THE BOARD
Bob Jendry is president of an international consulting company, Jendry Enterprises LLC, which provides general management consultation, information systems support, and manufacturing management expertise. Bob travels extensively throughout North and South America, Africa, Australia, and Europe. He is also an international author published in a wide range of subjects, to include computers, manufacturing, and spirituality.
I first met Roz in May of 1999 and immediately came under her spell. I met Roz through my wife and developed a very special friendship over the years. Roz asked me to join the foundation board in 2002, and no one could ever say no to Roz. In November 2006, I became president of the Imbabazi Foundation Board, serving in this position for two years. I am currently President Emeritus and continue to work toward the healthy development of the children and the preservation of Roz’s legacy.
Ann is Roz Carr’s niece and co-author of her memoir, Land of a Thousand Hills: My Life in Rwanda. She has made many travels to Rwanda and helped establish the orphanage in 1994. She has been a member of the Imbabazi Foundation Board of Directors since 2002 and has served as vice president and treasurer. She resides in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
My name is Cally Alles and I am from Sri Lanka. I came to this part of Africa in 1978. I am a Chartered Electro-Mechanical Engineer, with a specialized knowledge of tea, and I am the managing director of the largest tea factory and plantation in Rwanda, called Sorwathe. It was here that Roz enjoyed frequent luncheons and tennis weekends during the 1980s.
I am active in the Rotary Club of Kigali and served as president in 1999-2000. During my tenure as president, Roz was awarded the Rotary Paul Harris Fellowship Medal in recognition of distinguished contributions to the underprivileged. Roz was the first person in Rwanda to receive this honor.
I had the pleasure of knowing Roz for many years and have served as vice president of the Imbabazi Foundation since 2006. I am very happy and honored to be associated with this wonderful organization.
Jeff Ramsey is Executive Director of the Imbabazi Operations. Jeff was formerly a manager in the Information & Technology Department of a major insurance and financial services company. He was raised on a working dairy farm and brings farming expertise to his new position.
Jeff is a founding member of Partners In Conservation (PIC), a project at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium designed to assist both conservation and humanitarian projects in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Jeff spends six weeks in Rwanda each year evaluating projects and programs supported by PIC as well as evaluating new proposals. Additionally Jeff has been a member of the Columbus Zoo Docent Association since 1991, serving in various roles.
When Roz founded the Imbabazi Orphanage in 1994, PIC and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium began funding the annual operating expenses for the orphanage, and continues their support today. After corresponding with Roz for several years, Jeff met Roz at her home in Gisenyi in 1999 during his first trip to Rwanda. Charmed by Roz, there were many discussions about her farm, her flowers, her cows and especially the children of the Imbabazi. Jeff became a member of the Imbabazi Foundation Board of Directors in 2009.
Charlene Jendry is a staff member at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and worked with their world-renowned captive gorilla program for fourteen years. At the invitation of the Karisoke Research Center and the government of Rwanda, Charlene spent four months in the rain forests of Rwanda studying the behavior of free-ranging mountain gorillas.
She is a founding member of Partners in Conservation (PIC), a Columbus Zoo project designed to assist both conservation and humanitarian projects in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Charlene spends six weeks every year in Rwanda facilitating and evaluating projects and programs supported by PIC. She received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities Degree from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, in 1995.
Charlene met Roz in 1992 when Roz invited her to “tea” while she was in Rwanda studying the mountain gorillas. When Roz founded the Imbabazi Orphanage in 1994, PIC and the Columbus Zoo began funding the annual operating expenses for the orphanage; their financial support continues to the present. Charlene became a member of the Imbabazi Foundation Board of Directors in 2002.
Carol earned a BA degree at Syracuse University in 1964 and was an assistant instructor at the Department of OB/GYN at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY from 1964-68. She has been a board member of the Adirondack Public Observatory since 2005. Carol first visited Rwanda in 1989 and has been associated with the orphanage since its inception. She has been a member of the Imbabazi Board of Directors since 2002 and oversees its sponsorship program. She resides in Tupper Lake, NY and Leesburg, FL.
Danny joined the Imbabazi in 2007 while serving two years as a diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali. He often visited Roz at Mugongo and was entranced by her life story, her boundless energy and her eternal optimism. As their friendship grew, Danny became actively involved in promoting secondary schooling for the children, fund-raising for the infirmary and clinic, and improvements to the grounds and facilities. Like everyone whose life Roz touched, Danny considered Roz family and was moved to support her Herculean efforts and warm heart.
Danny currently works in the Executive Secretariat at the State Department in Washington, DC; he previously served at the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia. Prior to joining the diplomatic corps, Danny helped in the development of several successful software start-ups. He and his wife Aimee recently became parents with the birth of their daughter Nya in September 2008.
I am an environmental and natural resource economist with a background in agribusiness management and agricultural and rural development in Uganda and Rwanda as well as in Central Asia. My family and I have been resident in Rwanda since 2002, having the good fortune to develop a friendship with Roz Carr from the outset. It has been a pleasure over the years to have been able to lend a hand at the Imababzi and to befriend many of the children on an informal basis and sponsor two. I have been on the board since 2008 where I will be able to bring my experience of working in Rwanda and knowledge of agriculture to bear in support to the management and development of the Imbabazi and its resources for the benefit of the children.
I have lived in Rwanda since 2002 where I continue to work as Director of the Karisoke Research Center, founded by the late Dian Fossey in 1967. Dian and Roz were great friends and through that historic relationship I was fortunate to be able meet Roz and establish a friendship from the outset of my time in Rwanda. Through this personal friendship with Roz I was introduced to the orphanage and began to sponsor a child. I was thrilled to be invited to join the Imbabazi board in 2008 and now wish to use my experiences of program management, development and education to benefit the children of the Imbabazi.
Dr. Arjan Hogewoning is a certified Dutch Board Physician specializing in dermatology and tropical medicine. Arjan’s regional focus is sub-Saharan Africa, where he assists in developing medical clinics. From 2005 to 2008 he was on the staff at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali and tended to the children of the Imbabazi in Gisenyi. In January 2009, Arjan and his family relocated to Slovakia in connection with his wife’s professional posting. Despite the move, Arjan continues his work in Africa.
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