Karen Willetts grew up in Frostburg and studied at the College of Wooster, spending a year in Dakar, Senegal. She later returned to Senegal as a  teacher, studied Wolof, and trained with Wycliffe Bible Translators. With a Fulbright grant, she earned a Master’s in African Languages in Côte d’Ivoire. After returning to the U.S., she married Dr. Pascal Kokora, former Ivorian Ambassador and Georgetown professor. Karen taught French in MCPS for 27 years, most recently in the IB program at Springbrook High School. In retirement, she and her husband support library and clinic projects in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.