I still remember the first meeting I had with Jason and Olivia about Rural Health Collaborative. I was living in Fort Collins, attending grad school at Colorado State University, and they were sharing with me about the amazing things that were happening in Ghana with the Kekeli women. This was almost 10 years ago, when the first cohort of 20 Kekeli women was beginning. The members of RHC at the time knew the benefits of community health workers in rural areas, but it was yet to be seen what would happen with the Kekeli women in Akatsi, Ghana.
I was interested in RHC upon first hearing about their work, and when presented with the opportunity to join the executive team, I jumped on board. I was studying for my Master’s Degree in International Development, focusing on Monitoring and Evaluation, and I wanted to put my new skills to use and really capture all that these amazing women were doing in their communities. We started tracking the data, using on the ground monitors, community surveys, and knowledge based pre and post surveys to gather live information on all that was happening on the ground. We now have an Impact tab on our website that allows all of you to see what we’ve been seeing for years!
As I’ve been volunteering with RHC over the years as the Monitoring and Evaluation Director, I also worked for non-profits in the US learning project management, grant writing, supervisory skills, donor retention, and more. I worked for International Rescue Committee managing a budget of a million dollars and overseeing the development, implementation and analysis of new programs. I worked for a school district foundation cultivating donors and working with Board Members to achieve strategic goals. I taught in China for a year and the United Arab Emirates for two years. And I worked on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation with a local micro-finance organization. As my skills in non-profit management have grown, so have my desires to share more of my assets with RHC.
Jason Kroening-Roche, the current Executive Director, also started feeling his interests leading more towards partner collaborations and determining how to better use technology in Ghana (not to mention that his first kid was born in August and he is a full-time doctor). So when our Executive Team met in the fall of 2018 to discuss the possibility of transitioning leadership, I was thrilled when they all saw my skills and abilities as the perfect next step for the position of RHC USA Executive Director. I am SO excited to bring my experience and to help continue the vision and growth of RHC!
As an organization, we want to empower women at every step of the process, including the top. So while we are transitioning the Executive Director role here in the US, we are also transitioning the Country Director in Ghana from David Sefe to Alnice Agbeko. We are so fortunate at RHC to still have Jason and David as integral parts of the team and to utilize their wisdom and organizational knowledge.
As Jason and I head to Ghana on Dec 30, a big part of the trip will be to ensure a smooth transition for both the Ghana Country Director, and for myself as the new Executive Director of RHC! So as we celebrate the New Year in Ghana, here’s to an exciting 2020 full of positive changes – stay tuned for more!!
