OUR BOARD
Board of Directors
Amelia Bierschbach
Amelia Bierschbach brings experience in global development, emergency response, and strategic growth. She holds an MPA from the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, certifications in public health emergency preparedness and response from the University of Minnesota, and a doctorate in Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine from Northwestern Health Sciences University. Her leadership and volunteer experiences include roles with World Vision International, World Vision United States, and Alight, with work spanning food security, livelihoods, business development, and humanitarian response, including Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Amelia is committed to helping the organization grow and expand its impact to new communities.
Julie Burma
Julie Burma was the Co-founder and Director of Africa Uplifted, a Minnesota-based nonprofit organization. Africa Uplifted conducted its work in Sierra Leone for nearly 20 years. Julie has traveled to Sierra Leone 30+ times and has worked alongside the Sierra Leonean people, learned from them, loved them, and advocated for them. Julie looks forward to the expansion of OVP programs to the Makeni District and hopes for successful implementation. As Development Chair, she also hopes for us to reach or exceed our fundraising goals!
Anita Cline-Cole
University of Northwestern | Vice Chair
Jeff Hall | Founder
Jeff Hall is the founder of One Village Partners, and his story began as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Sierra Leone from 1987 to 1989. He attended Amherst College and Harvard Business School. Jeff held a role in marketing at General Mills. He is a real estate developer and investor at Hall Sweeney Properties. Jeff hopes to grow OVP’s revenue so that we can expand our impact to more people!
Roseanne Hope
Hope Law
Rebecca Johnson
Rebecca has a Master’s degree in Public Administration with an emphasis in public policy. She worked for government agencies for over 20 years and for non-profit agencies for over 15 years. Rebecca is a past and current Board Member. She is also a member of the Tegloma Organization since 1999, a Sierra Leonean organization in the Twin Cities. She is also a member of the West African Collaborative, where 13 out of 19 countries are represented. Her goal is to be a bridge between OVP and the Sierra Leone Community in Minnesota.
Aruna Kallon
University of Wisconsin-Madison, PhD Candidate
Thea Keamy | Secretary
Thea Keamy is the recently retired SVP Corporate Strategy and Business Development at Land O’Lakes, Inc. In that role, Thea played a key role in developing Enterprise and Business Unit growth strategies by leveraging savvy strategic thinking and collaborative problem solving. Thea has held positions of increasing responsibility across the company since joining in 1998. Prior to Land O’Lakes, she worked in marketing at General Mills and consulting in Poland. Thea has a B.A. in Economics from Colorado College and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.
Elizabeth Kruger
Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies
Nicole Leimer
Nicole Leimer is an experienced attorney with more than 20 years of legal experience spanning private practice and government service. A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, she is a Partner at Faegre Baker Daniels LLP. In addition to her professional work, she volunteers at and serves on the finance committee of Annunciation Catholic Church. Nicole’s goal for OVP is to move from transition to more long-term stability
Sandra McGinty
Sandra McGinty is a retired senior partner of Milliman, an actuarial consulting firm. Her role focused on client and staff management, business development, and process controls. Sandra served as a Board Member of Africa Uplifted. Sandra has volunteered and supported a number of Twin Cities-based charities. Sandra is committed to helping OVP continue to engage with new supporters to enable us to expand our programming throughout Sierra Leone.
Alhaji Njai
Project 1808 and Koinadugu College
Kari Onyancha | Vice Chair
As Senior Director of Partnerships at the Saint Paul & Minnesota Foundation, Kari Onyancha works with community members, stakeholders, and organizations to support timely initiatives that respond to community needs. Kari joined the Foundation because she has a deep passion for community-led initiatives. Kari has 14 years of experience in project operational management and 10 years of experience in grants administration. Her educational background includes a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota in entrepreneurial management and non-profit management, as well as a Master's Degree in Evaluation Studies, also from UMN. Kari is also on the Board of Directors for QUEERSPACE collective and the advisory committee for the Battered Women's Justice Project. She hopes- that OVP can share its model of community led development to audiences across the globe.
Michelle Salmen Williams
Michelle has 18+ years of tech marketing experience at Amazon, Meta, Mozilla, and PayPal. She has an MBA from Duke University with a focus on marketing and strategy. Michelle brings her marketing and communications skills to her role as Board Member and Chair of the Communications Committee. She has 18+ years of full-stack marketing experience across multiple channels, audiences, and countries. She also spent 5+ years living and working in West Africa (Guinea and Nigeria) and leading a girls' education program in 13 countries in Central and Southern Africa, so she is deeply passionate about communicating development and women's empowerment. She is excited to set our OVP strategy for the next few years while continuing to scale OVP's impact in Sierra Leone.
Fatmata Sorie
Fatmata Sorie is a Barrister and Solicitor in Sierra Leone and an Attorney at Law in New York. She has been a Barrister and Solicitor for 23 years with experience in corporate and commercial law. Fatmata is a Managing Partner at Sorie & Bangura - Solicitors. She previously held the title of President of Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality and Social Justice (L.A.W.Y.E.R.S), an entity providing pro-bono legal services to women and girls for justice and economic empowerment. Fatmata hopes to see OVP expand its areas of operations to other communities. She also wants to see OVP's approach replicated by other entities that will ensure wider reach nationally and to see OVP maintain financial strength that will ensure continuity in Sierra Leone.
Sarah Lea Tobocman
Gunster
Paul Walters | Chair
Paul Walters holds a Master of Public Policy with a concentration in Human Rights. He began his career in the nonprofit and international development sector, working across emerging markets in Central America, Africa, and Asia. Paul is the Founder of Walters Leadership Institute and brings over a decade of experience in leadership development, executive coaching, governance advisory, and organizational effectiveness with organizations like Gallup and Deloitte. He previously served on the board of the Minnesota International NGO Network (MINN). Paul’s hope for OVP in the coming year is that the organization continues to strengthen its long-term sustainability; both in Sierra Leone and in the U.S. He hopes to see continued investment in strong local leadership, deep community partnership, and measurable, sustainable impact for the communities OVP serves.
Alex Ware | Treasurer
Alex Ware holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and an MBA, with expertise in strategic planning, resource allocation, financial forecasting, performance management, and investments. Alex began his career as a loan officer at JPMorgan Chase before moving into consulting with Booz Allen Hamilton. He went on to serve as a strategic planner and worked in international corporate mergers and acquisitions at PepsiCo. He later held the role of Chief Financial Officer at PepsiAmericas and has served in senior executive positions with organizations including Putnam Investments, Pohlad Companies, Buffalo Wild Wings, MicroStar Logistics, and Foodsby. Alex has also served on the Boards of College Possible and Minneapolis Foundation. His goal is for everyone across OVP, from donors to the communities we serve, to know what we are doing, why we are doing it, and their role in making it better.
Rosetta Wilson
Independent Financial Consultant