Our Team

Staff

Kenya Board

U.S. Board

Advisory Council

Kenyan Team

Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya

Founder & President

Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya

Founder & President

Speaker / Event Request

Engaged at age five, Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya experienced female genital mutilation (FGM) as a young teenager in preparation for early marriage. Her life was set to follow the traditional Maasai path of ending school to become a wife and mother, but Kakenya had a different dream. She negotiated with her father to return to school after undergoing FGM. When she was accepted to college in the United States, she promised her rural Kenyan community that she would use her education to help the village in exchange for their support. Kakenya went on to earn her PhD in education from the University of Pittsburgh and returned to her community to fulfill her promise.

Kakenya founded Kakenya’s Dream, an international nonprofit organization, to educate girls, end harmful traditional practices including FGM and child marriage, and uplift her community. In 2009, the Kakenya Center for Excellence boarding school opened its doors, serving 30 students. Today, Kakenya reaches thousands of young girls, boys, and community members each year through three holistic and girl-centered programs she pioneered at Kakenya’s Dream.

Kakenya was featured in Bill Gates' Heroes in the Field series in 2022 and Melinda French Gates’ first book, The Moment of Lift, in 2019. She is a proud CNN Hero Finalist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer. Kakenya was honored to receive the Feminist Majority Global Women’s Rights Award from the Feminist Majority Foundation in 2013 and the Vital Voices Global Leadership Award in 2008. Kakenya was also recognized by Women in the World as a “Woman of Impact" and counted among the Women Deliver 100 Most Inspiring People Delivering for Girls and Women.

Mercy Ngeno

Country Manager

Mercy Ngeno

Country Manager

Mercy joined Kakenya’s Dream in 2015 as our finance and administration officer. She currently serves as the country manager based in our Nairobi office. She supports operations, governance, strategic leadership and organizational development, and oversees program implementation and management, human resources, and finance. Mercy is a certified public accountant and a registered member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK). She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Makerere University and is pursuing a master’s degree in project planning and management from the University of Nairobi. Before joining Kakenya’s Dream, Mercy worked as a deputy finance administrator at Intel College. During her free time, Mercy loves trying new recipes, traveling, and listening to music.

Daniel Kishoyian

Director of Programs

Daniel Kishoyian

Director of Programs

Daniel serves as our director of programs based in our field office and oversees the day-to-day operations of Kakenya’s Dream’s programs. Daniel joined Kakenya’s Dream in 2018 as the head of schools and also taught biology and chemistry at KCE II. Prior to joining Kakenya’s Dream, Daniel taught in several high schools across Kenya on government assignment, where he rose to deputy principal rank. Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Moi University and is currently pursuing a diploma in education leadership and management at the Kenya Education Management Institute (KEMI). He was inspired to pursue a career in teaching because of his passion to positively impact the lives of young people.

Michael Chepkwony

Communications Manager

Michael Chepkwony

Communications Manager

Michael Chepkwony is our communication manager based in our field office. He previously worked as a reporter at Standard Group, one of Kenya’s leading media outlets, where he wrote for Radio Maisha and The Standard newspaper on topics including education, human rights, arts, culture, and entertainment. He graduated with honors from Moi University with a degree in language and literary studies. Inspired by success stories, Michael is a passionate storyteller who believes in the power of narratives to empower societies and individuals. In his free time, Michael likes reading creative works of fiction, watching films, traveling, and gardening.

Brian Kiprono

Communications Officer

Brian Kiprono

Communications Officer

Brian Kiprono is a communications officer based in our field office. He holds a diploma in journalism from the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication. Brian has over two years of experience as a dynamic multimedia journalist. His expertise lies in delivering compelling live news broadcasts across various platforms, including radio, TV, print, and digital media. Brian previously gained valuable experience as a newsroom reporter during his internship at Mediamax Network, where he contributed to K24 TV and wrote for the People Daily Newspaper. Brian’s commitment to youth affairs is evident through his participation as a United Nations Next Generation Fellow.

Outside of work, Brian enjoys reading novels, watching documentaries, indulging in music, and embarking on adventures through traveling.

Caroline Laitei

Network for Excellence Program Officer

Caroline Laitei

Network for Excellence Program Officer

Caroline is a program officer based in our field office. She joined Kakenya's Dream in 2019 as a program assistant and was later promoted to run secondary/high school programming components within our Network for Excellence program, which supports our Center for Excellence alumni in high schools and tertiary institutions across Kenya. Caroline graduated from the University of Nairobi with a bachelor’s degree in political science and public administration. Before joining Kakenya’s Dream, Caroline interned at Compassion International Kenya. In her free time, she enjoys reading novels, dancing, watching movies, and taking nature walks.

Rhoda Ndayia

Health & Leadership Training Program Officer

Rhoda Ndayia

Health & Leadership Training Program Officer

Rhoda is a program officer based in our field office. She joined Kakenya’s Dream in 2017 and is in charge of our Health and Leadership Training program, providing adolescent girls and boys in KCE I, II, and partner schools throughout the region with training on their health, human rights, and life skills. Rhoda holds a bachelor's degree in business management from Maasai Mara University and a diploma in business management from Moi University. Previously, she worked at the Ministry of Public Works in Bomet County in the procurement department and as an intern at TechnoServe Kenya. During her free time, Rhoda enjoys cooking and traveling.

Monica Nderitu

Finance & Administrative Officer

Monica Nderitu

Finance & Administrative Officer

Monica supports the overall financial management and reporting, budget tracking, donor management and reporting, procurement, administration, and human resource function. Monica has worked in finance and accounting with NGOs for six years. Before joining us, she served as a branch accountant with Hand in Hand Eastern Africa, an international NGO dedicated to reducing poverty through enterprise development and job creation.

Monica is a certified public accountant and a registered member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK). She holds a bachelor's degree in commerce and finance from Dedan Kimathi University. Monica is passionate about helping the less fortunate in society. During her free time, she enjoys hiking and traveling.

Faith Nainyeyie Parsaloi

Centers for Excellence Program Officer

Faith Nainyeyie Parsaloi

Centers for Excellence Program Officer

Faith joined Kakenya’s Dream in 2016 as a program assistant in our field office and was later promoted to program officer for our Centers for Excellence (KCE I and II). She also served as a volunteer with our Health and Leadership Training program from 2012 to 2015, conducting holiday training camps for our girls. She holds a diploma in social work and community health from the African Institute of Research and Development Studies (AIRADS) and a certificate in guidance and counseling. Faith is passionate about girls’ empowerment. During her leisure time, she enjoys swimming.

Lydia Peyiai

Network for Excellence Program Officer

Lydia Peyiai

Network for Excellence Program Officer

Lydia is our program officer in charge of the tertiary and alumni components of our Network for Excellence program. She oversees the transition of high school graduates to tertiary (collegiate) institutions and monitors their progress and transition to the alumni program. Before taking on this role, she worked with Kakenya’s Dream as a Health and Leadership Training facilitator in 2021. She also supported the training of the Health and Leadership facilitators who were recruited in early 2022.

Lydia has also worked as an intern in the mechatronics department at Almasi Bottlers Limited in Eldoret. Lydia holds a bachelor's degree in physics from the University of Eldoret. She resonates with the mission of Kakenya’s Dream and believes in the positive transformation of communities through the eradication of harmful cultural practices.

Anne Naanyu Elizabeth

School Counselor

Anne Naanyu Elizabeth

School Counselor

Anne works as the school counselor at our Centers for Excellence (KCE I and II), offering social and psychological support to our students through individual and group therapy sessions. Anne holds a bachelor's degree in counseling psychology from Kisii University. Prior to joining Kakenya’s Dream, Anne worked at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital, and volunteered at Transmara West Sub County Hospital in the counseling department. In her spare time she loves reading, watching movies, and listening to music.

Maureen Wanjiku Waweru

Program Accountant

Maureen Wanjiku Waweru

Program Accountant

Maureen is an accounting professional with six years’ experience in the industry. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Kenya College of Accountancy (KCA) University and CPA II (Certified Public Accountant).

Maureen started her career as an intern at World Vision before joining a logistics company where she worked as the branch manager and accountant. She later joined a microfinance firm in Nairobi where she served as an accountant before joining Kakenya’s Dream.

Maureen is passionate about empowerment of women and girls, and is inspired by the impact Kakenya's Dream is making in the community.

During her free time, Maureen likes watching movies and hiking.

Michael Keriako

Health & Leadership Training Program Assistant

Michael Keriako

Health & Leadership Training Program Assistant

Michael helps implement and monitor our Health and Leadership Training program and Linda Dada Campaign. He has been working with Kakenya’s Dream as a Health and Leadership Training facilitator since 2019, and helped train his fellow facilitators in 2022 before joining us as a program assistant.

Michael holds a bachelor's degree in ecotourism and hospitality management from Chuka University and is currently pursuing a master's degree in environmental science at Kenyatta University. He believes in transforming the community through education and empowering the community through ecotourism.

Lauren Soherr

Princeton in Africa Fellow | Program & Communications Officer

Lauren Soherr

Princeton in Africa Fellow | Program & Communications Officer

Lauren brings her passion for equitable development and international experience advocating for women’s empowerment to her role at Kakenya’s Dream. As a CBYX scholar in Berlin in 2016, Lauren mentored and distributed hygiene products to Syrian refugee mothers and children. She later coordinated a computer skills course for Filipino and Indonesian women working as migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong while studying at Li Po Chun United World College. She has since organized and facilitated a women’s advocacy and health workshop series for resettled Afghan refugees in partnership with the Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center in Boston. Coupled with her focus on gender equality, Lauren developed her interest in African development strategies during her undergraduate studies at Tufts University. She culminated her degree in international relations with a senior thesis exploring anticolonial citizenship policies in Uganda and Tanzania. In 2022, Lauren collaborated with development experts at World Vision to broaden stakeholder engagement in Nkwanta, Ghana. She is grateful for the opportunity to return to the African continent as part of the team at Kakenya’s Dream. When she’s not at work, Lauren enjoys making art and eating spicy foods.

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U.S. Team

Jessica Hammond

Chief Operating Officer

Jessica Hammond

Chief Operating Officer

With more than 20 years of nonprofit and association experience, Jessica brings extensive operational experience directing organizational growth, strategy, and donor engagement. For the past five years she has been working with Kakenya’s Dream in a variety of capacities including most recently as Chief Operating Officer. Prior to this position, Jessica held senior leadership positions at the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA), NAFSA: Association for International Education, the United States-Indonesia Society (USINDO), and the Smithsonian’s Freer and Sackler Galleries of Art. In 2017, Jessica earned a spot on the Top 40 Trending Association Innovators list. In 2011, she received her Certified Association Executive designation. Jessica received her master’s degree in Southeast Asian studies with a focus on nonprofit management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and bachelor’s degrees in international studies and economics from Washington College.

Beth Cosby

Director of Operations

Beth Cosby

Director of Operations

Beth has spent the last decade working with organizations that are empowering girls and women and preventing gender-based violence. Beth has worked in over a dozen countries alongside families, nonprofits, religious organizations, and educational institutions. Most recently, Beth served as the Director of Operations for a shelter for women who are pregnant and experiencing homelessness. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and can often be found hiking or reading in her hammock.

Noam Shelef

Director of Marketing & Communications

Noam Shelef

Director of Marketing & Communications

Noam is a veteran communications professional with more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit organizations working on diverse issues, including Israeli-Palestinian peace, international human rights, poverty, and LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion.

Noam started his career as a lobbyist and political organizer. He went on to develop expertise in digital strategy, direct marketing, grantmaking, and media outreach. He has designed and executed programs that seek to influence audiences from Capitol Hill, to college campuses, to the corporate C-Suite.

Prior to joining Kakenya's Dream, Noam held senior leadership roles with Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, the New Israel Fund, and Americans for Peace Now. He lives in Takoma Park, MD, with his spouse and two children.

Zoe Blossom

Communications Manager

Zoe Blossom

Communications Manager

Zoe has a nonprofit programming and communications background with extensive experience working at the intersection of girls’ and women’s empowerment, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender equity. She is an avid writer and storyteller with a passion for distilling complex issues into engaging content that increases awareness and drives meaningful action for social good.

Prior to joining Kakenya’s Dream in 2018, Zoe consulted for the World Bank Disability and Development in the Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice and held positions at Together for Girls, the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Washington, D.C.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs and a master’s degree in international development studies from George Washington University. She currently resides in Portland, Oregon with her partner Cameron and two dogs, Jamaica and Chowder. In her free time, Zoe enjoys exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest wilderness, thrifting for vintage treasures, and tearing up the dance floor.

Emma Wen

Development Coordinator

Emma Wen

Development Coordinator

Emma serves on Kakenya’s Dream’s development team assisting in donor administration and stewardship activities. Prior to this position, she held communication and research internships at International Justice Mission, Safe Harbor International Ministries, and the Center for Public Justice and worked in retail customer service. She also served as a research and teacher's assistant at Wheaton College for two years, where she graduated summa cum laude in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and minor in economics. Outside of work, she enjoys baking, exploring the DMV food scene, and going through her constantly growing book list.

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Kenya Board of Directors

NAIROBI OFFICERS

Rehema Kahurananga

Regional Communications and Constituency Manager, International Union for Conservation of Nature

Board Chair

Rehema Kahurananga

Regional Communications and Constituency Manager, International Union for Conservation of Nature

Rehema Kahurananga is a seasoned communications professional with a love for storytelling and a passion for Africa. Born to a Kenyan mother and a Tanzanian father and brought up in Ethiopia, the question of “where is home” for Rehema is a tricky one!

She currently serves as the Regional Communications and Constituency Manager with the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Prior to that, she was the Head of Content Development with Kenya Airways. There, she oversaw content strategy implemented through a variety of digital and traditional channels to drive the airline’s messaging internally and externally. Doing so during a pandemic was a unique opportunity to learn, adapt, and innovate.

Rehema has 15 years of communications experience spanning print media, the nonprofit space (specifically in reproductive and maternal and child health, HIV, and alternative energy), as well as in technology and the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sectors with a focus on access to finance. Some of the responsibilities she has enjoyed most include translating overall strategic plans into regional and country-level communication plans; setting up systematic story collection processes; offering communications advisory support to all levels of staff; creating traditional and digital content; and preparing team members to serve as spokespersons.

Rehema is a writer at heart. Prior to becoming a fully-fledged communications professional, she spent five years penning dozens of articles at True Love – East Africa’s top-selling women’s magazine – as a writer and later deputy editor. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from Randolph College in Virginia, USA.

When she is off the clock, you will most likely find Rehema enjoying a novel or audiobook, spending quality time with her family, or catching up with interesting digital and lifestyle trends. Rehema is extremely keen on developing narratives about Africa that offer inspiration locally and across the globe. She resonates with the following quote made famous by acclaimed Nigerian author Chinua Achebe: "Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter."

Leah Kiguatha

Lead Counsel, Kiguatha & Company Advocates Lecturer, Kenya School of Law

Board Secretary

Leah Kiguatha

Lead Counsel, Kiguatha & Company Advocates Lecturer, Kenya School of Law

Leah is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya with 19 years’ experience in domestic and international aspects of child and family law. In addition, she is experienced in and enjoys real estate and conveyancing law and is a trained mediator.

Leah is a member of the Nairobi Children’s Court Bar Bench Committee, the High Court Family Division Bar Bench Committee, and the LSK Gender Committee.

She currently teaches at the Kenya School of Law, is an adjunct faculty member of Pwani University, and served for six years at Kenyatta University School of Law teaching family law and international human rights courses.

COMMUNITY OFFICERS

James Merinyo

Pastor and Overseer, Dominion Chapel, Keyian Division

Board Chair

James Merinyo

Pastor and Overseer, Dominion Chapel, Keyian Division

James is an overseer of Dominion Chapel in Keyian Division in Transmara West. He is also the pastor of Dominion Chapel, Mapashi. James is passionate about supporting girls’ education, advocating its importance through his religious teachings, as well as in his leadership role as the chairperson of the community board of Kakenya’s Dream.

Anna Ntaiya

Co-Founder, Rehema Widows Group

Board Treasurer

Anna Ntaiya

Co-Founder, Rehema Widows Group

Anna is the co-founder of Rehema Widows Group in Transmara West. She is a dedicated champion of women's rights and children’s education, especially girls. She has been at the forefront advocating against female genital mutilation (FGM) and other harmful cultural practices through rescue operations in the community.

Johnson Shai

Pastor, Dominion Chapel, Olgos

Board Secretary

Johnson Shai

Pastor, Dominion Chapel, Olgos

Johnson is a church leader, currently serving as a pastor of Dominion Chapel, Olgos in Transmara West. He strongly believes in empowering women through education.

NAIROBI & COMMUNITY DIRECTORS

Kevin Kadiri

Africa Mission Lead, Children's Mission Africa

Kevin Kadiri

Africa Mission Lead, Children's Mission Africa

Kevin Kadiri is a dedicated and successful community development professional with over 12 years of experience in project management, research, monitoring and evaluation, resource mobilization, and organizational development. Kevin has a demonstrated history of working in the NGO industry. His main areas of focus are the right to health, the right to education, the right to a clean and safe environment, livelihoods and resilience, and leadership and governance.

Kevin currently works with Children’s Mission Africa (CMA) as the Africa Mission Lead. Throughout his career, Kevin has successfully supported organizations across Africa in program development and implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and organizational development. He has also supported local organizations across Africa in successfully fundraising for their projects, developing strategic plans, and strengthening their organizational practices and structures for efficiency and effectiveness.

Kevin enjoys history, is a motivational speaker, and loves supporting young people to achieve their life goals. Kevin has a master's degree in rural sociology and community development, a bachelor's degree in sociology, and is a certified project management professional by the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Purity Kagwiria

Director, With and For Girls Initiative

Purity Kagwiria

Director, With and For Girls Initiative

Purity is a feminist activist and a storyteller based in Nairobi, Kenya. Purity is passionate about girls’ freedom as well as enabling girls and young women to access spaces to advance themselves and their communities.

Purity has dedicated her life to ensuring that girls and young women from especially under-resourced backgrounds can have opportunities to dream and journey toward the futures they hope to see. She has a passion for developing curricula and programs that keep girls at the center as well as coaching the next generation of girl and young women leaders.

Prior to joining WFG/Purposeful, Purity was the Executive Director of Akili Dada, a leadership incubator for girls and young women who are passionate about social change. Purity has previously served as a founding advisory committee member of FRIDA|The Young Feminist Fund, and in early 2015, she was named one of the 18 Phenomenal African Feminists to know and watch. In 2016, she was named a finalist of the Most Influential Women in Governance and Business in Africa. She is currently a member of the East Africa Girls Brain Trust and a trustee of the Resource Centre for Girls and Women, an organization that works to empower girls from rural communities in Kenya.

Purity holds a master of business administration from the African Leadership University School of Business, Rwanda, a bachelor's degree in gender and development from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and a diploma in journalism from the Kenya Institute of Mass Communication.

Roseline Komoni

Teacher, Enoosaen Primary School

Roseline Komoni

Teacher, Enoosaen Primary School

Roseline is a senior teacher at Enoosaen Primary School. She has been instrumental in motivating boys and girls in school, and strongly believes in education as a key contributor to positive social change in the community.

Jeremiah Ole Koshal

Assistant Professor of Leadership, United States International University – Africa (USIU)

Jeremiah Ole Koshal

Assistant Professor of Leadership, United States International University – Africa (USIU)

Dr. Jeremiah Ole Koshal holds a PhD in organizational leadership, an MBA in management from Regent University in the United States, and a bachelor's degree from Daystar University in Kenya. Dr. Koshal is a seasoned leadership and governance expert with over twenty years of experience mainly in academia and the social sector. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Leadership at United States International University (USIU) – Africa. He has previously taught at Strathmore University in the area of leadership and management, and was also a Research Fellow at Regent University, where he helped create the Regent Center for Entrepreneurship, which advocated for starting ethical and sustainable businesses that bring about social, economic, and spiritual transformation among disadvantaged populations.

Dr. Koshal is also currently the Chairman of Council of Moi University, a public university with over 45,000 students and over 250 academic programs. He plays an oversight role in financial and governance matters of the university.

Dr. Koshal is also one of the Lead Consultants at Africa Centre for Entrepreneurship and Leadership (ACEL), an agency that offers consultancy services, as well as training for entrepreneurs, managers, and leaders for a more transformative corporate and public marketplace. Some of the areas of consultancy and training include strategy development, supervisory training, senior and middle levels leadership, coaching and mentoring, change management, performance management, and succession planning, amongst others.

Dr. Koshal has also presented in international conferences in the areas of leadership, governance, and business development. He has authored a book, a book chapter, papers, and reports on research he has conducted on entrepreneurship, economic development, kingdom business, and leadership. Dr. Koshal is also an avid grant proposal writer.

Florence Koskei

Retired Teacher, Mapashi Primary School

Florence Koskei

Retired Teacher, Mapashi Primary School

Florence is a retired preschool teacher who has dedicated over 20 years of her life to promoting children’s education. She is passionate about giving children a nurturing, supportive environment to actualize their dreams. Florence is currently treasurer at Word of Faith Church, Kikat in Transmara West. She is also a counselor at the church.

ROBINA BOSIBORI Omosa, MBA

Director & Financial Management Consultant at Eagle Financial Consultancy.

ROBINA BOSIBORI Omosa, MBA

Director & Financial Management Consultant at Eagle Financial Consultancy.

Robina is a highly skilled finance professional with over 20 years’ experience in accounting, audit and risk, public finance management, corporate governance, and resource mobilization in both the private and public sector. She is passionate about empowering women in the accountancy profession and sustainable initiatives that help vulnerable groups in society through mentorship and corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.

Robina currently serves as the vice-chair of the board at the Association of Women Accountants of Kenya (AWAK). She has also held positions including treasurer and chair of the Finance & Strategy Committee and Mentorship & CSR Committee. Robina has developed, introduced, and implemented programs in training, finance, mentorship, and social development for AWAK members and the local community. Robina also holds director/board positions at the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and Centre for Advancement of Social Innovation and Transformation ( CASIT).

Previously, at the NTAP (Network of Technical Assistance Providers) USAID-funded Grant Management Solutions (GMS) project, a consortium led by Management Sciences for Health (MSH), Robina served as secretariat coordinator. She has also worked with Almaco Management Consultants as a finance & administration manager/consultant. Robina has also held management positions with Deloitte, Ernst & Young Kenya, ExpatWoman.com, and Diversey Gulf.

Robina holds an MBA from The University of Manchester and a bachelor's degree from The University of Nairobi. In her spare time, Robina enjoys hiking and mentorship and CSR activities especially geared toward empowering young women on financial independence, sustainability, and literacy.

U.S. Board of Directors

OFFICERS

Pamela Ress Reeves

Founder, Reeves Advisory

Board Chair

Pamela Ress Reeves

Founder, Reeves Advisory

Pamela Reeves is an international development and policy strategist who advises governments, foundations, and companies. She has contributed to global strategic agenda-setting as advisor to Nike and Mars, Inc., and as the consulting senior advisor on gender strategy to the executive office of Melinda Gates. She served as director of Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton’s International Fund for Women and Girls at the U.S. Department of State.

Reeves served as the UN human rights officer in Liberia during the country’s civil war, and has worked in over 20 countries on governance transitions over the past three decades. Reeves is the Vice Chancellor of Brown University and serves on the boards of directors of Kakenya’s Dream, the John Carter Brown Library, and the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda. She holds a bachelor's degree from Brown University and a master's degree from Yale University.

Michael O’Kane

Entrepreneur, Business Consultant, Philanthropist

Board Vice Chair

Michael O’Kane

Entrepreneur, Business Consultant, Philanthropist

Recently retired CEO of Evolver, Inc., Michael O’Kane currently serves as Vice Chair on the board of Converged Security Solutions (CSS), a $70M firm providing cybersecurity and infrastructure technology services, alongside physical security and transportation system design and installation for federal, state, local, and commercial clients. Michael also serves as Series A lead investor and board member for Embody, Inc., a biotechnology and medical device firm developing cutting edge solutions for tendon and surgical repair. He has also been a consultant and/or investor to several emerging small businesses in the information technology (IT) and medical device markets.

Michael was the Founder and CEO of Evolver, Inc. Since founding Evolver in 2000, he oversaw the company’s emergence as an IT solutions leader in the federal, commercial, and legal markets. Michael promoted a planned and structured approach to achieve desired business results while optimizing cost, schedule, and risk parameters. He successfully established subsidiaries in the UK and Canada to support contract performance in those countries. Guided by Michael’s leadership, creativity and resourcefulness, Evolver grew exponentially and received numerous industry accolades from the Small Business Association (SBA), Inc. 500/5000, Virginia’s “Fantastic 50,” SmartCEO Future 50, and Washington Technology Fast 50.

While building Evolver’s contract portfolio, Michael performed several technical and management roles across three national census programs in the US, UK, and Canada. As Operations Architect and Data Quality Manager he was instrumental in the planning and execution for these significant federal data collection efforts. For the US 2000 Census, he was responsible for operations planning, deployment, and systems administration of the data capture production system in four geographically dispersed locations. He authored the original Facilities and Operations Plan and Production System procedures, served as the Dress Rehearsal system support manager, developed the installation strategy and schedule, and then managed the hiring and performance of four System Administration teams across the enterprise.

For the 2001 UK Census, Michael was the operations and data quality manager responsible for system installation and maintenance, production management, data quality, and communications support including reports distribution, management dashboards, and executive committee briefings. For the 2006 Canadian Census, Michael collaborated with Statistics Canada and the engineering product teams to draft the Phase I Data Quality Management Plan and initial set of production reports.

Prior to founding Evolver, Michael served in various technical and management roles for large and small organizations supporting US Navy programs at NAVSEA, NAVAIR, and SPAWAR. He was a financial analyst for the Vertical Launch System (VLS) and a supply chain manager for the AEGIS shipbuilding program office.

Currently, Michael serves as vice president of a family foundation, directing charitable donations to several non-profit organizations. The foundation focuses on environmental, educational, and performing arts organizations.

Michael earned his bachelor's degree from George Mason University in business administration.

Tara Bunch

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, American Kidney Fund

Board Treasurer

Tara Bunch

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, American Kidney Fund

Tara Bunch became Chief Operating Officer of the American Kidney Fund in October 2021. In this role, she manages the supporting services of finance, administration, human resources and IT functions. Ms. Bunch is also the staff liaison with the Board of Trustees’ Audit and Finance Committees.

Prior to joining AKF, Ms. Bunch was the Chief Business Operations Officer at the National Geographic Society. In this capacity, she served as an enterprise leader accountable for managing critical staff functions, including information technology, human resources, facilities, finance and planning, and metrics, evaluation, and research. She worked with staff function leaders to set important policies and strategies, consistent with overall society objectives and values, and was accountable for reporting on financial and operational performance.

Ms. Bunch joined National Geographic in 2010 as director of global strategy and business development. In that role, she was active in National Geographic’s efforts across digital, publishing, and commerce, focusing on travel and kids businesses. She moved into the role of Chief of Staff in 2014 and became Deputy Chief Operating Officer in 2016.

Prior to joining National Geographic in 2010, Ms. Bunch consulted for Travel Channel Media, developing financial projections for digital and other businesses in preparation for the sale of Travel Channel Media to Scripps Networks.

She previously spent nearly seven years at Discovery Communications in several financial planning and analysis roles, overseeing annual strategic and tactical business plans for all of Discovery’s digital businesses. Working with management teams, she identified strategic and financial opportunities to grow current business and evaluate new business prospects.

Ms. Bunch began her career in strategic consulting for media and entertainment businesses at Accenture. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor's degree in economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Washington, D.C.

KATHY HALL

Director, Equality for Women and Girls Program, Summit Foundation

Board Secretary

KATHY HALL

Director, Equality for Women and Girls Program, Summit Foundation

Kathy Hall is a respected advocate, adviser, lawyer, and grantmaker for women’s rights, particularly sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. She currently serves as Director for the Equality for Women and Girls program at the Summit Foundation in Washington, D.C. The program supports the transformation of harmful, gender-based social norms so that girls and women from marginalized backgrounds are healthy, educated, empowered and able to reach their full potential. Most of the program’s current grants focus on girls and women in the Mesoamerica region. A few support movement building in Latin America and global policy and resource mobilization. Since 2010, Kathy has overseen the program’s deeper investment in girls’ rights and participated in various multi-donor initiatives on ending child marriage, sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice, youth leadership development and Central America.

Before joining Summit, Kathy was Deputy Director of Women and Population at the United Nations Foundation, where she helped launch UNF’s Universal Access Project and expanded its work on adolescent girls, culminating in the Girl Up campaign. Prior to that, she was Co-Executive Director of Just Detention International in Los Angeles. Kathy helped build and then directed the Global Legal Program of the Center for Reproductive Rights from 1996-2004, as the concept that “reproductive rights are human rights” became more firmly rooted in international human rights law. She advocated alongside women’s legal and rights organizations at the UN and in dozens of countries around the world. Kathy served on the boards of Funders for Reproductive Equity (FRE) for six years, two of those as co-chair, and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee for seven years.

Kathy graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University and received her JD from Columbia Law School where she was a member of the Columbia Law Review. She enjoys being active– these days mainly biking and yoga– and sharing her passions for travel, sports, the outdoors and social, racial, and gender justice with her teenage son.

DIRECTORS

Amy Blackwood

Deputy General Counsel and Head of Ethics at Save the Children, US

Amy Blackwood

Deputy General Counsel and Head of Ethics at Save the Children, US

Amy Blackwood is Deputy General Counsel and Head of Ethics at Save the Children US where she regularly advises on issues of risk litigation and leads the organization’s ethics function. Born and raised in the UK, she now lives in Alexandria, VA, where she previously served on the City Commission for Persons with Disabilities and as Vice Chair of the City Commission for Human Rights.

Kathleen Bonk

Strategic Communications Consultant

Kathleen Bonk

Strategic Communications Consultant

Kathy Bonk co-founded CCMC, the Communications Consortium Media Center, in 1988 in Washington, D.C. with its mission to use communications strategies for policy change. She served as CCMC’s Executive Director until its sunset in December 2018.

She is the lead co-author of the Jossey-Bass Guide to Strategic Communications for Nonprofits, part of the Jossey-Bass Nonprofit and Public Management series along with dozens of book chapters, toolkits, studies, and papers related to the rights of women and girls.

Over the past 40 years, Kathy has been at the forefront of dozens of issue campaigns with various coalitions that marked a sea of change in domestic and global policies affecting women and girls. She was instrumental in increasing worldwide media coverage of the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994, and was an advisor to the U.S. delegation to the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. She served as lead media strategist for the Global Campaign for Women’s Human Rights at the UN Conference on Human Rights in Vienna that first used the term “women’s rights are human rights.”

Under her leadership, CCMC worked primarily on multi-year, issue-oriented campaigns and initiatives for dozens of prominent foundations including work with the Ford Foundation, the African Union, and several other donors on campaigns to end forced, early, and child marriage and the Women Peace and Security Initiative of the Compton Foundation.

Kathy was awarded a W.K. Kellogg Leadership Fellowship in 1989 that focused on global women’s rights resulting in the establishment of the first family planning clinics in the then Soviet Union. In 2013, she was named one of 21 Leaders for the 21st Century by Women’s eNews, this is along with numerous other awards and special recognitions.

In addition to serving as vice-chair of the board for Kakenya’s Dream, she serves on the board of the National Press Club Journalism Institute, Too Young To Wed, the Trojan Sexual Health Advisory Committee, and as an advisor to Ms. Magazine. She is on the visiting faculty of the Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at its Public Policy Institute providing communications training on reforming child welfare and juvenile justice. She is also a consultant to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Casey Family Programs and the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health on their Forum and Voices in Leadership programs.

Leslie J. Calman, PhD

Retired CEO, Engineering World Health

Leslie J. Calman, PhD

Retired CEO, Engineering World Health

From 2013 until her retirement in 2020, Leslie Calman was CEO of Engineering World Health, an international organization that inspires, educates, and empowers the biomedical engineering community to improve health care delivery in the developing world. Its signature program, the Summer Institute, trains and sends volunteer engineering students from around the globe to countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where they spend up to six weeks in under-resourced hospitals, installing and fixing vital medical equipment. EWH has over 50 university chapters around the world and sponsors a design competition focused on the needs of low-resource countries.

Leslie previously held positions as Executive Director of Mautner Project: The National Lesbian Health Organization; VP for External Relations at the International Center for Research on Women; and Executive VP at NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. She has served on the Boards of the National Coalition for LGBT Health, and Breast Care for Washington.

Leslie received her PhD in political science from Columbia University and taught political science and women’s studies at Barnard College from 1983 to 1998. She also served for seven years as Director of the Barnard Center for Research on Women. She has published two books on social movements in India, and been widely quoted in national media on women's issues and LGBT issues.

SARAH CRAVEN

Director, United Nations Population Fund, Washington, D.C

SARAH CRAVEN

Director, United Nations Population Fund, Washington, D.C

A policy advocate and attorney with experience in global health and human rights, Sarah Craven currently serves as the Director of the Washington Office of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. In this role, Ms. Craven advocates for UNFPA's mandate which envisions a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe, and every young person can live to their full potential.

Ms. Craven has worked on advocacy campaigns focused on empowering women and girls and ending harmful traditional practices including child marriage and female genital mutilation. Through this work, she met Kakenya Ntaiya a few weeks after Kakenya's graduation from Randolph-Macon College and served as one of the founding board members for Kakenya's Dream. Prior to her work at UNFPA, she held positions at the U.S. Department of State and on the legislative staff to U.S. Senators Tim Wirth of Colorado and Spark Matsunaga of Hawaii. She served as policy advisor to CEDPA during the 1994 International Conference on Population and the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.

She holds a bachelor's degree from Macalester College, a master's degree from Cambridge University (UK), and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center where she was a Public Interest Law Scholar. In 2010, she was named one of Macalester College’s Distinguished Citizens.

Diane Crockett

Chief Financial Officer, National Community Reinvestment Coalition

Diane Crockett

Chief Financial Officer, National Community Reinvestment Coalition

Diane Crockett is a senior finance executive with extensive strategic leadership and financial management experience with non-profit and for-profit entities. She currently serves as Chief Financial Officer at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, a network of organizations and individuals dedicated to creating a nation that not only promises but delivers opportunities for all Americans to build wealth and live well. Prior to joining NCRC, Diane served as Chief Financial Officer at The Summit Charitable Foundation where she provided strategic leadership for all financial, grantmaking, and administrative operations of the foundation. Summit is a private foundation which focuses on equality for women and girls, a resilient Mesoamerican reef, and promoting sustainable cities. Previously, she was Chief Financial Officer at Goodwill of Greater Washington.

Her prior experience includes more than 17 years in a variety of roles at The AES Corporation, a global power company, where she ended her career as Director of Financial Planning and Analysis. Prior to her time at AES, Diane held accounting positions at Claritas, a geodemographic marketing company, and Aetna Life and Casualty Insurance Company.

Diane is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and received her MBA from the University of New Haven. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Greater Washington Society of CPAs. She lives with her husband on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

KELLY DENSON

Vice President, Education Policy & Programs, Association of American Publishers

KELLY DENSON

Vice President, Education Policy & Programs, Association of American Publishers

With more than 25 years in the education industry, Kelly’s prior roles include the Director of Education Policy and Government Affairs at Discovery Communications and Senior Policy Analyst for the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Kelly has also served as an educational consultant for The Vanguard Group and held positions at various institutions of higher and K-12 education, including Boston University, SUNY Empire State College in New York, and the Dalton School in New York City.

Kelly is Vice President of Education Policy and Programs for the Association of American Publishers. In this role, Kelly advises AAP members on state and federal education initiatives that impact the American publishing industry, advocating for clear policies that reflect and advance the important contributions of education publishers. These include digital materials personalized to the individual learning needs of the student and high-quality content accessible to and affordable for every student. Kelly also serves as a key advisor to the academic community, leading joint publisher-academia events and other public outreach that promotes the critical partnership between the publishing and education communities.

Kelly holds a bachelor's degree in the biological basis of behavior from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree in education from Harvard University.

Folake Fabunmi-Vining

Business Development Executive, IBM

Folake Fabunmi-Vining

Business Development Executive, IBM

Folake Fabunmi is currently a business development executive focused on driving strategic partnerships for IBM. With over 20 years in the technology industry as a business strategy and transformation consultant, she has built deep meaningful relationships that provide the foundation for transformative change with her clients. Prior to her current role, she was a Principal in Corporate Strategy at IBM where she led several strategic initiatives for IBM. As an Associate Partner at IBM, she was the market leader for IBM Consulting in West Africa, where she helped incubate and grow that business as part of IBM’s Geo expansion into Africa.

For the past 15 years, in parallel to her corporate career, Folake has been a passionate contributor to the nonprofit sector providing expertise in strategic planning, program development, donor and volunteer engagement, and helping to scale them through innovation and new operational models. As a certified Enterprise Design Thinking Coach and Advocate, she brings a human-centered approach and experience to facilitate transformation at critical times and to support decision-making in complex and difficult stakeholder ecosystems. She has built and led global teams and is adept at working across multiple cultures to drive common goals.

Ms. Fabunmi holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Lagos, an MBA from Manchester Business School in the UK, and a master's degree in project management from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She is a certified Project Management Professional.

Dr. Anne-Marea Griffin

Senior Director, UNICEF USA, Global Cause Partnerships

Dr. Anne-Marea Griffin

Senior Director, UNICEF USA, Global Cause Partnerships

Anne-Marea Griffin is an international development professional who has dedicated her professional life to African affairs, philanthropy and program management. Dr. Griffin earned her bachelor's degree from Harvard University, master's degree from Northwestern University, and her doctorate in business administration from the University of Bath, U.K. She has traveled to and lived in Africa for more than 25 years, the last nine in South Africa. She returned to the U.S. in January of 2016.

Her early experience ranged from positions at Save the Children, Africare and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. While in Africa, she founded and managed an education-oriented NGO (AHEAD, Ltd) in Uganda, where she served as Board Chair before closing the project in 2015. Her early career began within the foreign policy arena in Washington D.C., beginning in the field of advocacy as Deputy Director of TransAfrica, later moving to Capitol Hill, where she joined the ranks of professional consultants at the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa.

While in Africa, Anne held senior level consultancy work with major philanthropic institutions such as the Ford Foundation, ELMA Philanthropies, Carnegie Corporation, and the MasterCard Foundation. She was recently Deputy Director, Office of Program Partnerships with the U.S. African Development Foundation and also recently served as Director, Global Health Advocacy Incubator, a program of the Campaign for Tobacco- free Kids, with a focus on South Africa and the Caribbean.

Betty Hudson

President, Hudson & Associates

Betty Hudson

President, Hudson & Associates

Betty Hudson is an award-winning communications industry leader with more than four decades of experience in every aspect of corporate and strategic communications including consumer, employee, financial, and cause-related marketing, as well as brand and communications management. Hudson retired as Chief Communications Officer of the National Geographic Society at the end of 2015, having held similar roles with NBC, The Readers Digest Association, and iVillage. She now consults with business leaders, nonprofit organizations, and for profit entities on a wide range of marketing and communications issues.

Hudson was a member of the AFLAC Board of Directors from 1990 until May of 2018, serving as a member of the company’s Finance and Investment Committee, and chair of the Sustainability Committee. She is co-chair of the Washington Chapter of Women’s Corporate Directors, an international organization of more than 3,000 women serving on more than 5,000 corporate boards worldwide, and is a member of the WCD global advisory council.

In addition to her service on the Board of Directors of Kakenya’s Dream, she is a member of the Board of Planet Forward, a national initiative working to enhance environmental story-telling at the college level, and is a past president of the New York Women’s Agenda and the Montclair Board of Education in Montclair, New Jersey, and a former chairman of the Inova Fairfax Children’s Hospital Quality Committee. She is also a former board member of the Inova Health Care Services Board and the Associates Board of Directors of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.

Marlene M. Johnson

Executive Director Emerita, NAFSA

Marlene M. Johnson

Executive Director Emerita, NAFSA

Marlene Johnson was Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, the world’s largest nonprofit association dedicated to international education from 1998-2017. Under Johnson’s leadership, NAFSA became the leading advocate on behalf of international education, actively participating in the public and policy debates that impact the field and emerging as a respected voice in support of educational exchanges as a key tool of U.S. foreign policy and public diplomacy.

Johnson’s leadership in government, business, and the nonprofit sector spans more than four decades. In 1970, she co-founded an advertising and public relations firm in St. Paul, Minnesota. From 1983 to 1991, she served as lieutenant governor of Minnesota. Later, she served as associate administrator for management services and human resources in the U.S. General Services Administration during the Clinton Administration and as Vice President for People and Strategy at Rowe Furniture.

Johnson also currently serves on the Board of Directors of Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the Advisory Council of the US-China Education Trust, and is a former board member of the Communications Consortium Media Center, the Alliance for International Educational and Cultural Exchange, AFS-USA, AFS Intercultural Programs, the World Press Institute, and the National Association of Women Business Owners. In 1988, she was awarded the Royal Order of the Polar Star by the Kingdom of Sweden.

Jeanie Milbauer

Co-Founder, Momentum

Jeanie Milbauer

Co-Founder, Momentum

Jeanie is Co-Founder and Founding Board President of Momentum, whose mission is to empower women to impact the world through connection to Jewish values. She is a founding supporter of Hope for Henry, a national foundation dedicated to reinventing hospital care for children facing life threatening illnesses. A corporate lawyer by training, Jeanie helps organizations grow strategically and sustainably. Her global community service began in Washington, D.C. at the American Jewish Congress, and at the White House in the Office of the Public Liaison.

Jeanie is a serial entrepreneur for issues related to women and girls. Along with her business ventures, including a soon to be launched new endeavor, Jeanie has invested in women as a trustee of the Tikkun Olam Women’s Foundation, a women's impact fund investing in social change for women and girls. She helped launch Aura, a Washington, D.C. Women’s networking group that connects Jewish women professionals to their heritage and to each other, and she is part of launching the WIN, the new Women’s Impact Network of JWI. Jeanie sits on the board of trustees of Hillel at Cornell and is an active participant at the University in other capacities, as well as Maccabi, USA and Women's Philanthropy at the Federation of Greater Washington. She has served as trustee or advisor of a number of community-based organizations with national reach as well as school board service.

ANISA S. TOOTLA

Executive Director, American Health Information Management Association Foundation

ANISA S. TOOTLA

Executive Director, American Health Information Management Association Foundation

Anisa Tootla is a nonprofit executive with extensive experience in organizational growth, modernizing membership organizations for operational excellence, and building strong teams for success. Anisa has spent much of her career at the intersection of social impact and member value.

Most recently, Anisa served as the Chief Operating Officer of the League of Women Voters (LWV). LWV is a non-partisan membership organization committed to the informed and active participation of individuals in government, increasing the understanding of major public policy issues, and influencing public policy through education and advocacy. As COO, Anisa directed strategic planning, finance, human resources, compliance, risk management, information technology, member services, and administrative functions of both the League of Women Voters of the United States and its affiliate, The League of Women Voters Education Fund. Anisa also served as interim CEO in 2018, working closely with the boards of directors in advancing the organization’s modernization initiatives and providing stability and support to staff through change.

Before joining the League in 2014, Anisa spent twelve years at AARP Foundation in a variety of roles. As Vice President of Programs, she led the creation and development of AARP’s work on hunger and its signature "Drive to End Hunger" cause marketing campaign, aimed at solving the issue of senior hunger in America. Prior to her VP role, Anisa served as Senior Director of Strategy and Operations, where she worked with the President of AARP Foundation in the strategic repositioning of the organization. This included identification, development, and implementation of the organization’s new vision, mission, and social impact areas.

Anisa’s global view and deep appreciation of other cultures and points of view has influenced her professional journey. Her outlook is shaped by her birthplace and roots in South Africa, as a young exchange student through Youth for Understanding in Japan, extensive travel, and notably her experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nigeria focused on health information systems. Anisa is a graduate of DePaul and Johns Hopkins Universities and holds a bachelor's degree in international studies and a master's degree in business administration.

Advisory Council

Kakenya’s Dream partners with a diverse group of recognized experts and innovative thought leaders to help us best support the girls and young women in our programs. We look to our Advisory Council to offer advice on issues affecting our community and technical expertise on nonprofit management and/or program design and delivery.

Erika Asikoye
Director of Freedom School of Literacy Academy, The Center for Black Educator Development

LaNitra M. Berger
Senior Director of the Office of Fellowships and Associate Director of the African and African American Studies Program, George Mason University

Wendell Chambliss
Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Freddie Mac

Kathryn Graves
Senior Associate Dean for Development and External Relations, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University

Shira Kilcoyne
Director, Government Affairs, Emerging Markets & Asia Pacific, GlaxoSmithKline

Shehzad Lokhandwalla
Co-Founder and CTO, OKO

Samuel Martinez
Founder and Managing Director of CFO + Accounting Outsourcing Solutions LLC

Dr. Shannon Marquez
Dean of Global Engagement and Director of the Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement (UGE), Columbia University

Judith Fiske Moak
Former Nonprofit Leader and Founder, Complete Circle Consulting (retired)

Kevin Moak
Former Chairman and Chief Executive, Gibbs & Cox (retired)

Travis Ning
Program Director, The Ward Family Foundation

Kristin Stubbins
Senior Partner at PwC & Primary LBW Trust Contact

Elizabeth A. (Betsy) Tyson
Former Vice President for Government Affairs, Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific, GlaxoSmithKline (retired)

David Vaux
Chairman, Learning for a Better World (LBW) Trust

Lee Wood
Former Nonprofit Consultant, Strategies for Growth (retired)

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