BOARD MEMBERS
Mr. Tony Ndungu
Mr. Tony Ndungu is a Financial management expert with over 19 years of progressive experience in the research, accounting and auditing fields, having worked primarily in the private sector. Portfolios under his purview have exceeded $8 billion and he has vast experience in reviewing the effectiveness of internal controls and operational procedures. Mr. Ndungu has a deep understanding of filing processes with various State and Federal Regulators like the Department of Labor, the State of Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation and the Internal Revenue Service.
Mr. Ndungu has a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, graduating Magna Cum Laude (Hons) for both and has numerous affiliations including with the Maryland Society of Accountants and the National Honor Society in Business.
Ms. Linda Carew
Ms. Linda Carew Saunders comes with over fifteen years of development experience working at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She is a procurement expert having managed various procurement functions and processes vital to development management and sustainability. She has worked in an advisory capacity assisting with various programs developed for poverty reduction and ultimately jobs creation. Ms. Carew Saunders is dedicated to supporting a strong private sector development as the main vehicle for sustainable growth in emerging markets. She possesses deep understanding of local political and social dynamics of many emerging countries as well as the aspiration goals of many cultures in Africa, specifically in the Western sub region. As a strong supporter of universal education in developing regions, Ms. Carew Saunders has helped to promote libraries in emerging regions to include remote villages. Additionally, her interest in the economic and social mobility in various emerging markets has in turn led her to serve as a board member of the Immigrant and Refugee Foundation. Ms. Carew Saunders has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and pursuing a Master’s degree in Acquisitions and Supply Chain Management with an anticipated graduation date of May 2017.
Dr. Wanjiru Kamau
Wanjiru Kamau is the Founder, CEO and Executive Director of the African Immigrant and Refugee Foundation. Dr. Kamau was an Adjunct Professor and University Administrator at Penn State University until she started the AIRF in 1998 out of a passion to help African immigrants and refugees survive in the United States. An immigrant with expertise in mental health and intercultural communication, she knew she was well equipped to help Africans adjust to American life and decided to leave her job, move to Washington DC and pursue her dream. Since 2000, she has led the organization in the provision of professional help and referral services to over 6,000 immigrants from 45 countries; in the offering of mentoring and tutoring services to over 600 students in nine schools, guided over 200 families through African parent empowerment training, assisted girls in trafficking cases, mediated domestic violence cases and served over 1,400 mental health clients in 27 different languages.
A 2011 Purpose Prize winner, Mama Kamau as she is fondly called, spends most of her time in Kenya now, building and selling Greenhouses to encourage sustainable growth and healthy living.
Dr. Waheeda Shakoor
Dr. Waheedah Shakoor has been a proud supporter of AIRF for more than ten years. She has represented the Foundation as an African Club sponsor, board member, and board chairperson. Dr. Shakoor was the club sponsor at Cardozo Senior High School in Washington, DC until her retirement in 2014. During her tenure at Cardozo, immigrant students from Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean found a “home” away from “their home country”. The African Club welcomed all students’ even students born in America to immigrant parents of African descent.
Over the years, Waheedah Shakoor and the African Club supported and participated in the many activities and annual programs sponsored by the Foundation. The African Club contributed to the Annual Youth Conferences, Black History Celebrations, and the End of the Years program. Of special note was always the African Fashion Shows where students could show off with pride their ethnic clothing. The African Club at Cardozo hosted visitors from the Motherland, held assemblies during Black History Month, participated in the Homecoming Parades and held Saturday tutoring sessions with the Howard University Knights Fraternity.
As a result of the leadership development and academic support that the club provided the majority of the student matriculated to institutions of higher learning. The Club helped to develop members inducted into the National Honor Society, honor roll, and produced salutatorians, and valedictorians.
Waheedah has served on the Board of Directors as a board member and chair of the board. During the past year she has supervised part of the African Culture and Education Academy staff including the Site Coordinators, African Cultural Instructors, ESL Teacher and the Child-care personnel for Essex House and Park Montgomery.
Dr. Waheedah Shakoor is a retired educator with forty years of experience educating special needs students, regular education and ESL students in Reading, ESL and English. Waheedah served as a host, speaker, workshop facilitator, food server, planner or any other position that was needed for the Foundation. No task was too small or too complicated. She has a passion for helping others and will continue giving to the community particularly the immigrant community.
Mr. Paul Pumphrey
Mr. Paul Anthony Pumphrey has been an organizer and activist for over forty years. Paul co-founded and is a member of the board of directors for Friends of the Congo (FOTC) - non-profit advocacy organization based in Washington, DC. FOTC was established at the behest of Congolese human rights and grassroots institutions in 2004, to work together to bring about peaceful and lasting change in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which was formerly known as Zaire. Early in his career, Mr. Pumphrey founded the Summer Fun Day Camp which was devoted to serving the needs of youth-at-risk in Montgomery County, Maryland. The camp provided educational, recreational and cultural services for over 150 youth and had a staff of over 25.Mr. Pumphrey is a member of Universal Negro Improvement Association, UNIA Division 330. With his background, Paul has brought wealth of resources and contribution to Airfound and is extremely proud to support the African immigrant community.
Mrs. Enitan Okusanya
Mrs. Enitan (Ennie) Okusanya has been a lifelong supporter for non-profit organization and has wealth of experience in education media, and technology. She created Enniscope Marketing, a startup company for digital media and web marketing, which focuses on promoting brands for small to large businesses. She has coordinated and managed projects from small to large events. She is a Technology and Computer Science teacher at a Montgomery County Public School in Maryland. Enitan is also a sponsor for the Airfound at Argyle Middle School in Maryland. Ennie previous professional experience includes working for the Department of Homeland Security- US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). In addition, Enitan uses her platform as an educator to build the bridge between the immigrant students’ home-life and school-life. She encourages and supports parents to get involved in their child’s education. Enitan received her Bachelors of Science degree from Oral Roberts University in Communication and Multimedia Productions. She earned her Masters in Education from Buffalo State College and a Graduate Certificate from SUNY at Albany.
Mrs. Olayinka Creighton-Randall
Mrs. Olayinka Creighton-Randall recently appointed as the Airfound board chairperson. Olayinka has experience as an Administrative, Human Resources, Justice, security and Governance professional with over twenty years of progressive experience in both the private and public sectors. Before becoming a refugee (due to the outbreak of the Ebola Virus in Sierra Leone) in 2014, Olayinka was the Coordinator (Executive Director) of the Justice Sector Coordination Office (JSCO) in Sierra Leone; an Office charged with coordinating the implementation of the Government of Sierra Leone’s Justice Sector Reform Strategy and Investment Plan. This Plan has multi-sectoral activities geared towards supporting vulnerable women and children and is also charged with coordinating the inputs of donors into the sector.
Prior to this appointment, Mrs. Creighton-Randall worked with a British funded Government of Sierra Leone led $54 million project and at the Campaign for Good Governance (a national not for profit Organisation) ending her tenure there as National Coordinator (Executive Director). Both organizations had a mandate to support vulnerable women and children. She also established her own consultancy company in 2008 and has led it to deliver quality human resource services to the public and private sectors as well as national and international not for profit organizations.
Her published work includes; “The role of the International Community in supporting Democratisation Processes-Why it matters for Human Security”. A Chapter written in ‘Democracy, Conflict and Human Security: Pursuing Peace in the 21st Century, VOL 11’, published by International IDEA, Stockholm, Sweden, 31/12/2006 and the thematic Submission on “Governance” to the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Mrs. Creighton-Randall holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons.) in Social Science and Administration, a Master of Arts in International Relations and a Postgraduate Diploma in Human Resource Management all from the United Kingdom. She is also a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (U.K).