SONGEA'S KIDS
LEVERAGING THE POWER OF TANZANIA/USA PARTNERSHIPS TO IMPROVE THE LIVES OF ORPHANS AND VILLAGERS

Sherie Valderrama is an international human resources professional with experience in human resources policy and management, talent acquisition, succession planning, mentoring, organizational development and training. She has specialized expertise in talent acquisition, with a successful track record in designing and managing competitive recruiting organizations to identify and attract diverse pools of talent across national and international geographies. Her experience includes work with a multinational quality of life services company, where she led recruiting for executive and management level roles, and developed programs for mentoring, internal mobility, and succession planning. She has also created and directed the recruiting operations for leading consulting firms focused on international development assistance. Earlier in her career, she was a volunteer in Tanzania, where she worked on programs to support appropriate technology and women in development. Sherie holds a BA degree in international affairs from George Washington University, She speaks Spanish, and formerly had a working knowledge of KiSwahili.

David Tardif-Douglin runs Africa Lead II, a project that builds the capacity of agriculture professionals, institutions and stakeholders to position African leaders and institutions at the forefront of increased agricultural productivity and food security.

It was a high school politics and economics class 43 years ago that sparked David's interest in economic development. The son of American missionaries in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), David, who was born and raised in the turbulent country, saw the effects of poverty all around him, as well as how things could be on his infrequent trips back to the United States and Europe. He also gained an appreciation for different paths toward economic progress while traveling to and from school through Zaire, Uganda, and Kenya.

Wanting to learn more about the process of economic and social development, David went to the United States to attend college, earning a degree in economics and business. He returned to Zaire and ran a cattle ranch for two years before heading back to America for graduate studies in agricultural economics. Upon completing his doctoral degree, David joined DAI and was promptly assigned to long-term work in Rwanda and, later, the Philippines.

An agricultural economist with expertise in capacity building, training, and managing and overseeing multiple technical teams operating in multiple project sites, David most recently managed a global project that trained and prepared veterinarians, public health personnel, farmers, and government officials to prepare for and counter avian influenza and pandemic outbreaks. David has also supported DAI projects in Azerbaijan, El Salvador, and Nigeria.

A US citizen, born and raised in Africa, Dr. Tardif-Douglin holds a Ph.D. in agricultural economics and is multilingual in French, English and Swahili. David served as an internal member of DAI's Board of Directors.

Crispin Silvanus is an entrepreneur and businessman based in Songea, Tanzania. He is a long-time member of the Songea's Kids community, having served as a valued advisor for nine years prior to joining the Songea's Kids Board of Directors. He holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the Open University of Tanzania. He is fluent in English and Swahili.

Susan Follmer is an experienced and inspiring educational leader, powerful communicator, coalition builder and master facilitator. She has broad experience in education as a teacher, counselor, consultant and administrator and is a true believer that education is an endeavor that empowers communities. Her experience includes developing innovative approaches to design systems that work for students.

Most recently, she served as Principal of Washington Middle School, Seattle, Washington. Earlier in her career, she served as Principal for the International School of Monagas in Maturin, Venezuela. Ms. Follmer also managed Master of Education programs for the City University of Seattle, including curriculum and instruction, technology, reading and literacy, guidance and counseling.

Ms. Follmer has travelled extensively internationally, including spending time with Songea's Kids partners in Songea and Lutukira, Tanzania. She received her Master's degree in Education from the University of Washington.

Erica Myrick-Thompson has over fifteen years of professional experience, with expertise in project management, finance and accounting. Her skill set includes advanced financial administration; contract/subcontract management, procurement, and FAR/AIDAR compliance; and general support and oversight of development programming. She is currently a Project Manager for the Africa Lead II USAID program where she provides analysis and strategic guidance of the project financial and budgetary process along with operational support to the field offices in Nairobi, Kenya, Accra, Ghana and Dakar, Senegal. Ms. Myrick-Thompson holds a Master's degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor's degree in Business and Professional Management from Nova Southeastern University.

Colleen Green is the Vice President for the Economic Growth sector in DAI's US Government business unit. During her 22 years at DAI, she has focused predominantly on supporting the technical delivery of projects engaged in financial inclusion, financial sector development, investment, health and social protection, and economic strengthening, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern Europe. She has served as team leader, technical specialist, and two-time Project Director, first on a global financial services research project and second, on a USAID Tanzania project aimed at improving the livelihoods of vulnerable AIDS affected households and families. Currently, Colleen manages DAI's largest technical group, responsible for business development and technical oversight of more than 35+ USAID-funded programs. Prior to joining DAI, Colleen worked for Frontier Finance International/IPC GMBH, USAID, and Deloitte & Touche's Emerging Markets Group in similar technical roles.

A founder and former board member of Women Advancing Microfinance, Colleen holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and German from the University of Oregon and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) with concentration in Development Economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Lisa Parkinson has volunteered with Songea's Kids since 2018, serving as our Child Sponsorship Coordinator and spearheading many of our fundraising events. Prior to joining Songea's Kids, Lisa practiced veterinary medicine for 20 years, specializing in small and exotic animals. Lisa studied at Washington State University where she obtained two B.S. degrees in Veterinary Science and in Animal Science, a Master's degree in Animal Science, and a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery.

Don Pierce joined the Songea's Kids board of directors in January 2023. Don grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo along the shores of Lake Kivu and went to boarding high school in Kenya before coming back to the US for continuing education. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Graphic Design from Oregon State University. For several years, he was the owner of Pierce Design, a Woodland Park, Colorado based company providing creative design solutions for corporate and institutional promotional and identity materials, direct response promotional packages, and magazine layout. Don currently resides in Bellingham, Washington where he works for Skagit Transportation.

Linda has devoted her life to building projects and programs that improve the quality of life for both people and animals. She taught high school and college English from 1962-67. From 1973-83, she served as research associate, editor, managing editor, then Director of two Offices at the College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University. In 1979 she worked with Leo K. Bustad, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University, to establish the People-Pet Partnership, involving volunteers in community service in schools, nursing homes, prisons, and in therapeutic horseback riding for children with disabilities.

From 1983 to 2003, she served as the first Executive Director and then President/CEO of the Delta Society (now named Pet Partners), a national nonprofit organization with the mission of improving human health through service and therapy animals (www.petpartners.org). She established the national office near Seattle in 1983 and the East Coast office in New York City in 1993. To extend the impact of this field in other countries, she co-founded the International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations (IAHAIO) in 1990 and served as its first Secretary/Treasurer.

Max Goldensohn joined the Peace Corps after college and spent two years in Gabon building schools with villagers in remote communities. After graduate school, Max went to Laos as a civilian volunteer during the Vietnam War and taught future teachers to do community development. By then he was thoroughly bitten by the international development bug, and has since worked for 40 years in program management, capacity building, training, and monitoring and evaluation, including more than 20 years managing long-term projects in agribusiness and agricultural production in the developing world. Max has augmented his expertise with a deep understanding of strategy development, planning and capacity building, and the impact of policy on citizens' lives, all of it grounded in his training in anthropology.

He has held senior management responsibility for establishing an in-country presence for projects implemented in some of the most challenging work environments including start-ups in Afghanistan, Haiti, Ethiopia, and Liberia, and full-scale management and oversight of projects in Sri Lanka, Egypt, Zaire, and Mauritania as Chief of Party. He has also worked as international NGO country director in Mauritania and in Colombia.

Max's work and results cover many disciplines, including: natural resource management; rural health delivery systems; trans-regional initiatives; partnership building between farmers, water-users, entrepreneurs, villagers, city-dwellers, government, and the private sector; and planning and orientation exercises.

Max is fluent in French and Spanish; useful in German; formerly fluent or useful in Egyptian Arabic, Sinhala, Kiswahili, Ngbandi, Lingala, Lao, and Soninke. He holds a Ph.D. in anthropology from Harvard University.

Hon. Joseph Kizito Mhagama is an esteemed Member of Parliament in Tanzania. Prior to being elected to the Parliament in 2015, the Hon. Mhagama served as Executive Director of the Ruvuma Commercialization and Diversification of Agriculture (RUCODIA). He received an MBA from the University of Dodoma; an BSc in Chemistry from the University of Madras in India, and a Bachelor of Theology from the University of Frebourg in Switzerland. In addition, the Hon. Mhagama completed postgraduate course work in Language and Diplomacy at DiploFoundation in Malta, and obtained an Advanced Diploma in French Language from the University of Fribourg KV in Switzerland.