An extremely intelligent actress and philanthropist, in the early 1980s she founded Synergy International, a group of video and electronic artists, mathemeticians, computer scientists and others, for the purpose of exchanging ideas.
Andra was a descendent of William Ellery who signed the Declaration of Independence, her grandfather was John Russell Pope the architect of the Jefferson Memorial & her father Anthony B. Akers was ambassador to New Zealand.
She was an artist, actress and a philanthropist and in 1986 she was the founder of the "Essence Institute" originally named "International Synergy Institute" which is an interdisciplinary think tank for conscious, creative action in Los Angeles.