Brendan Callahan
President/Founder

Brendan co-founded Achieve in Africa in Sept. 2008 and is an Operations Engineer LDP Associate with the Readiness and Stability Operations business unit of Lockheed Martin, a division focusing on international development projects. He received his B.S. in Business Administration from Boston University's School of Management and is currently completing his Graduate Certificate in Operational Leadership and Organizational Management from Drexel University. While in college, Brendan served as a Big Sibling to a 5th grade boy and worked at a wealth management firm.
Brendan holds Six Sigma Green Belt certification and is conversational in Swahili.

Alyssa Snow
Vice President/Founder

Alyssa is an Assistant Account Executive for MS&L in Washington D.C., where she is part of many advocacy and public affairs campaigns. Alyssa is originally from Merrimack, New Hampshire and graduates in Dec. 09 from Boston University's College of Communication with a degree in Mass Communication and concentrations in Public Relations and Psychology. Alyssa previously interned for the Boston Regional Office of the Peace Corps, where she encouraged prospective applicants to travel around the world promoting peace.

Patricia Snow
Treasurer

Patricia was born in Amsterdam, New York. She graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology to become a medical technologist. She is currently the Blood Bank Supervisor at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua, New Hampshire. Patricia previously worked at the American Red Cross.

Donna Callahan
Secretary

Donna received a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California at Los Angeles and interned at the City of Hope. She holds a B.A. in Biology from Cal State University, Northridge and practiced nursing at Kaiser Hospitals. She has an active R.N. license and returned to college to update her skills while being at home to raise her children. Donna has held Auditor and Treasurer Positions with Meadows PTA. She performs with the Village Voices Chorale.

Leah Cadillac, CFP®
Partner, Crestwood Advisors LLC

Leah is a Partner with Crestwood Advisors, LLC. Previously, Leah was the Investment Services Associate at Bingham Legg Advisers LLC, in Boston, and Finance Director for a congressional campaign. Leah earned a B.A. from Brandeis University and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). She is a member of the Financial Planning Association, the Boston Estate Planning Council, and Boston Women in Finance. Leah also is involved with the Women's Lunch Place of Boston and the Crittenton Women's Union.

Bill Callahan
Senior Scientist, Amgen

Bill has a dual degree in Biology and Chemistry from California State University, Northridge. He also received a Master's degree in Chemistry from the same university. Initially, Bill worked at Person and Covey, Inc. and developed topical dermatological skin care products. Following his career at Person and Covey, he joined Amgen and has been with this company since 1990. While at Amgen, he has worked on PDGF (Platelet Derived Growth Factor) and BDNF (Brain Derived Growth Factor). Later in his career at Amgen, he was responsible for the formulation of N-Plate, which is now an Amgen lyophilized drug product and currently sold as a treatment for ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia). Currently, he is a Senior Scientist in the Analytical Formulation and Science Department at Amgen.

Mark Wiesel
Vice President, H&W Independent Solutions

Vice-president of H&W Independent Solutions, Mark has over 25 years experience in management development, business management and project development in both commercial and not-for-profit arenas. He is a highly effective facilitator for improving organization structure and communications to enhance quality of care and daily operations. Mark's experience in developing and delivering training curricula includes front-line staff development, management and supervisory skills, non-profit board development, leadership training, system and self-advocacy and other topics for staff and volunteers. Speaking engagements include those for the California Caregiver Resource Centers, University of Southern California, University of California at Los Angeles, National Association of QMRPs, Private Providers' Association of Texas, Developmental Services Network and California Association of Adult Day Services. Mark received his B.S. in Engineering from Stanford University.

Marci Watson
Early childhood Educator/Trainer

A thirty-year resident of Montana, Marci has worked in Early Childhood education for the last two decades. Marci has taught children aged 2-6 years of age for eight years and served as an Early Childhood educator training other preschool teachers and childcare professionals in the state of Montana for ten years. Marci has worked with Child Care Plus+ supervising on-line education in Early Childhood Behavior Management and Designing Educational Environments. Marci also served as program manager and researcher for a Head Start Infant Therapeutic program. Marci holds her degree in Communication Studies and Human Development from The University of Montana-Missoula.

Lois Blalock
Liaison for Olasiti Primary School

Lois lives in San Anselmo, California. She has a degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Oregon and did graduate work in that field on a project in France. She later received her law degree from the University of San Francisco and practiced employee benefits law as in-house counsel for AT&T in San Francisco until her retirement in 2005. Lois first went to Tanzania on safari in 1997 and, since 2002, has lead safaris and helped manage a safari walking camp near Loliondo in northern Tanzania. She has served on the board of a California-based charity where she ran its scholarship program and its classroom building projects in villages near Arusha, Tanzania. She currently is founder and president of The Hodari Scholars Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization that provides secondary school scholarships to Tanzanian girls in the Arusha/Moshi and Loliondo areas. Lois is currently living for a year near the village of Olasiti.

Fokas Nchimbi
Founder, Learning in a Village Project

Fokas grew up in a small village in southern Tanzania called Ulolela. Fokas was, and still is, the only person from Ulolela to go to college. Fokas earned his B.A. and M.A. in linguistics at the University of Dar es Salaam. Fokas has always been very grateful for his education and wanted to give back to rural communities. Fokas views education as the key to success, so he founded Learning in a Village Project to help give rural children the opportunity and resources to learn. Professor Nchimbi has taught Kiswahili and linguistics at the University of Dar es Salaam and with Peace Corps Tanzania. He is currently a lecturer at Mkwawa Univeristy in Iringa, Tanzania where he also directs the Swahili for Foreigners Program.

Sterling Roop
Project Coordinator

Sterling works for the International Law and Policy Group as Advisor on the Zanzibar elections observing the technical aspects of election registration. He conducts research and reports on the political, social, and economic impacts of the process. Sterling first traveled to Tanzania as an undergraduate anthropology student at Colorado College in 2002. After his experiences studying at the University of Dar es Salaam, he worked with his Swahili professor to start Learning in a Village Project, building and supplying learning centers in rural villages in Tanzania. He worked for a number of years at the Refugee Resettlement Office of Seattle helping refugees start and strengthen small businesses through microloans and small business education and assistance. Sterling earned his M.A. in International Relations and African Studies from Boston University.

R. Brian Snow
Attorney and Legal Counsel

Brian was born in Buffalo, New York and moved throughout his childhood. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of New Hampshire, with a dual major in Political Science and Communication. Brian earned his law degree from Boston College and practices at his own law firm in Nashua, New Hampshire. Brian is also scuba instructor and assistant high school football coach.