Educate Bwindi is an all-volunteer, 501c3 non-profit dedicated to educating the most vulnerable children of Bwindi, Uganda. We work with the Bwindi Watoto School, a private school serving the most vulnerable children in the area. Support for the school comes from sponsorships and donations for books, supplies, infrastructure and training. We provide fiscal oversight of donations, strategic planning and engage with problem solving.
Akankwasah Barirega – PresidentAkankwasah is Commissioner, Wildlife Conservation in the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities where he works on Wildlife Conservation and related International Treaties. He holds a Doctorate in Natural Resources and Environment Management. Born in a remote village near the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, he realized when very young that his only hope for a bright future was education. He is committed to helping the children of Bwindi.
Lorna has been working with the most vulnerable children in Bwindi since 2003 when she first visited and has been engaged with non- profit work with the children and the Bwindi Watoto School since 2011. Lorna is a founding member of Educate Bwindi. She has a M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She returns annually to visit and work with the school.
Gina Norgard – Sponsorship CoordinatorGina has a background in psychology, property/staff management, freelance magazine work including crafting, cooking and photography. Her volunteer experience includes work with children living in welfare hotels in New York City as well as teaching nutrition and life skills to formerly homeless mothers living in Harlem. She is a founding member of Educate Bwindi and visits Bwindi twice per year.
Jeremiah currently serves as Chief Financial Officer at AllCell Technologies, an angle-backed energy storage company, where he leads the firm’s finance and human relations functions.
Jeremiah began his career in politics and international affairs, with the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF), where he managed the design and roll-out of public opinion surveys and oversaw a portion of the foundation’s grants making activities.
Jeremiah holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BA in Religious Studies from Wesleyan University. He visited Bwindi in 2002.
Tom Hudson is the Vice President of News and Special Correspondent for WLRN (Public) Radio, Miami. He has co-anchored and been managing editor of Nightly Business Report on Public Television, reporting on topics such as Federal Reserve interest rate policy, agriculture and global trade. He hosted and was managing editor of the nationally syndicated financial television program “First Business” and anchored market coverage for the groundbreaking web-based financial news service, WebFN. Tom writes a weekly column for the Miami Herald and the McClatchy-Tribune News Service. He has received numerous broadcasting awards including the 2012 Program of Excellence Award by American Public Television and two National Press Foundation fellowships including one for the Wharton Seminars for Business Journalists in 2006.
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Donna Schatt holds a M.A. in the Social Sciences from the University of Chicago and a M.L.S. from Rutgers University. Her research and papers focus on how children learn to read and the place story-telling plays in cognitive development. She has visited Bwindi twice and plans to go again. Donna brings a wide range of knowledge in progressive education and experience in fundraising.
Business Strategist and Project Manager/Director for Supply Chain, IT, Mergers and Acquisitions, Sales, Financial and Legal functions at Kraft Foods (7 yrs) and Baxter Healthcare (18 yrs). Currently a Business Consultant with a focus on Project Management.
Susan was a founding member of Educate Bwindi. As a partner at the law firm of Patzik, Frank and Samotny LTD., in Chicago, in the firm’s Estate Planning Group, she continues as an Advisor to the Board to whom she brings significant experience with the administration of tax-exempt entities.
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