EXECUTIVE BOARD

 

Carmen Myers
Founder & President

Carmen founded AVIH after travelling to Kenya in 2009. She saw a serious need to fight poverty through partnership rather than a hand-out. She spent time helping in Mississippi, after Hurricane Katrina, volunteering in Ecuador, leading youth groups and working in homeless shelters. After spending much of her life in philanthropic work, meeting the Maasai touched her soul. She has made it her life commitment to find sustainable solutions facing the Amboseli region of Kenya, with a strong focus on education. Her work in Kenya has solidified the need to empower women and girls living in poverty. Currently, she sits as the director of all our programs and travels to Kenya twice a year to over see all projects and continues to foster relationships with communities to be sure of accountability and trust for donors and sponsors. 

Mary Hurley
Vice-President

Ignited by a passion for education, Mary joined AVIH in 2014 in an advisory capacity.  Travelling to Kenya in February of 2015 cemented her resolve to serve the children in Kenya, especially the girls, and work alongside the AVIH team in their mission to give voice to the voiceless. Mary has served in a variety of educational capacities in the American, Emirati and Czech school systems and is moved to connect cultures and empower young people. Mary has developed girls’ leadership training materials utilized in South Sudan and Haiti for Mercy Beyond Borders, and trained students in critical thinking and creativity in Vietnam through Fairmont Preparatory Academy.  She has developed curriculum to increase self-awareness and esteem in young women in the United States.  Her work currently focuses on teacher training, leadership, curriculum development and data analysis. She has experience in the US, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and believes that education changes everything. Mary holds a Master’s in Education and a California teaching credential. 

Geoff Stankiewicz
Treasurer

Geoff become involved with AVIH after a trip to Kenya with his wife in 2013. His experience in travel, finance and water solutions are extremely beneficial for our work in Amboseli. Geoff Stankiewicz is the CFO of Enviroscan, Inc., an international geophysics consulting firm focused on land, marine, and borehole geophysics. Enviroscan provides consulting services for commercial, federal, state, and local governments. Previously, Geoff was a CPA in public accounting with Laventhol & Horwath in Providence, RI, and Peat Marwick Mitchell Company in Lancaster and Harrisburg, PA. Geoff also worked in the internal audit and accounting operations of Gilbert Commonwealth, an international engineering firm that specializes in power plant design and construction. Geoff holds a B.A. in Accounting from Widener University and has held a certificate in public accounting.

Sara Stephens
Secretary

Sara joined our team in 2013, shortly after working on AVIH projects in Kenya. She was touched by the communities, culture, and need for educational programs. Her history of volunteerism, fundraising, and project management is a perfect fit for our mission. Currently living in Portland, Oregon, she founded The Kasi Group in 2012, specializing in non-profit program management and event fundraising. Previously, she worked for the Portland Development Commission supervising the City of Portland’s Limited Tax Abatement Program and coordinated land acquisition for low-income housing opportunities. Sarah applied her strong commitment to community building and resource management to her work with OyaNoKai Inc. Through OyaNoKai, she facilitated Portland Public School’s Japanese Immersion Program’s cultural exchange and internship programs.

Rana Clarke

After traveling to Kenya in 2013, Rana fell in love with the natural beauty, traditional cultures and the Maasai people. Certified as a Registered Nurse for over 20 years specializing in critical care, trauma and cardiovascular surgery, Rana is a true caregiver. Her background and education in health care are a key component for our programs. Through the intensity and complexity of critical care nursing she has found a new focus and passion for end of life care. Rana has worked with pioneers in this field, the founder of No One Dies Alone  (NODA) and The Sacred Dying Foundation. Rana collaborated with Sacred Dying developing an innovative web-based educational tool for the training of health care providers to care for patients as they go through the natural dying process. She has also served on the Executive Board of Directors for The San Carlos Education Foundation as the Director of Parent Giving, helping to bridge the funding gap for the California school system. 

 

BOARD OF ADVISORS

 
 

Cindy Preuss
LEED ® AP
Engineer

Feista Warinwa
African Wildlife Foundation
Project Consultant

Lisa Leleu
CEO Lisa Leleu Studios
Marketing Consultant

Kevin Ferguson
DMD Certified
Dentist

Mary Kegel
MD Board Certified
Dermatologist

 
 

AMBOSELI ADVISORY COUNCIL

 

Directors

Samuel Leposo
James P. Leposo
Sainepune T. Okumoi

Joel M. Tumuke
Lucy Sankale 
Agnes K. Papatiti

 

The Amboseli Advisory Council has been formed of Kenyan men and women to give guidance, ground support and direction for all A Voice Is Heard's projects in their communities. The men of this council are leaders, chiefs and elected officials, who all play a vital role in finding solutions for social, environmental and economic issues. Appointing women to our council gives them the opportunity to be advocates for women's rights in their communities and become a voice for their people.