Debbie Banda was born in the US and spent 18 years of her later life in South Africa in 1995-2013. Her involvement with South Africa began at university in the mid 1980s where she became an anti-apartheid activist. After that, Debbie managed the South African Education Program (SAEP) in New York, a USAID funded program providing higher education in the US for black South Africans. She also worked with the the Cleveland International Program, the South African Washington International Program, and the African Leadership Academy in the US.
In 2013, Debbie and her family returned to the Washington DC area and in 2022 moved to central Ohio. Debbie has served as an operations manager and Human Resources and Organizational Development leader in recent years, specializing in helping organizations manage HR systems and policies, improve employee engagement, and navigate transformation and change. She most recently worked as an HR Consultant for the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), one of the key organizations that oversaw the development of the Covid-19 vaccines and treatments.
Along with a BA from Denison University and an MBA the Yale School of Management, Debbie earned an Executive Certificate in Organizational Consulting and Change Management from Georgetown University in 2020, and a certification in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace in 2021 from the University of South Florida. She is also certified as an integrative health coach.
J Eric Wright is co-founder of Vibranium Capital Group and has been living and doing business in Africa for 25 years. Vibranium Capital Group has offices in Washington DC and Johannesburg and is a high value-add investment firm. Eric has extensive experience as an investor and entrepreneur in over 30 African countries. He previously co-founded Africa Venture Partners and was one of the founding executives of Citigroup South Africa, where he was the head of private equity and sat on the bank’s executive and credit committees.
Eric was a founding member of the investment committee of the South African government’s National Empowerment Fund, and special advisor and acting CIO to the US government sponsored $100 million venture capital fund, the Southern Africa Enterprise Development Fund. Eric co-founded Gold Coast Securities Ltd., an investment bank in Accra, Ghana. Prior to moving to Africa, Eric worked in corporate finance and mergers & acquisitions in the US at Security Pacific Merchant Bank, PwC and Union Bank.
Eric has a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Southern California, and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jennie Dawes brings more than 32 years of experience in nonprofit management and fundraising in the US and the state of Ohio. She currently manages donor services at the Licking County Foundation, a public charitable organization made up of a diverse collection of funds given by caring individuals, businesses and organizations that have a common concern for the well-being of the people of Licking County in Ohio. Before that, she worked at Hattie Larlham, first as grant writer and then as the Director of Development, helping this nonprofit to provide opportunities for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to thrive.
Previously, Jennie spent 12 years as an Executive Search consultant serving local, statewide and national nonprofits of all sizes, on assignments ranging from top executives to top financial, operations, and advancement roles. Early in her career, she oversaw communications for 9 years at the Federation for Community Planning (now the Center for Community Solutions), a nonprofit human services research, planning and advocacy organization in Cleveland, Ohio.
Jennie is a highly competent, ethical and well-respected individual in the central Ohio community, and has deep experience with nonprofit management and fundraising within the US environment. She will bring diverse and solid knowledge of fundraising best practices and will offer important insight into US philanthropic trends.
Although Jennie’s career has been focused in Ohio, she remains keenly interested in international affairs, particularly in developing countries, and understands why it is important to help ensure that South African youth are supported. Her university studies included African studies and a senior thesis on African literature.
Jennie has a B.A., cum laude from Denison University (Granville, OH).
Andrew (who goes by his middle name) is originally from South Africa and has lived in many countries over the last three decades including Lesotho, Tanzania, Zambia, Bulgaria, Germany, the UK and the currently US.
Andrew has deep experience and strong ties with South African government entities and the South African diplomatic service in Washington DC and New York. For the last 18 years he has served as a Consular Officer for the South African Embassy in Washington, DC. He has worked within the Consular, Immigration and Civic Services agency, and as a researcher for the Socio Economic & Development Section within the Consulate. Before that, Andrew served as Deputy Director of the Department of Trade and Industry in Pretoria for 1 year.
In 2001-2004, Andrew held the role of Consul Economic at the South African Consulate General in New York, where he helped to promote trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) between South Africa and the US. In South Africa, he has also worked for Societe Generale, as well as the Land & Agricultural Policy Centre as a Senior Policy Researcher.
Andrew has an MBA from the Western Governors University in the US, a degree in Development Economics and International Development from Imperial College, London, and has studied Conflict Resolution at the University of Maryland in the US. He is currently close to completing a Doctor of Business Administration degree at California Southern University.
Andrew has an extensive network of high level and influential contacts within the US and internationally.
Johan van Niekerk is a Partner of the Stonehage Fleming Group and heads up their Family Office division in the Americas. After having spent 14 years in the group’s Swiss operations where Johan was the Head of Family Office in Neuchatel, he moved to the US office in 2021. He serves as Key Adviser to a number of high net worth international families assisting them in protecting and managing their inter-generational wealth where his involvement spans the whole spectrum of the families’ affairs.
Johan holds a Bachelor of Accounting (Honours) degree and is a qualified Chartered Accountant. Before joining Stonehage Fleming, he worked in Specialised Finance after having continued in private practice for a couple of years post completion of his professional training.
Johan was born and grew up in South Africa and although he has spent many years abroad, South Africa and any charitable endeavours in South Africa will always be close to his heart. He has also personally raised funds for Afrika Tikkun through participating in fundraising marathons and the virtual Spirit of Belron Challenge.
Stonehage Fleming is adviser to many of the world’s leading families and wealth creators. They manage and protect their wealth, often across several geographies and generations. As a Group they have been a proud supporter of Afrika Tikkun for over 15 years. The founders’ goal was to help and support impoverished children and young people to acquire economic empowerment. Stonehage Fleming had been looking for a charity partner to make a long-term commitment which aligned with our core values of family, moral courage and excellence, and found that in Afrika Tikkun.
Afrika Tikkun’s programmes mirrored some of Stonehage Fleming’s existing commitments to its charitable activities in South Africa and within our SA-offices. With the assistance of Afrika Tikkun, the firm was able to further extend its commitment to South Africa’s most disadvantaged areas, helping to engage and empower young people in disadvantaged communities.
Selected by Forbes.com as one of the African continent’s Top 10 most ‘Powerful and Influential Men’ of his generation, Euvin has engaged as a business executive within financial services in both the USA and Africa for the past 18 years.
Currently he is Professor of Global Accounting, Risk and Agility for the Thunderbird School of Management, and before that was a member of the Accounting and Management faculty for the Harvard Business School. Prior to operating and managing the Thomson Reuters Financial Institutions business across Africa, which included the coverage of 47 countries in a matrixed operating model, Euvin was part of the African leadership team at the Boston Consulting Group, joining as the first South African Partner and Managing Director based out of the Johannesburg office, where he led the Africa Financial Institutions (Banking and Insurance) and Public Sector (DFIs, Treasury and Central Banks) Practices.
Naidoo’s personal focus is on operations management, scaling business models, partnerships, marketing, digital innovation and transformation within financial services, incorporating the themes of customer-centricity, agility, automation, financial inclusion and the implications of the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ on organizations’ staff, stakeholders and customers.
Selected in 2009 as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum (WEF), in 2012 he was recruited to the Forum’s Global Agenda Councils, where he served 2 terms on the United States Council. He is a current member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network. A certified ‘Agile at Scale’ instructor and coach, Euvin draws on deep market and client experience to support a customer-centric approach targeting the acceleration of teams and businesses focused on 10X plus growth and delivery.
John Gaunt is a specialist in Human Capital, including the areas of: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Succession Planning, Workforce Optimization & Scaling, Labor Relations, Employee Engagement, Compensation & Reward and Career Path Design. He is a Board Member at Synechron. He is a Business-focused human with 30+ years of experience optimizing and scaling businesses maximizing performance. John formerly worked at Accenture. He was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in South Africa, studying at University of South Africa. He has lived in several places around the world and has resided in the Washington DC-Baltimore area in recent years.
Paetyn Naidoo is an American-South African coder, mathematician, musician, filmmaker, and coxswain. Born in the US, Paetyn Naidoo spent her formative schooling years in Johannesburg before moving back to the US for high school. Paetyn is the founder of CodeSolve, a global network launched via a series of workshops in the US and South Africa, that promotes the development of creative problem-solving skills among youth in underserved communities. While harnessing computer literacy as a tool for personal growth, CodeSolve specifically focuses on empowering young women and girls with the skills needed to build confidence and proficiency in the digital world. Among her many interests and passions, Paetyn also founded and co-leads her school’s International Student Association (ISA). In Grade 10, she wrote her first multi-instrument piano concerto which was the opening performance at her school’s annual spring music festival, after she previously performed twice as a piano soloist with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra (JSO). Paetyn also recently wrote, directed and produced the short film “Pitches” which has gone on to win multiple international awards and youth filmmaker accolades.
Destini Perkins, a proud San Diego native, currently holds the prestigious title of Miss Black Global International Ambassador 2024. As a creative director, she specializes in helping brands connect with Gen Z audiences through marketing, producing impactful women empowerment events, and hosting engaging interviews. Her dedication to fostering social change is evident through her work with the NAACP and national nonprofits, where she has led initiatives to uplift marginalized communities. Destini’s multifaceted path reflects her passion for community engagement, and Gen Z advocacy. She is a trailblazer and a vital voice for her community by inspiring others through her commitment to igniting change.
Connie Cai graduated from Harvard University in 2021 with a degree in Biochemistry and Education. Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Connie is currently pursuing a medical degree at Johns Hopkins University, with a strong interest in pediatrics. She is passionate about holistic child development and exploring the intersection of health, education, and the humanities. Through her role on the Youth Board, she hopes to contribute ideas and initiatives that support Afrika Tikkun’s cradle-to-career development model and uplift the next generation.
David is a serial entrepreneur and growth expert focused on FinTech and the Luxury/Specialty Automotive space. Born in South Africa, he immigrated to Connecticut in 1999 where David’s entrepreneurial journey began at 13, when he founded Auto-Consultants USA, a company that assisted clients in finding, purchasing, and leasing vehicles. At 16, he joined BMW of Ridgefield, working closely with the private equity group which had bought the dealership in 2008.
In 2012, David founded Colupon, a savings application designed to offer users personalized deals, positioning it as a competitor to platforms like Groupon. That business evolved into National Galactic which built modular asset tracking solutions leveraging BTLE, NFC and 802.11 architecture. Since then David has held various positions (Brand Manager, Sales Director, General Manager, Managing Director, etc.) across several organizations both domestically and internationally, where he was charged with turning around underperforming retail/importer operations. Currently serving in the Western Region for Putnam Leasing charged with growing and expanding the customer base and brand presence in the West.
David lives with his girlfriend (and their 92lb Dutch Shephard) in Los Angeles. In his free time he can be found traveling, checking out new restaurants, playing golf and hitting a local car meet.
Jordyn Hurley grew up in Pretoria, South Africa until the age of 14 when she relocated to Philadelphia. She first became involved with the Afrika Tikkun youth board as a high school junior in 2014 and was involved through college. She is now a third-year medical student at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with a role in the Global Health Leadership Tract. She plans to focus her career addressing the many facets that contribute to health and wellbeing, with a particular understanding of the role of youth development on long-term outcomes. She is excited for the revitalization of the youth board and to contribute both directly and indirectly to the mission of Afrika Tikkun and its centers on the ground.
