Our People

Emerging Humanity is made up of ambitious employees and volunteers and an impressive advisory board.

Employees & Volunteers

Becky, Executive Director. Becky spends the majority of her time in Kenya organizing projects and working to improve the lives of impvoersihed children. When not in Kenya, Becky assists Emerge with grant proposals and fundraising. Becky graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a B.A. in History in 2009, and she is currently working towards a Ph.D in Political Science with a specialization in education for a sustainable future.

Marcel, Project Manager. Marcel is a lifelong resident of Kisumu District. He studied marketing and sales in college, and then became a taxi driver for two decades. Marcel's natural ability to work with people and his desire to learn more about our projects is what lead Emerge to recruit him as one of our project managers. Marcel is now a vital asset to our team.

Lauren, Board Secretary. Lauren graduated in 2006 from the University of Wisconsin-Stout with a B.A. in Technical Communications. After three years with a Wisconsin-based web design and video production company, Lauren decided to travel to Kenya to see our projects first-hand. In 2010, she had the opportunity to help open an all girls' high school in a rural village near the Ugandan border. Currently, Lauren works for the Green Bay Area Public Schools and assists Emerge with fundraising and grant writing.

Bart, Co-Founder and Board Member. After spending the past five years volunteering for and growing Emerging Humanity, Bart is taking time to finish up his Master's degree in Sustainable Development from University of London-SOAS. He grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin and graduated in 2005 from the University of Hawaii-Manoa with a degree in Political Science.

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Advisory Board

Diane has been the Chairman of the Kisumu Sister City Committee (KSCC) since 1993. She also practiced veterinary medicine for 14 years. She received a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine, an M.S. and a B.S. all from the University of Virginia Tech.

Jeffrey is currently the Deputy Director of the Bureau for Africa in the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Prior to taking this post in 2004, he served as a resident coordinator for the United Nations system, and resident representative, UNDP, Honduras; resident representative, UNDP, Laos; and deputy resident representative, UNDP, Bhutan. Mr. Avina received his Doctorate in Jurisprudence from the Harvard School of Law, an M.A. in International Development Education from Stanford University, and B.A.'s in International Relations and Latin American studies, also from Stanford University.

Michael has a thirty year career in engineering, human resources and general management. Mike is the current or past Board member of nine public corporations and six civic organizations. At retirement, he established a Family Foundation to serve as a vehicle to share significant amounts of money to non-profit charity organizations. "I spent the last 30 years trying to do well," says Mike. "My goal for the next 30 years is to do Good."

Felicity was a teacher in the United Kingdom for 30 years. After retiring she took a trip to Kisumu, Kenya. Seeing the situations that children face in Africa led her to establish a network of like-minded friends, who call themselves the Hart Foundation. Among other things, they have raised funds to build new toilets, construct water wells, and replace asbestos roofing at two large slum schools in Kisumu. They've also set up medical treatment accounts and provided access to education for many young children whom they have grown to know and care for.

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