Management Team |
Board of Directors |
| Harriet Stephenson, Ph.D. (Founder & President) |
| Kyla Hagedorn, MBA (Executive Director) |
| Rose Mbithe | Steve Holland, Ph.D. (Chair) |
| Lois Naipanoi | Greg Olson, MBA |
| Samuel Ghabah | Hongqing Chen, Ph.D. |
| Treza Supeyo | Jennifer de Leon, CPA |
| Benjamin Ankrah | Salar Salahshoor |
Management Team and Board of Directors
Harriet Buckman Stephenson, Ph.D.
Founder & President, Board Member
Harriet is a champion for social enterprise, the “Triple Bottom Line” and microenterprise in the Albers School of Business & Economics at Seattle University (SU). She uses her energies and Chair resources to globalize her microenterprise interests and integrate the WomensTrust partnership experiences and Women’s Center-Ofankor model into SU curriculum and her life. She is particularly interested in scaling the model through her colleagues in colleges and universities nationally and internationally.
As Director of the Small Business Institute at SU she has supervised over 3,000 teams of graduate and undergraduate students consulting for credit with nonprofit and for-profit organizations (typically microenterprises).
She serves on the Board of Washington Cash, a Seattle-based microcredit organization based on the Grameen Bank model. She is also on the Board of Community Capital Development whose mission is to help the non-bankable become bankable. She has researched and published in the microenterprise area since the early 70′s.
Harriet has her Ph.D. in Business from the University of Washington–her mother and father graduated from the University of Washington in the early 30′s. Education runs in the family. Her mother was a high school teacher. Her younger daughter and son-in-law (with their 5 year old son) have recently returned to the U.S. after teaching in the Dominican Republic, China and Guinea. Her elder daughter was a full time caregiver to Harriet’s 99 year-old Mother who passed away in March.
The own your own business, be your own boss, theme runs deep within Harriet. She started early with modeling and years of great advice from her brother (now in Southern California). Harriet is a world traveler and loves exploring small business models around the world. She also likes to hike. Her prior Africa travel was to Kenya and again to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro to celebrate her 60th birthday. You will find her always with a camera and the results of that on www.DailyThoughts.org and www.HungerFighters.com.
Kyla Hagedorn, MBA
Director of Development and Operations, Board Member
Kyla has a B.A. in Finance and Management from the University of Washington, an MBA concentrating on Entrepreneurship from Seattle University, and will complete a second Master’s Degree in International Business from Seattle University in March, 2011. Kyla has worked in socially responsible financial planning, market research and statistical analysis for a corporate real estate development firm, and most recently was the finance manager for a legal guardianship agency in Seattle, Washington. In addition to professional achievements, Kyla serves as a business consultant for the Community Development Entrepreneurship Clinic at Seattle University, a joint program with the Albers School of Business and Economics and the Seattle University School of Law; where Seattle start-up companies receive business consulting/entrepreneurship coaching and law consulting pro-bono. In the summer of 2010, Kyla was one of three consultants that traveled to Ghana and Kenya to do research on the impact of The Village Net’s micro-loan program and its affect on women’s empowerment and poverty alleviation. The consultants are in the process of finalizing the research paper for publication.
Kyla was attracted to The Village Net because of her interest in micro-enterprise and its role in women’s empowerment and poverty alleviation in the developing world. She is happy to be able to share her knowledge of business and entrepreneurship with the women in the communities that TVN serves. Kyla has always had a passion for Africa and hopes to continue to spend time there working on development issues and being amongst new friends long into the future.
Rose Mbithe
Program Manager, Mwaani, Kenya
Rose was born and raised in Mwaani, Kenya, with her 5 sisters and 1 brother. Most of her extended family continues to live in the house in which she was born. Her father died when she was very young, and her uncle made sure that she completed secondary school. When she completed her education, it was her turn to be sure that her brothers and sisters also received educations.
Rose has worked as an accountant, and a cashier and sale associate for a retail shop. Not only does she have the business experience to help Mwaani’s borrowers, she has extensive volunteer experience that serves The Village Net well. She is currently a volunteer with the Machakos HIV/AIDS Project, where she serves as a counselor and provides home-based care. She is a volunteer trainer with Kenya Red Cross, and St. John’s Ambulance. Her training expertise includes Poverty Eradication Training, which she was able to implement immediately on behalf of The Village Net. She is working to bring electricity to Mwaani, and she is the Chair of the committee that is attempting to bring in clean water. Rose is the Founding Chair of Tears of Women, the community-based organization that serves as partner with The Village Net.
Rose is very articulate about why she wants to serve “her village” through The Village Net. She feels that she empathizes with the village women, and likes being someone who can bring a difference to their lives. She loves that the women can depend on her, but feels that empowerment of each person is her goal.
Lois Naipanoi
Program Manager, Suswa, Kenya
Lois, the wife of a pastor, is the mother of three children (ages 9, 3 1/2 and 2 1/2 years). Her family is Maasai, and she has lived most of her live in Narok, a town about 1 1/2 hour drive from Suswa. Lois credits much of her success to her mother, who raised 4 girls and 1 boy as a single mother. Her mother was the second wife of three, and her husband’s first wife strongly discouraged sending girls to school because an education would bring no financial benefit to their husbands. Her mother, undissuaded, managed to send all of her children through high school.
Lois worked in the Maasai Education Discovery organization as a girls coordinator. She also worked in a high school as school secretary. She most recently attended the Chanel Institute, where she received a diploma in community development and social work.
Lois says that she knows the challenges that Maasai women face, and she wants to work with The Village Net to empower them. It has been her desire to work with women all of her life, with her mother as her driving inspiration.
Samuel Ghabah
Program Manager, Ofankor, Ghana
Samuel Ghabah is a graduate of The University of Cape Coast. He graduated in Social Science Education (with an emphasis on economics and management). He had his junior high education at Pokuase Junior High School and then gained admission to Konongo Odumase secondary school where he had his senior high education.
His career objective is to work in a competitive, challenging and dynamic environment where his talents and skills will be of value to the overall progress and development of the organization. He worked for WomenTrust as a part time translator from 2007- 2008. He began working with the VillageNet team in Ofankor. Sami has a good working relationship with clients and is in charge of the loan management of the village, which includes loan administration, loan processing, and loan collection. He also provides business education on simple record keeping and business management for the clients.
Benjamin Ankrah
Assistant
Treza Supeyo
National Program Coordinator – Kenya
Treza Supeyo was born and raised in Kenya in the Makueni district. After completion of high school, she proceeded to The Kenya Polytechnic where she graduated after four years of study with a diploma in Environmental Studies. She worked with several organizations including Christian Children’s Fund International and Slums Information Development Organization. Treza has experience working with low income families, street children and microenterprise for marginalized women. She also worked with Kenya Energy and Environment Organization, Coalition on Violence Against Women and African Network on Prevention and Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect. When she left Kenya she studied at Strayer University in Washington D.C. Treza is a key contact for intercultural communication with TVN Africa.
Steve Holland, Ph.D.
Chair of the Board of Directors
Dr. Steve Holland served as Director of the Business Program at the University of Washington Bothell from 2002-09 and continues to serve as Professor of Business. He previously taught at the University of Kentucky, the University of Michigan, the University of Colorado, and Texas State University and served as Economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Previous administrative appointments include Vice President of the Economics Institute at the University of Colorado and Chair of the Department of Finance and Economics at Texas State University.
He has a long-standing interest in international education and economic development. He has led the development of educational programs for graduate students from Korea, Indonesia, and South Africa and taught through travel in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and parts of the former Soviet Union.
“I’m excited to join the Board of Directors of The Village Net and help in any way I can to support TVN’s mission of spurring grass-roots economic development in the heart of Africa. The stories of how TVN is changing the lives of women and their families in Kenya and Ghana are very inspiring. I believe that microfinance is helping to pave the road to prosperity for much of the world.”
Greg Olson, MBA
Board Member
Founded Delightability with the hopes of changing the world. One project, one client, one service at a time. He is a life long learner, curious by nature, and he believes that landfills could be less full of junk and our bellies and minds more full of delight.
Greg’s experiences span marketing, sales, engineering, services, and operations in companies large and small and in-between. He has served as an adviser, entrepreneur, executive, consultant and individual contributor. While his formal education is about technology and business, his informal eduction is about humans and how they think and interact with the world. He sees greater potential for individuals, organizations, and even nations to do better for all of us.
He enjoys networking with interesting people, thinking about the possibilities, and writing where he can invent all possible worlds, free of constraints and restrictions.
Hongqing Chen, Ph.D.
Board Member
Ms. Chen is a seasoned finance executive and an Adjunct Professor teaching Fixed Income at Seattle University. She has been the COO for Community Capital Development, responsible for fundraising and streamlining operations. Prior to joining CCD, she was First Vice President and Senior Manager in Risk Scoring Strategy in Small Business Banking at Washington Mutual Bank (WaMu). During her tenure over nine and a half years in WaMu, Ms. Chen led teams in Asset Liability Management, MSR valuation and hedging, prepayment research and modeling, portfolio analytics and strategy, and delivery of other analytics services supporting business initiatives. Before joining WaMu, Ms. Chen was a senior ALM analyst for Wilshire Financial Services Group and as Adjunct Professor of Finance at School of Business Administration at Portland State University.
Jennifer de Leon, CPA
Board Member
Jennifer joined The Aguiar Group in November 2010 from Ernst & Young LLP, where she worked in the Seattle audit practice for four years. During this time, she worked on clients ranging from small biotech start-ups to multi-billion dollar companies in the manufacturing and technology industries. She has worked internationally in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada but recently chose to work for The Aguiar Group as a result of her heartfelt interest for small businesses and entrepreneurship. She is responsible for developing new service lines, participating in public relations and marketing activities, providing interim controller/CFO services, and performing technical GAAP research for clients.
Jennifer also is the Lead Instructor of Western Washington for Becker CPA Review and teaches the Audit and Financial portions of the CPA exam. She serves on the Board of Directors for The Village Net, a microfinance organization for women entrepreneurs in Africa, and has worked in rural villages in Kenya to implement accounting systems for tracking loan activity. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Bellevue Chapter of the Washington Society of CPAs and the Board of Trustees for the Washington CPA Foundation. As a result, Jennifer has received numerous awards, including the WSCPA Outstanding Chair Award (2008), Ernst & Young High Impact Awards (2007 and 2008), the Matteo Ricci College Lifetime Achievement Award (2006), the SU Accounting Department Chair Award (2006), and the Beta Alpha Psi Outstanding Member Award (2006). She also was recently featured as one of twelve CPAs in the United States on This Way to CPA, the student website of the AICPA.
Jennifer earned two Bachelor of Arts degrees from Seattle University in 2006 (Magna Cum Laude) with a triple-major in Accounting, Finance, and Humanities. She is an active member of the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants and the former Chairman of the New Professionals Committee.
Salar Salahshoor
Board Member
Salar is President at Turn Click, LLC, a digital marketing agency based in Seattle, is a serial entrepreneur and business consultant working with TVN to guide its communications and marketing strategies at home and abroad. Salar and his agency have worked with clients across many sectors to help them reach their company goals. We’re excited to have Salar join our Board and help build awareness about our programs and grow our base of supporters.
“Joining the Board of Directors of The Village Net is an amazing opportunity to apply my passion for entrepreneurship to help underdeveloped villages in Ghana and Kenya rise out of their depression. My goal is to apply my experiences and skills in the most effective ways possible to support TVN in its mission to empower hard working women in poverty build their businesses, feed their families and get their children in school. ”
Board of Advisors
Chris Weber – in Spirit
Chris was one of four who vetted the first group of borrowers and said–let’s start a program–the birth of Women’s Center Ofankor which soon evolved into The Village Net–Ghana. Chris died after a valient health battle in Spring of 2010.
Chris Weber has lived on the island of Antigua, and in North Carolina and Washington state. He received his M.A. in Economics from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, and his Ph.D. in Economics from Duke University. Since 1993, taught at Seattle University, where he was Professor of Economics. His research and teaching interests included economic development, theoretical and empirical macroeconomics, microeconomic theory, and the history of economic thought.
