where she co-led statewide strategies on poverty elimination, violence prevention, and economic security.

Born in Cotonou, Benin to two Ghanaian parents and raised across continents, Awisi carries the soul of a world traveler and the heart of a humanitarian. Her childhood was anything but conventional. As the daughter of a Ghanaian diplomat and civil servant, Awisi’s earliest memories are scattered across countries like Cuba, US-New York, Belgium and Ethiopia. Each new country meant a new language, a new school, and a new culture to understand—and she embraced them all. Moving frequently meant Awisi was often the new kid, observing before speaking, learning the rhythms of unfamiliar places.

In Cuba, she watched children dance to Afro-Caribbean beats; in Belgium, she studied playground politics in French and Dutch; in Ethiopia, she listened carefully, letting body language speak when words failed. Not knowing the language never stopped her — it simply sharpened her instincts. Her quiet strength, cultivated in countless classrooms and border crossings, became her foundation. Though her surroundings changed, one constant remained: her father’s work. As a diplomat and civil servant in Ghana’s foreign services, he dedicated his life to international cooperation and human rights.

Watching him advocate on global platforms, especially through his work with the United Nations, Awisi found her calling. His passion became her inheritance. By the time she was a teenager, Awisi had developed an acute awareness of justice, identity, and belonging. These themes followed her to law school, where she focused on human rights and immigration — areas deeply tied to her lived experience. Awisi’s story is one of transformation: from a child navigating unfamiliar landscapes to a leader forging new paths for others. Her early life taught her to listen, to adapt, and above all, to believe in the potential of human connection and the unlimited power of Radical Dreaming – values she carries into her work every day.