Wame Mhaphi - Development Coordinator
Botswana

Rebecca and Wame met at the first Setso Project jewelry-making workshop in Otse. Wame worked for BONASO (Botswana Network of AIDS Service Organizations) as an HIV educator in public schools. She joined Setso Project in December, 2008 when funding for BONASO's peer education campaign ran out. Wame has two boys and in her spare time tries to keep up with her jewelry work, which has won her much acclaim in Botswana.

Rebecca Lowry - Director
United States

See below for profile

Email: rlowry@setsoproject.org
Cell: (203) 298 8659
Fax: (203) 245 3594

Peggy Antenucci - Volunteer Fundraiser

Peggy has served as Chair of Outreach Commission at The First Congregational Church of Madison, CT an Open and Affirming Church, which has supported Setso Project since its inception. Even before Setso Project's incorporation, Peggy was working tirelessly to raise awareness of the important initiatives we seek to support. Now our official Fundraiser, Peggy orchestrates our fundraising and marketing efforts, including presentations on Setso Project's work and special holiday fundraisers. Read an article about Peggy

Email: mantenucci [at] setsoproject [dot] org
Phone: (203) 245 9180

Tom Cleveland, Secretary

Tom is a Consultant for a large hedge fund in New York, NY and serves as Vice-President of the Branford Land Trust in Connecticut.  In addition to Tom’s financial know-how, he has incredible ability to bring magic to the ordinary and to bring conflicting interests into cooperation. Tom is proud of his involvement with the land trust, which has included orchestrating $200,000 fishway project that brought vitality to a threatened herring population in Branford.

Wendy Lewis, Treasurer

Wendy is Assistant to Dean Karlan at Yale University as well as owner of Wendy Lewis Designs, a fine jewelry line and Three Steps to Wellness, a nutritional consultancy. Wendy brings years of experience running her own business as well as an indefatigable energy for getting things done and an unbelievably big heart, which lends itself beautifully to keeping Setso Project focused on what matters most – human connection.

Email: treasurer [at] setsoproject [dot] org
Phone: 203 245 3594

Rebecca Lowry, Founder & President

Becca currently serves as the Financial Education Coordinator at Innovations for Poverty Action, a non-profit organization that runs rigorous research evaluations of innovative solutions to poverty problems in the developing world.  Becca brings to Setso Project a strong commitment to supporting home grown responses to development challenges in Southern Africa, particularly in Botswana, where she has witnessed so much being achieved with so little.

Email: rlowry [at] setsoproject [dot] org
Phone: 203 298 8659

Jessica Birks

Jessica currently serves as part of the Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Response Group with Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs. Prior to her work in government, Jessica served as Advisor to a small start-up enterprise in rural Botswana, Botlhale Jwa Phala Trust, which aims to empower rural out-of-school female youth through skills training in environmentally sustainable craft-making and business management.

Tebogo Mabote

Bi-continental in nature, Tebogo can’t seem to make up his mind about which he misses more, Botswana when he’s in Canada or Canada when he’s back home in Botswana. A native of the little city of Lobatse, Tebogo earned a B.Eng in Environmental Engineering at Carlton University before returning home to work as a consultant on water management projects in his very arid homeland. Now back in Canada, he has taken a position as Consultant for CH2M Hill, an international environmental engineering group. Concurrent with his engineering work, Tebogo is pursuing an MBA in Project Management at L’Universite du Quebec.

Maggie McConnell

Maggie is a fourth year PhD student in Economics at California Institute of Technology. Her research relies on insights from Development and Behavioral Economics to explore the role of social networks in motivating individual decision-making and behavior, specifically the importance of social image and social norms in influencing individual choices such as volunteering, voting and financial decision-making among in the US and developing countries.

Billy Kgosikwena

Billy is District AIDS Coordinator of Tsabong District, one of 26 health districts in Botswana. As DAC, Billy is charged with coordinating and planning the Tsabong District's response to the HIV/AIDS crisis through the cooperation of all sectors of local government. Prior to his work in government, Billy served as Director of Tsholofelo Counseling and Support Centre, one of our first Setso Project Partners.

Koreen Reece

Koreen is formerly a Technical Advisor to the Child Welfare Division of the Department of Social Service in Botswana's Ministry of Local Government. Koreen also served as a development worker for Dula Sentle Trust, an orphan care center in Otse Botswana and Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIVAIDS. Koreen plans to pursue a PhD in Anthropology starting next year, focusing on the changing concept/role/responsibilities of 'parents' in the context of HIV/AIDS and the 'orphan crisis'.