Tiffany Cheng Nyaggah | Executive Director, Co-Founder

Prior to Dignitas Project, Tiffany worked at Harvard University as a researcher with the Public Education Leadership Project studying leadership and organizational change in partnership with urban school districts. Her case studies on entrepreneurial efforts in the education sector have been published in books and currently used in graduate courses in business and education at Harvard and Stanford University. She began her career as a teacher, admissions counselor, and school developer in Oakland public schools and later worked in Boston public schools. She has consulted on a number of youth-led and faith-based organizing activities promoting education equity in urban communities. Tiffany holds an Ed.M in School Development from Harvard University and a B.A. in Cultural Psychology/Education from Wellesley College.

Martina Amoth | Program Director

Born and raised along the shores of Lake Victoria, Martina held childhood aspirations of becoming a teacher. Upon completing her bachelor's degree in education at the University of Nairobi, Martina worked as a secondary school teacher in western Kenya for four years. She later returned to her alma mater to obtain a master's degree in education, specializing in educational administration, planning, and curriculum development. She worked in various education organizations in Kenya before entering an international education doctoral program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. There, Martina focused her studies on education policy and leadership, completing her dissertation work in 2011. Before joining Dignitas Project, Martina held positions at Twaweza East Africa and Jacaranda Designs as an education specialist. She is thrilled to be working as part of the Dignitas team to improve education quality and opportunities to children and young people in Kenya.

Ann Waihura | Instructional Coach

Prior to joining Dignitas, Ann worked as a high school teacher in a school within the Kariobangi slums. This brought her in contact with students who were facing various social, economic, as well as psychological challenges sometimes due to their home environment. Working as a school counselor, Ann felt the need to be involved in developing teachers as leaders and equipping them with skills to handle not just the formal curriculum but also to address the challenges that pupils bring to the school from their home environment. At Dignitas Ann is involved in training teachers, parents, and students, and helping them become more involved in issues affecting learning. Ann has a passion in improving the quality of education for all Kenyan children, especially those in marginalized communities. She hopes to give them knowledge and skills to become responsible citizens of the country as well as help them develop attitudes and values that will enable them reach their full potential. Ann holds a Master's Degree in Education Leadership.

Amos Mwaura | Finance and Administration Officer

Amos Mwaura manages all finance and accounting, procurement, and business operations activities for Dignitas Project. Prior to joining Dignitas Project, Amos worked in various private sector institutions in finance-related capacities, most recently at MiDCOM Africa, the exclusive distributor for Nokia. He is deeply motivated by the level of passion and dedication exhibited by students in Mathare. Despite the challenging learning environments, inadequate learning resources, and funding, students in Mathare strive for excellence. It is in light of this that Amos was drawn to Dignitas Project and their mission to improve education and opportunity for children and families in marginalized communities. Amos holds a Bachelors degree in Accounts from the University of Nairobi and is a Certified Public Accountant (K).

Eugenia Lee | Program Associate

Eugenia is a recent graduate of Tufts University with a passion for education, social entrepreneurship, and alleviating urban poverty. She has researched and worked with HIV-positive women in Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya; home-based businesses in Dharavi in Mumbai, India; and conducted a school mapping project for Dignitas Project in 2010. She has experience in community and grassroots organizing, researching various issues in informal settlements, and believes strongly in Dignitas Project's mission of developing teachers and leaders of the Mathare Valley community.

Rose Kavuli | Program Assistant

Born and raised in Mathare, Rose has a deep passion for facilitating positive change in her own community. In her position as the program assistant, Rose supports implementation and field activities with school partners. Her goal is to impart and influence all spheres within her reach and contribute in the restoration of dignity in poor communities.Prior to joining Dignitas Project, Rose worked with I Choose Life-Mathare Chapter Program as a peer project supervisor. Her role included managing youth in the program and overseeing the implementation of activities at the community level. She also worked as a volunteer teacher in Genesis Joy Secondary School as well as with the Interim Independence Electoral Commission of Kenya and Global Entrepreneurs Africa. Rose is among the founders of Lepta, a community-based organization that seeks to transform the lives of young people. Rose holds a certificate of business management from Kenya Institute of Management, a diploma in International Christian youth works from Swahiba Youth Networks, and participated in various leadership and HIV/AIDS trainings.

Vincent Macharia | Field Assistant

Born and raised in Mathare, Vincent Macharia completed his secondary education in 2010 and recently joined Dignitas Project to coordinate support to activities and projects in schools and the community. He is a member of Lepta, a community-based organization that works to transform the lives of people living in Mathare. He is also a former student and a graduate of the Recreation Factory School of Arts (RFSA), where he graduated as an artist and a stage manager.

Gloria Omuya | Office Assistant

Gloria is in charge of office administrative duties, coordinating day-to-day activities and supports the rest of staff in various projects. Born and raised in Mathare, she is also a leader in the Rock Youth Church. Gloria has attended various short courses including peer counseling, HIV & AIDS sensitization, and trainings on creative arts and leadership management skills with Lepta Organization and I Choose Life-Africa. She believes that children in marginalized areas deserve the opportunity to be educated and is glad to be working with Dignitas Project to enable the organization’s mission.

Kimathi Kamencu | Trustee

Kimathi works as an independent consultant in the city of Nairobi. He is the Secretary of the Kenya Christian Lawyers Fellowship, and currently serves as its Acting Executive Director. He is also the Secretary of the Protecting Life Movement, which advocates for the upholding of the sanctity of life. He has participated in numerous community development and empowerment initiatives through advocacy and the provision of legal aid. He holds an LLB. (Hons) from the University of Nairobi, Kenya, and a Diploma from the Kenya School of Law.

Steve Kariithi | Trustee

Bio coming soon!

Smita Sanghrajka | Trustee

Smita is currently a consultant working in development with sixteen years of post qualification experience. She has had significant consulting success working with public sector, donor agencies, private foundations and non-governmental organisations. Smita has contributed to the progress and achievements of programmes and organisations in a variety of sectors including health, governance, land, urban development, human rights and community development. Before embarking on her independent consultancy career, Smita was a Director within KPMG's Public Sector and Development division in East Africa. Smita is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science and a qualified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales.

Dr. C.S. Sheth | Trustee

Bio coming soon!

Wendy Robison | Member

Wendy Robison is an advanced doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Most recently, Wendy worked as the Director of Development Operations for Citizen Schools, where she helped design a national expansion strategy, conducted programmatic and financial sustainability assessments, and led the development of systems and operations for national and regional fundraising. Wendy's international work focuses on issues of educational access, teacher quality, and systemic reform in Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the Middle East. For three years, she helped manage a U.S. government-funded primary education program in Afghanistan. Wendy graduated with a B.A. in Foreign Affairs and Religious Studies with a concentration in the Middle East and Islam from the University of Virginia. She holds an Ed.M from the International Education Policy program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Helen Westmoreland | Member

Helen Westmoreland is the Director of Program Quality for the Flamboyan Foundation, a private family foundation based in Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., with the mission of improving educational outcomes for children in public schools and public charter schools. Her areas of expertise include evaluation, family engagement, out-of-school-time, community organizing, and systems-building. She recently spent two weeks with Dignitas Project on the ground in Nairobi to help develop an evaluation system linked to program outcomes. Helen received her master's degree in education policy and management from Harvard Graduate School of Education and her bachelor's degree in Spanish from Duke University.

Monica Higgins | Member

Monica Higgins joined the Harvard faculty in 1995 and is currently an associate professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education (HGSE) where her research and teaching focus on the areas of leadership development and organizational change. Prior to joining HGSE, she spent eleven years as a member of the faculty at Harvard Business School in the Organizational Behavior Unit. While at Harvard, Monica's teaching has focused on the areas of leadership and organizational behavior, self-assessment and career development, entrepreneurship, and strategic human resources management. Monica lives in Lexington, Massachusetts with her husband, Michael, and three daughters, Sarah, Rebecca, and Mikayla.

Bobby Lee | Co-Founder, Chairman

Bobby has previously served as an executive pastor as well as a corporate executive of a manufacturing company. He is currently the founding/lead pastor of Convergence, a new church in Oakland, California. Bobby has extensive experience and education in leadership, strategy, and organization design. His passion is for leadership empowerment of the emerging generation. Bobby is pursuing an Master's degree in Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary and holds an MBA from University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business.

Matthew Geppert | Member

Matthew Geppert currently serves as the U.S. Director for SEAPC, an international Christian service organization with outreaches in Health, Education, Parenting, and Microeconomic Development to over thirty nations. Through SEAPC, Matthew has worked in the establishment, implementation, and development of such projects as the survey and treatment of congenital heart disease in Tibet and drugs for AIDS/HIV patients in Nigeria. He and his wife Jessica reside in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Tim Sesler | Member

Tim is a seasoned attorney with extensive regulatory skills from diverse in-house experience from the financial, insurance, and automotive industries. He currently works as corporate counsel at the Automobile Club of Southern California where he manages insurance marketing, privacy issues, and security breaches. Tim holds an MBA from the University of Southern California, a JD from UCLA, and a B.S. from Kansas State University. He and his wife live in Costa Mesa, CA, and have four daughters.

Min Tak | Member

Min is a former church planting pastor and has spearheaded non profit projects in Cambodia. He currently works as an attorney in San Jose. Min holds a B.A. from the University of Washington and J.D. from Loyola Law School. He lives with his wife and two kids in Fremont, CA.

Sean Carlson | Treasurer

Bio coming soon!

David Greco | Communications Intern

David is an artist at heart. Growing up, he always dreamed of drawing comic books for a living. In his first year of college he discovered girls paid more attention to singers than to illustrators - a new sense of artistic calling was born. David immediately reached for the guitar that had been collecting dust in a family closet and started making music for a living. Over the years that followed Greco worked in almost every arts field available. In the summer of 2011, David joined Dignitas Project as the communications intern, working on all things visual (and beyond). Telling the story of what Dignitas Project is doing in Kenya is a perfect job for an artist, whose primary objective is to point to what is beautiful and what is true.