Alex Breinin
Co-President |
Alex first visited Wema in January 2011 and was inspired by the incredible work ethic of the students and teachers. He co-founded Wema Children to provide additional assistance to Wema and its surrounding community. He loves spending time teaching and reading to the students, and he oversees Wema Children’s finances. Alex serves as Co-President of Wema Children's Board.
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Laura D'Asaro
Co-President |
Laura first traveled to Kenya in 2010 and organized the first trip to Bukembe in 2011. As an African Studies major in college, she has traveled extensively in East Africa and speaks conversational Swahili. From clean water access to computers and a small health center, she is excited to see all the progress Wema has made since the beginning. On her travels in East Africa, Laura ate a fried caterpillar that prompted her to co-found Chirps Chips, a start-up focused on getting Americans excited about eating insects, in 2013. She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 and an Echoing Green Fellow.
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Erica Patel
Board Member |
Dr. Erica Patel has served as Medical Director of Wema since visiting in 2012 to start a school clinic. She has been dedicated to improving the health of the children there ever since, and is in charge of coordinating the healthcare needs at Wema through public health and medicine projects. She is currently training in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Southern California, and hopes to expand the clinic and recruit more health care professionals to visit Bukembe
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Rose Wang
Board Member |
Rose is from Nashville and studied psychology at Harvard College. She is excited to extend her business development and marketing experiences at Microsoft, Abercrombie, and Six Foods to Wema, where the possibilities for quality education are endless. She really loves the students at Wema and believes that with the right resources and guidance, the students will one day be future leaders of not only their country but also the world. She is Forbes 30 Under 30 and an Echoing Green Fellow.
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Caroline Breinin
Board Member |
Caroline first visited Wema in January 2013 to start the computer lab and was inspired by the tenacity of the students and teachers. Since then, she has led the Harvard College division of Wema Children's Centre and has worked on creating high school and college partnerships. She uses her marketing experience to head up Wema's social media. She graduated from Harvard College in 2015 with a major in History and African Studies.
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Taylor Weary
Board Member |
Taylor traveled to Wema for the first time in 2013 and acted as liaison for the Harvard College volunteer group until her graduation in 2016. Now she does much of the volunteer outreach for Wema Children, Inc., planning and leading trips for individuals and small groups throughout the year. She supports Wema's holistic view of the education and care of vulnerable children, and has been involved with many of the projects addressing basic needs, such as the deepwater well, chicken farm, health clinic, and Huru reusable sanitary pad initiative. Taylor is currently at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, where she is training in the DVM program in addition to studying the interactions between humans and wildlife in rural East Africa.
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Madison Gove
Board Member |
Madison grew up in Dickinson, Texas. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied Marketing in the Business Honors Program. Madison currently supports college students pursuing careers in social entrepreneurship and impact investing as a Program Manager at UT Austin's new Social Innovation Initiative. During her undergraduate years, Madison served as the President of Students for Wema, where she led fundraising and consulting efforts for the Wema Bakery. Volunteering with Wema Children's Centre introduced Madison to the idea of using entrepreneurship to combat education shortfalls and poverty, and inspired her to pursue a career in social business.
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