Meet The Team
SUWHA HONG
MODESTE NGABONZIZA
LOUISA ADU
DENISE MARONEY
SARA WOHLERS
CHANTAL MUSABIMANA
GODWIN MUSONERA
NICOLE HUERTAS
SOLOMON TANDOH
EMELIENNE NYIRAMANA
YVES NSHIMIYIMANA
GIFTY ANYOKA
MELANIE PRIETO-CAMPOS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Matt Mitro is currently the global head of campus recruiting at Citadel which he joined in August 2020. In this role he takes responsibility for driving the firm’s strategy to find, engage and recruit exceptional student talent globally. Matt served in a similar role at JPMorgan Chase from 2017-2020 where he led innovations related to diversity recruiting and the use of neuroscience assessments. From 2011 to 2017, Matt led a variety of university recruiting and programmatic efforts at Google that focused on technical and non-technical students throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas. During his time at Google, Matt also oversaw the software engineering intern program and Google’s signature partnerships with HBCUs. Matt’s career also included time spent as a social entrepreneur and attorney. In 2006, Matt founded Indego Africa. Matt began his professional career as a practicing attorney in Washington, DC where he advised on infrastructure projects in developing countries. Matt graduated with a law degree from American University and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and history from Washington University in St. Louis.
Lindsay Abrams is an experienced sales and merchandising professional with a background in the fashion industry and nonprofit sector. She currently leads sales and outreach for the Little Market, a nonprofit fair trade shop featuring ethically sourced, artisan-made products. Lindsay also serves as Executive Director of the Bruce C. Abrams Foundation which is dedicated to supporting mental health research and development worldwide. She holds a Master of Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business as well as a BA in Human and Organizational Development and English from Vanderbilt University.
Jaramogi K. Adams is a global operations executive with a knack for end-to-end strategic execution, communications and building global teams in both the Financial Services and Technology sectors. Currently, he is the Chief Operating Officer for DIVERSD, a startup that builds Artificial Intelligence for the Future of Work with a particular lens on the importance of Intersectionality and conscious counter-bias. Prior to his time in startups, Jaramogi had a long career at American Express. He developed expertise in leading business transformation, change management and design thinking for payments, banking, travel, lending and enterprise platforms across 4 continents (New York, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Sydney). Jaramogi holds an A.B. from Duke University, and a M.Sc from Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Chris Birosak has over 30 years of Investment Banking, Leveraged Finance, and Private Equity investment experience. He currently serves as the Vice Chairman of Indego Africa's Board of Directors (August 2017-present) and a Senior Advisor and Investment Committee member of Star Mountain Capital, an investment firm focused on growth capital investments in small and medium sized US businesses. His career includes former work as Managing Partner of North Cove Partners and as Managing Director of Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity where he served on the investment committee and was responsible for investments in the Health Care and Energy sectors. Across his career, Chris has worked with early-stage businesses, middle-market companies as well as Fortune 500 companies having completed over 150 transactions. In addition to his corporate board experience, Chris has extensive experience in the non-profit sector and currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York and the Board of the Student Partner Alliance, an organization enabling inner-city youth to attend parochial schools. As a long time resident of Summit, NJ, Chris formerly served on the Board of the Summit Area YMCA and was a former President and Board member of the Summit Educational Foundation. Chris graduated from Wayne State University with a BA in economics and from the University of Detroit Mercy with an MBA in finance.
Dana has spent over 20 years working in the fashion industry, focusing on design, product development, and brand building. She began her career designing at Ralph Lauren before launching her own golf and resort clothing brand. Subsequently, she collaborated with Greg Norman on the relaunch of his clothing brand, and worked with UNTUCKit in the areas of design, production, and marketing, contributing to the company's growth. Most recently, she served as the Design Director at Definite Articles, a sustainable performance wear line that she helped launch. Dana holds a degree in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology and Lorenzo de’ Medici, as well as a B.S. in Marketing from Fairfield University.
Steve Foresta is a partner at McGuireWoods LLP in New York. Foresta joined McGuireWoods from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, where he led its global business litigation unit from 2011 to 2016 and chaired its life settlements working group. Steve also devotes a substantial amount of time working with community service organizations. During the summer of 2009, Steve traveled to Rwanda with his son Michael to work with Indego Africa’s staff, artisan partners, and Generation Rwanda interns, and he’s been a devoted Indego Africa supporter ever since. Steve also serves as Chair of the New York Board of Advisors of Disability Rights Advocates. Steve graduated from Fordham University School of Law in 1987 and received his undergraduate degree in 1984 from the University of Virginia, where he was an Echols Scholar.
Conor is in his second invigorating decade of being a business lawyer, social entrepreneur, and policy wonk. He currently serves as General Counsel at Zipline International, the world’s first commercial drone delivery system to operate at a national scale in both Rwanda and Ghana. Conor previously led legal, regulatory, and government affairs as GC of Funding Circle, the world’s leading lending platform focused exclusively on small business. Conor also spent four years helping to build and scale Indego Africa, where he served in various roles as CFO, COO, and eventually CEO. He began his career as a corporate finance attorney at Latham & Watkins LLP. Active in the policy community, Conor is a Presidential Leadership Scholar, Truman Security Fellow, and has helped found the Marketplace Lending Association (a trade association supporting responsible financial innovation), the Responsible Business Lending Coalition (which authored the Small Business Borrowers’ Bill of Rights), and the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise (a global initiative supporting the artisan sector). He currently serves on the alumni board of NYU Law and the financial institutions committee of the CA bar, and was recently recognized as 2017 Bay Area Corporate Counsel of the Year. Conor received his JD from NYU Law and his BA from Georgetown. He is admitted to the CA, DC, MA and NY bars.
Helen Gugel is a partner in the litigation & enforcement practice at Ropes & Gray LLP. Her work involves representing companies, investment advisers, executives, and boards of directors in both civil and criminal proceedings and investigations. Beyond her regulatory work, Helen conducts internal and independent investigations into allegations of serious wrongdoing, including unlawful or unethical business practices, workplace harassment and other misconduct. She maintains a robust pro bono practice focused on criminal defense and criminal justice reform. Helen previously served as a Special Assistant District Attorney in Kings County, New York and clerked for the Honorable Shira A. Scheindlin in the Southern District of New York. She has also worked with several nonprofits in India, Nepal, and Rwanda focused on empowering women, including as a Legal Fellow at Indego Africa. Helen holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University, and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.
Alex Kennedy is a vice president in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs. She currently serves as the secretary to the Goldman Sachs Firmwide Commitments Committee, the committee which approves and oversees underwriting and distribution activities with respect to equity and equity-related products, and sets and maintains policies and procedures designed to ensure that legal, reputational, regulatory and business standards are maintained on a global basis. Previously, she worked in the Compliance and Legal Divisions of Goldman Sachs. From August 2010 to June 2011, Alex worked in Rwanda as in-country coordinator for Indego Africa. Alex graduated from Smith College with a BA in African Studies, The University of London with a MA in African Studies and holds a JD from The Ohio State University.
Sierra Visher Kroha, a leader in the San Diego nonprofit community, is the current Chief Executive Officer of San Diego Social Venture Partners, a nonprofit that provides pro-bono consulting to local organizations to strengthen their impact. She has experience in international development having held a range of leadership roles in microfinance organizations, refugee services and business development programs in Latin America and East Africa where, notably, she helped to start, scale and manage a national public health program in Kenya with Innovation for Poverty Action that dewormed 5.9 million children annually. She has previously chaired the board of the Karen Organization of San Diego supporting Burmese refugees in San Diego, and currently serves on the board of the Point Loma Association. She was recently recognized as a finalist for San Diego Business Journal's Top 40 Business Leaders under 40. Sierra holds a BA from UCSD and an MPA from New York University where, during her studies, she first fell in love with Indego Africa while working an intern.
Justine is an early stage venture capital investor, focused on climate and technology, and a Senior Advisor at Hines Global Ventures and at 25madison, a NY-based venture studio. From 2019-2022, Justine served as a managing partner and Chief Operating Officer of 25madison. Prior to 2019, Justine held executive leadership positions at Lyft (micromobility) and at Citibike, the country's largest bikeshare operator. She began her career as a mergers & acquisitions lawyer at Davis Polk & Wardwell. She is a board member and advisor to a number of venture-backed portfolio companies, and serves on the board of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Justine holds a B.A. from Yale University, and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.
Ryan is a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, where he currently serves as the Americas Head of the Regulatory Practice Group - Securities team. Based out of New York, Texas, and Utah, Ryan's team manages the firm's interactions with its non-prudential regulators, such as regulatory exams and inquiries. Before joining Goldman, Ryan practiced law with the Litigation Department of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in New York. Prior to joining Orrick, Ryan worked with several international governmental organizations devoted to international lawmaking, governance and enforcement, including the United Nations Liaison Office of CARE International in New York, the Center for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in New Delhi, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna. Ryan holds a B.A. from Vassar College, an M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.
Elizabeth Lynch is Executive Director of the Office of Military and Veterans Affairs at JPMorgan Chase & Co. where she supports the firm’s investments to champion veteran employment, talent development, and small business growth. She has worked for over 20 years in mission-driven organizations, with a focus on empowering women and generating wealth for low-income households. Prior to joining the firm in 2017, Elizabeth served as the Head of Executive Coaching and Mentoring for Creative Metier, a UK-based consulting firm. Her work focused on leadership development and coaching for senior leaders in the East African financial sector. Elizabeth also held a variety of roles at Women's World Banking (WWB), one the largest global microfinance networks, most recently as the Head of the Center for Microfinance Leadership, where she was responsible for WWB’s global work in leadership development. Elizabeth holds an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and a BA in History from Haverford College. She lives in New York with her husband and two daughters.
Puneet Mansharamani has more than 15 years of investment experience. He has served as a Partner and Portfolio Manager at LSV Asset Management since 2006 and a Quantitative Analyst since 2000. As part of the quantitative and implementation team, Puneet is responsible for the day-to-day data management, portfolio implementation and ongoing enhancement of LSV's models and systems. He earned a B.S. in Engineering from Delhi University, Delhi College of Engineering and an M.S. degree in Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, Case School of Engineering.
Joe comes to Indego Africa after over 30 years at American Express where he held leadership positions in finance, business transformation and reengineering, and revenue development. Most recently, he was Vice President, Strategic Transformation for American Express Global Business Travel, one of the largest corporate travel management companies worldwide. Prior to that, Joe was CFO of Global Business Travel. He has held cross product line CFO positions in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. During his career with American Express, he has lived in Bangkok, Rome, London, Frankfurt and Miami, as well as his base in New York. Joe holds an MBA in finance and accounting from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, and a BS in Economics from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Joe is a member of the Advisory Board of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts and the Board of Advisors for the School of Economics at Georgia Tech.
Daniel Sacks is a philanthropic advisor and consultant based in Washington DC, where he met his wife, Vanessa, while planning an Indego Africa fundraiser. They now have two elementary school-aged daughters, Georgia and Emma. Dan has spent 15+ years working in nonprofits on topics ranging from agriculture in Africa, to criminal justice reform, to mental health and wellness. Dan grew up in North Vancouver, Canada and graduated from McGill University in Montreal studying political science, economics and psychology and playing rugby. He rides his bike for exercise and mental clarity.
Selom is a Vice President in the Technology Division at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He has extensive experience in management consulting having served clients for Ernst & Young LLP, Capgemini and Deloitte Consulting LLP. His industry experience spans across Financial Services, Technology, Healthcare, Energy and Consumer Business advising and executing on Transformation and Integration initiatives. A native of Ghana, Selom has always had a keen interest in giving back to his country and the continent as a whole and brings a unique perspective to programs and strategy. Selom obtained a BSc. in Computer and Electrical Engineering, an MSc. in Electrical Engineering from the Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science and an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.
Karen Yelick joined Indego in 2012 as Chief Financial Officer after a 24-year career in Investment Banking at Merrill Lynch. Karen was drawn to Indego Africa for its mission, which intersected with her passion for education and financial independence for women. Karen was promoted to CEO on January 1, 2014, leading the organization for the next 10 years. Karen was instrumental in building a local team on the ground in Rwanda and leading Indego's expansion to Ghana. Major programs developed and launched during her tenure include Indego Africa's Leadership Academy, Vocational and Business Training for artisans and unemployed youth, Economic Inclusion for Refugees and Indego Africa's Artisan Small Business Incubator. Karen received an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia and her B.A. from the University of Michigan.
Ambassador Michael R. Arietti
Kathleen Cronen
Katharine Crost
Thomas Mitro
Benjamin Stone
Melissa Sexton
Isabel Buntain
Ellen Press
Steph Stephenson