Kenyan Empowerment Training Team

Marren Ojode

Marren is a married mother of four adult children. She is a retired teacher and Empowerment Trainer with a passion for the well-being and positive change of women and children to whom she provides guidance and counseling. She is also the chairperson Sanja Women Group, a Christian and is a deaconess in her Seventh Day Adventist Church. She is a Member of the Board of Management at Moi Suba, Girls Secondary School.

Isabella A. Nyagoa

Isabella is married with eight children. She is a retired school bursar and chairperson of Godjope Dispensary. She is the treasurer for the Karanda Self Help Group, the Sanja Women Group, Godjope Women SACCO and Godjope Primary School. Isabella is a trained Table Bank Trainer and has a passion for women and vulnerable children.

Millicent Adhiambo Joash

Millicent was raised in a very humble family in Muhuru Bay at the shores of Lake Victoria in present day Migori County. She went to a public primary school at the age of 7 and proceeded to secondary school at 15. Later she studied Agriculture and Technology at Jomo Kenyatta University on the outskirts of Nairobi, where she graduated with Bachelor of Science (Botany and Zoology) degree in 1999. Thereafter, Millicent earned her Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) at Kenyatta University in 2004.

Millicent is also the wife of one husband, a mother of one beautiful daughter and three handsome sons. She has worked as a Teacher, a Trainer, a Credit Officer, a Senior Program Officer and now, a founder of a CBO known as Community Platform for Empowerment and Development (COPED). She is also an Assistant Trainer for Sanja CBO and ESVAK Community Development Initiatives.

Felgone Yunia Onyango

Felgone is a married mother of 8 children. She started her career as a teacher in 1983 after completing her program at Meru College. She was promoted in 2004, and continues to teach up to now.

Currently, Felgone is training as an apprentice Women Empowerment trainer since 2015 under the mentorship of Marren Ojode. She has also been trained in various fields by different organizations. Her various experiences as a Board member of Wandiji Secondary school, Board member of Ndhuru dispensary and Waiga Vocational training centre have helped to shape her as a leader and respected member of her community. She continues to empower women to form groups which can be helpful by uplifting their standards of living.

US Board Members

Gayle Hammer - President

Gayle serves as the Executive Director of the Soul Source Foundation and has been a board member since 2010. She began her teaching career in Chicago in 2005 and since has taught on Rusinga Island in Kenya, Minneapolis and is now back in Chicago. After spending several months with many subsequent returns to Rusinga Island, she affectionately received the name Nyachula, meaning daughter of the island. Gayle earned a BA in English at North Park University, her teaching license at Northwestern University and recently completed her Masters in English as a Second Language from Hamline University in St. Paul Minnesota. She currently teaches in Chicago, IL, where she loves swimming in lake Michigan, riding her bicycle and being close to family.

Peter Morris - Treasurer
Peter is a pastor in Madison, WI. He’s got three degrees from North Park University (a bachelors, an M. Div and a Master of Arts in Community Development). He’s previously worked at churches in Chicago, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and worked with communities in Cape Town, South Africa and Seattle. Peter and his family enjoy taking road trips with their wheaten terrier and cooking and eating good food. He’s had the privilege of visiting Rusinga on two occasions.

Aaron Swanton - Secretary

For nearly a decade Aaron served as the Youth Program Manager at Blackstone Bicycle Works, a Woodlawn-based non-profit,where he taught young people entrepreneurial and mechanic skills in a safe and positive environment and in the context of a small business. Swanton is an advocate for youth and cycling; doing community outreach, education and pop-up bicycle repair events throughout Chicago neighborhoods In 2004, Swanton worked as an English and creative writing instructor at Pollsmoor Prison in Capetown, South Africa. Upon returning to the States, Swanton taught Art at San Miguel Gary Comer Junior High School in Chicago’s Austin Community. The son of a Methodist minister and special education teacher, Swanton grew up in Ohio and moved to Chicago in 2000 to attend North Park University where he earned a BA in Africana Studies and studied under Dr. Theodora Ayot. He has been a member of the Soul Source Foundation since 2015 and had the honor of visiting Kenya in January 2016.

Tricia Puskar - Fundraising

Tricia has been working in the nonprofit sector for 20 years, focused on addressing the root causes of poverty and injustice locally and globally. Most recently, Tricia spent 10 years growing fundraising efforts at World Bicycle Relief to provide bicycle transportation in rural communities in Africa and Colombia. Prior to that, Tricia led advocacy and outreach campaigns for Save the Children focused on increasing US investments in global maternal and child health programs. Tricia has lived and worked in Ghana, and has spent significant time in Western Kenya, but hasn’t been to Rusinga yet. In her spare time, Tricia loves supporting progressive political campaigns in Chicago, riding her bike, cooking, and hanging with her kiddo.

Betsy Zacks - Marketing Director

Betsy completed her Bachelors of Science in Business at Ohio University and worked for several years in marketing. She then followed up with a Masters of Science in Education at Northwestern University after which she taught in Chicago Public Schools for five years with a predominantly English Language Learner population. Since then she has worked in intervention support and academic coaching as well as various other educational roles. She is passionate about helping others, baking, and playing volleyball. She currently lives in Columbus, Ohio with her three children, husband and dog, Ella.

Matt Peterson - Board Member

Matt is a carpenter living in St. Paul who loves the outdoors and traveling He is a fundraiser for SS and frequent visitor to Rusinga. He enjoys the northwoods and his family, especially at the same time.