US team

In her working life, Robyn Davis Sekula is Vice President of Communications and Marketing for the Presbyterian Foundation in the Louisville, KY area. She oversees strategic communications from the Foundation to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s two million members. She has worked as a communications and marketing consultant for non-profit organizations and businesses and also as a journalist and writer. 

She joined the US Board of Trustees in 2015, visiting farmers in western Kenya in 2017 and Rwanda in 2019.

Freddy Bob-Jones is the managing director of Aceli Africa, where he leads the organization’s work across Africa, building partnerships to increase private-sector lending and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in East/Southern Africa. Before joining Aceli Africa, Freddy served as the Head of Operations at SEMA Reproductive Health, where he played a key role in establishing the multi-million dollar initiative funded by the Gates Foundation, CIFF, and the French Government to shape sexual and reproductive health markets in Africa.

Elzadia Washington is a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer who served for more than thirty years with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). She has hands-on experience and knowledge of sustainable development. Ms. Washington is currently the owner and operator of the Vera Heritage Farm, LLC producing naturally-grown vegetables in rural Arkansas.

After more than 25 years in the software industry with roles in both marketing and customer success, Jeanine currently focuses on supporting her local community with particular emphasis on advancing women and ensuring food security. She serves on the board of directors of Mercy High School Burlingame, an all girls school, and volunteers weekly with both the San Francisco Marin Food Bank and Dress for Success San Francisco.

Paul qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young before spending over 20 years in international business. During this time he developed partnerships in a number of different countries whilst leading an international publisher. He lived and volunteered with an international NGO in Mozambique for a year and joined Ripple Effect in 2013. 

Andre has more than 15 years of experience in international development with NGOs, working both in humanitarian response and in the development sectors. Andre is not new to the Ripple Effect family, having been the Country Director in Rwanda and Burundi before joining his family in Canada. Currently, he is completing a Career Bridging course on Leadership and Management program at Collège Boréal, Canada.

Amal Murgian was born in Kenya and educated in the UK and the US. After a career in management consulting and finance, Amal has shifted her focus to improving the lives of women and girls is East Africa.

Her primary interests are improving the livelihoods of disadvantaged women through improving access to justice, healthcare and economic opportunities, specifically in agribusiness.