

Qualified and Committed
STAFF
The EAC's education and health programs in Kenya are directed and run by an talented and passionate team of individuals with the support of our board members in Kenya and from across the United States.





US BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Our Board of Directors is elected to serve the goals and programs of the East African Center. Members are responsible for developing a deep knowledge of our organization, shaping policy, overseeing our activities and supporting our work through outreach and fundraising.
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Board Advisory Staff and Former Members
Emma Nierman
Board Advisor
Seattle, WA
Emma received her MSW from the University of Washington in 2011 where she focused on child and family development. Emma has worked with the Eritrean Education Project, Stroum Jewish Community Center, Save Darfur campaign, and The Kenyan Future Leaders Fund. She has experience in grant writing and fundraising, but most prefers direct practice and community work. Emma began her work with the EAC in 2007 during her first trip to Takaungu and learned about the organization first hand by living and working in the village we serve.
Emma served as the organization's Executive Director starting in June of 2009 and continues today as an advocate for the Takaungu community, primarily focusing on spreading awareness and fundraising state-side. In her free time Emma enjoys practicing her Swahili as much as possible and planning her next trip to Kenya!
Suzanne Wilson, MPA, MPH, BSN-RN
Founder and Board Advisor
Seattle, WA
Suzanne Wilson began her development efforts in Kenya in 1997 through her work with PCEA Kikuyu Hospital. In September 2000, with the help of the Seattle Junior Chamber (Jaycees), she founded the Kenya Kids AIDS Project. This project provided an emergency shelter, as well as over two-tons of humanitarian goods to HIV/AIDS orphans in a Nairobi slum.
In 2001, with the help of a Bill and Melinda Gates Leadership Grant, she founded the East African Center for the Empowerment of Women and Children.
As Executive Director of the East African Center, she oversaw all of the EAC's operations in Kenya, as well as the EAC's efforts to establish future Centers in Kenya and elsewhere. Ms. Wilson is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Nurse Midwifery at the University of Washington and is looking forward to a long career supporting maternal and infant health in resource-limited settings.
Theresa Wilson
Board Advisor
Falls Church, Virginia
Theresa has worked as a policy analyst for the Social Security Administration, a Researcher/Analyst on a Gender and Development project for the Presidency of the country of Colombia, and as a Social Worker for the State of Washington Department of Social and Health Services. Her professional interests include gender and development, women's labor force participation, and women's economic policy.
Theresa has a Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Washington, a graduate specialist degree in Regional Development Planning from the University of Los Andes in Bogota, Colombia, and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science with a focus on gender and development from the University of Washington. She is married with two young sons and lives in Falls Church, Virginia.
Tricia Petruney
Board Advisor
Chapel Hill, NC
Tricia Petruney began her work with the EAC in 2005, as part of a Practicum component within the Graduate Program in International Affairs at the New School University in New York City. In early 2006 she moved to Takaungu to oversee the EAC's international interns and volunteers, to design a monitoring and evaluation system for the EAC's various programs, and to help launch the Community Health Worker outreach initiative. She moved back to the US in 2007 to begin work with Family Health International, one of the world's largest international non-profit organizations focused on improving public health in the developing world. She is a Technical Officer in the Applied Research Department, and provides Ministries of Health and partner organizations in Africa with support to design and implement evidence-based reproductive health and HIV/AIDS policies and programs. Her work is mainly focused in Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. When not traveling for work, she lives in Chapel Hill, NC with her boyfriend and their two dogs.
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Jared Watkins
Board Advisor
Brooklyn, NY
Jared is an attorney with the Los Angeles law firm Cypress LLP. He received his J.D. in 2009 from Brooklyn Law School, and is licensed to practice law in New York and California.
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Jared received his Bachelor's degree in 2003 from the University of Pennsylvania. Throughout his undergraduate tenure, Jared mentored and tutored children in the North Philadelphia and West Philadelphia areas through the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project and Project Home.
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Libby Gluck
Former Board Secretary 2009 - 2016
Brooklyn, NY
Libby began working with the EAC in May 2009, helping to expand their fundraising efforts on the East coast. She will also be directing her energy towards young philanthropist outreach as well as increase the EAC's online presence specifically through social networking sites.
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Previously working with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Libby has raised thousands of dollars for society through their Team in Training program. She also served as a fundraising liason for the Brooklyn chapter, assisting over 100 Team in Training participants raise nearly $1 million dollars for cancer research. Libby received her Bachelor of Arts degrees in Art History and Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. During her undergraduate studies, Libby participated in the UCDC internship program where she interned with the Senate's Health and Education subcomittee under Senator Dodd's office. This was in addition to studying abroad at the Univeristy of Sussex in Brighton, England. Libby looks forward to her involvement with the EAC and expanding their growing network of supporters.
Corrie O'Donnell
Former Board Member
Columbus, OH
After sponsoring a student for several years, Corrie began volunteering with EAC by organizing the efforts around collecting student artwork and distributing to our sponsors. She quickly fell in love with seeing the smiling faces on the kids’ yearly pictures, as well as the effort that goes into each piece of artwork that gets sent.
Corrie graduated from Kent State University in 2003, and moved to NYC to pursue a career in Fashion Merchandising. After working at Perry Ellis and Gap, Corrie landed at Stella & Dot as Director of Product Development for Jewelry & Handbags. In this role, she worked closely with Design to transform a sketch into a finished product, and was responsible for negotiating all costs. She had the opportunity to travel throughout Asia to source materials and work one on one with the artisans making the jewelry. In 2011, she traveled to Santa Ana, Nicaragua with BuildOn, to help build a school in a small farming community. Corrie still consults for Stella & Dot, and also is the co-founder of a dance costume company, Paper Dolls Dancewear.