GEC Board of Directors
Lauren FineCo-President
Lauren Fine was raised in Aurora, Colorado. She attended Claremont McKenna College and majored in Psychology. She joined Teach for America and spent two years in inner-city St. Louis teaching 3rd and 4th grade. Later she moved to Ghana to volunteer at a school for street children. Upon returning, she moved back to Colorado, attended graduate school at Regis University, and majored in Elementary Education. Lauren trained educators through Teach for America, as well as returned to Ghana with education-consulting work, before deciding she wanted to return to the elementary classroom. Lauren believes that all children deserve access to a quality education and she advocates for those rights both locally in Denver as well as through being Co-President of the Ghana Educational Collaborative. Lauren has worked with America Achieves, Collaborative for Student Success, Student Achievement Partners and Stand for Children working on the intersection between the classroom and education policy. Lauren's passion for equal opportunities in education both locally and abroad led her to co-create the Ghana Educational Collaborative and the Mate Masie Program in Ghana with London Moore. In recent years you could find Lauren working in Denver Public Schools, specifically with Turnaround schools. Currently, Lauren is a Learner Advocate with the Donnell- Kay Foundation based in Denver.
|
London MooreCo-President
London Moore is the Director of Schools for NOVA Pioneer in Nairobi, Kenya. Prior to this she was the Founding Principal of THRIVE Baton Rouge, Louisiana’s first public boarding school. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She attended Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts where she obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science. She obtained her Master's Degree in Educational Leadership at Louisiana State University, where she will be graduating in May 2020 with her PHD in Curriculum and Instruction.
She began her teaching career in Ghana, West Africa where she has since co-founded, the Ghana Educational Collaborative, a non-profit that sends children to school and gives them leadership and development training. She taught in Baker City Schools, becoming Park Ridge’s Teacher of the Year. She also worked for Teach For America helping recruit and train new teachers at the University of Southern California and the University of California-Irvine. She is deeply invested in new teacher development and works on crafting and implementing teacher training as they progress toward certification with the Louisiana Resource Center for Educators. London Moore has also been a member and lead fellow of America Achieves and works on the intersection between the classroom and education policy, as well as has given recommendations to the U.S Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan on the RESPECT Project. She has further worked on supporting the work of the Common Core as a Student Achievement Partners fellow as well as assisted in crafting and lead trainings on Louisiana’s new career development curriculum. Ms. Moore strongly believes that all children have the right to a quality education and is committed to ensuring students and teachers reach their full potential. This conviction consistently drives her work. |
Rosie KriegerExecutive Board Secretary
Rosie is proud to have been a Ghana Educational Collaborative board member since 2011! As Executive Board Secretary, Rosie wears many hats within the organization. Having studied abroad in Ghana in 2009, she fell in love with the country and specifically connected to the incredible children. Both in her role as a GEC board member and in her professional world of preschool teaching, Rosie derives joy from making connections through compassion and curiosity. She is currently in her 10th year of teaching in Oakland, California. Rosie is passionate about dogs, education, social justice, and the beautiful West African country of Ghana!
Megan GremillionBoard Member
Megan is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is currently studying Biology at Louisiana Tech University and hopes to attend medical school in the future. Megan understands the power of education and recognizes the impact it has made in her life. Throughout her years in school, she has become extremely passionate about helping others and believes every child has the right to education. Megan has been a member of the Ghana Educational Collaborative (GEC) since 2016 and has been given the opportunity to serve in a variety of leadership roles. Her favorite GEC memory is travelling to Ghana during the summer of 2019 and going to the zoo with the students! The GEC has made an indelible mark on her life and in her heart. She is thrilled to continue to further the mission of this incredible organization.
Akilah EdgertonBoard Member
Akilah Edgerton received her Bachelor of Social Work and a certificate in Global Studies from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. In 2007, she studied at the University of Ghana, which ignited her passion and love for the country. At the age of 13, Akilah founded Youth Alive Step, Dance, and Drum teams, a performing arts group that teaches the participants that education breaks the cycle of poverty and enables them to become independent and responsible adults. She is a member of 2013-2014 cohort of L.I.P.P.I (Leadership Institute for Political and Public Impact). L.I.P.P.I equips women to become civic leaders in their communities, to impact policy on the local, state, and national levels, and to seek and hold on to elected positions. Currently Akilah is employed at Berkshire Art and Technology Charter School as a paraprofessional and is the Pastor of New Generation Global Ministry.
|
Lauren DavisTreasurer
Lauren was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She received her B.S. in Accounting from Metropolitan State University of Denver. Upon graduating, Lauren began working at an accounting firm in Denver, where she is currently a manager of assurance services. Lauren has held an active Colorado CPA license since 2009 and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants (CSCPA). Although her career path led her to accounting, Lauren has always had a passion for children’s education, which she has been able to maintain through her work with the Ghana Educational Collaborative.
Brendan CsapossBoard Member
Brendan Csaposs is in his twelfth year in education, serving as the Dean Development Lead for Kenya with NOVA Pioneer Schools in Nairobi. Prior to this, he spent three years working as a Principal-in-Residence with IDEA Public Schools in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he helped found two public charter primary schools serving historically underserved students. His journey in education, however, started in his undergraduate years at Hobart College in Geneva, New York, where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in LGBT Studies & Music. Volunteering in a local Headstart, he saw early on what inequity and injustice mean in schools. This path led him to Baton Rouge & New Orleans, where as a special education teacher, his students consistently academically outpaced both expectations and their peers, leading him to enter school administration by the age of 24.
Brendan has since gone on to earn a Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from the George Washington University, and is in the final stages of completing dissertation work to earn his Doctorate in Adult Education from the University of Arkansas. Working in high-need schools in Louisiana, Texas, and California, and even during stints outside of schools as a Professor, Community Organiser, and candidate for public office, Brendan has always believed in the power of love & high expectations to help children change their world, which is work that he continues today on the Continent at GEC and in Kenya. |
William YakahBoard Member and GEC Alum
William Yakah hails from Ghana and is currently majoring in Neuroscience a student at Michigan State University. He attended University Staff Basic School in Ghana wherein 9th grade, was amongst the first cohort of students to receive a full scholarship from Ghana Educational Collaborative (GEC) that enabled him to attend High school in 2011. As a GEC scholar, William was not only passionate about his success but was deeply concerned about the success of other scholars. He served as a peer mentor, tutor and a big brother to the lower grade scholars and regularly checked in on their school work and at their respective homes until he left in fall 2015 to study in the United States. Now as an alum and mentor, William works with Jenna to connect donors with stories and updates from GEC scholars. William is super excited to serve on the board of the non-profit that changed his life. More especially, he’s excited to work towards advocating for more students who’re brilliant yet financially challenged to have the opportunity to attend school or further their education to the highest level and pursue their dreams. Nikki StoumenBoard Member
Nikki Stoumen was born and raised in Atlanta, GA and now calls New Orleans her home. She received her BA from Tulane University in Latin American Studies and Spanish & Portuguese. She also minored in English and International Development. Throughout college, Nikki liaised at Tulane’s Center for Public Service, where she managed service learning opportunities between community organizations and university students. Nikki is also in her 6th year of volunteering with Hogs for the Cause: a non-profit organization in New Orleans that fundraises through a BBQ competition coupled with a music festival to support children fighting pediatric brain cancer. At “Hogs”, Nikki acts as beverage manager for the festival and sits on the Silent Auction Committee for the annual Gala Dinner. For the past 3 years, she has worked at Catholic Charities Immigration and Refugee Services. Her professional experience with CCANO found its start in college, where she was an intern with the Refugee Resettlement office. This evolved into a professional career as a Legal Assistant with the Unaccompanied Children’s Program. Currently, Nikki is working as a Legal Representative with the Immigration Legal Services. Her work benefits both unaccompanied children and adults in the immigrant community in New Orleans. Her experiences with immigrant youth have shown her the importance of universal access to education and driven her to become involved in the initiative globally. Nikki serves on the board of Ghana Educational Collaborative (GEC) as the grant writer, looking for funding partnerships that align with the GEC mission of education equity. Nikki can be found trying new food at a music festival, throwing a dinner party or dancing in the streets of New Orleans with Bloco Sereia, a Mardi Gras Brazilian group!
|
Loryn WindwehenBoard Member
Loryn Windwehen is an assistant principal at Jefferson Middle School in Northside ISD; San Antonio, TX. Prior to being an AP, she taught middle school science for 10 years. Now given the opportunity to lead other teachers formally, she is embracing this experience to make education better.
Windwehen was named the 2012 Overall Teacher of the Year for North East ISD in San Antonio, TX, 2012 Region 20 Secondary Teacher of the Year in Texas, received the 2012 Kens5 ExCel Award for Excellence in Education, known as the “Golden Apple Award” for teachers, and was a 2012 state finalist in the HEB Excellence in Education Awards under the Rising Star category. Most recently, she was selected as one of 27 educators to be a part of the prestigious class of ASCD's Emerging Leaders. In addition, she has been selected for the National Institute for Standards in Technology as well as a competitive fellowship sponsored by the National Science Teachers Association. She was one of 38 educators in the nation selected to travel to Brazil as the representative for the state of Texas as a part of the NEA-Pearson Global Fellowship Program.
Advisory Board Member
Richmond Boakye hails from Ghana and has lived in Westminster, Colorado since 2011. Richmond has a Bachelors degree in Computer Science from Metropolitan State University of Denver and currently working as a Senior Software Engineer for Travelers Haven in Denver, Colorado. His African Heritage and focus on African SeIf Empowerment has led him to a number of volunteer opportunities and numerous leadership roles in the community. Richmond served as the Speaker of the Metropolitan State University Student Government and the President of the African Student Union. He also helped form and served as a executive board member of Support Africa Empowerment Foundation International. Richmond loves sharing nuggets of wisdom with his friends which makes people sometimes call him as an old soul. When Richmond is free, he spends his time either cooking, playing soccer, watching movies or playing games. In all, Richmond loves to learn and help others. He believes failure is not failure if he learns from it. He is empowered to climb high with the sky not the limit. |