Mission
Africa Schools of Kenya (ASK) is an educational organization designed to increase awareness for Kenyan children on critical global issues such as healthy living, environmental sustainability, animal & wildlife conservation, and cultural diversity.
James
Ole Kamete, Founder of Esiteti School
James Ole Kamete is an elder Maasai living in the Kitirua area near Amboseli
National Park. For over ten years, he has been instrumental in promoting education
for children ages 3-12 in his community of 15,000 people. As word
got out that there were children being educated under an Acacia tree,
neighboring village children started to show up. Esiteti School started
with six children, and there are now over 170 students in attendance. James'
goal is to instill the need for education among the youngest of the Maasai
people.
Teri Gabrielsen, Founder and Director of Africa Schools of Kenya (ASK)
Teri currently resides in Santa Barbara, California with her husband and two
adult children. Teri received her Multi-Subject Teaching Credential in Elementary
Education and taught school for several years. Later, she specialized in
Account Management and worked extensively in the travel industry. She was
Media Sales Manager for both Los Angeles Magazine, owned by American Broadcast
Corporation (ABC) and Cosmopolitan Magazine, owned by Hearst Corporation.
As an educator, Teri has traveled extensively throughout Kenya and was
inspired to start an educational organization directly benefiting the children
of Kenya.\
The Maasai Culture
Occupying the fertile grassland of the Rift Valley and surrounding uplands, the
pastoral and nomadic Maasai are probably the most renowned Kenyan tribe. For
centuries the Maasai have moved cattle in a constant search for water and fresh
grazing. Tall and lean with brilliant red cloths tied at the shoulder, the morani
(warriors) can usually be seen armed with a spear, sword or club. The enkang
is the basic economic and social unit of the Maasai, where a semi-permanent grouping
of several families live together in 10 to 20 huts encircled by an impenetrable
thorn fence. The low, circular huts (constructed by women in the group) consist
of interwoven branches plastered together with a combination of mud and cow dung.
Although the women are often seemingly in the background of the cultural context,
they are the backbone of the culture; they build houses and look after schoolchildren.
They also have influential roles in enabling girls to attend school.
ASK Board of Directors
Mary Ellen Kanoff
Mary Ellen Kanoff is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins
and is a member of the Corporate Department, specializing in public and private
mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance. Ms. Kanoff's merger and acquisitions
practice includes the representation of targets, bidders, private equity firms
and investors in strategic acquisitions and joint ventures in a variety of industries
including food and beverage, film, equipment, hospitality, technology and consumer
products. In the corporate finance area, Ms. Kanoff handles public and private
securities offerings and other financing transactions, representing issuers,
institutional investors and major investment banks. Ms. Kanoff regularly represents
companies and boards on, and is a frequent speaker on, corporate governance and
securities regulation issues. Representative clients include Nestle USA, Caterpillar
Inc., Jefferies & Co., Foster Poultry Farms and New Regency Pictures.
Nancy Walker Koppelman
Nancy sits on committees and advisory boards for several International
organizations including Direct Relief International, Women for Women International
and Human Rights Watch. She is an Ambassador for Arts and Lectures at the University
of California at Santa Barbara. Nancy served on the National Finance committee
for President Obama and continues to be active in political causes in the US
and worldwide.
Tim Melesi
Tim is the Director/Partner of Ker & Downey
Safaris, the oldest safari company in Africa. Tim was born in Mombasa,
Kenya, a remote coastal town on the Kenya/Tanzania border. He was educated
at boarding school in the Usambara Mountains of Tanzania and later in England.
Tim traveled extensively throughout Africa and led many varied safaris such
as camel walks, fishing safaris, and tracking gorillas and chimpanzees in Rwanda
and Tanzania. Tim began his career with Ker & Downey Safaris over 20 years
ago when he first managed the on-location camp for the film, Gorillas in the
Mist.
Elizabeth Toro, M.D., M.P.H.
Elizabeth is a Board certified Obstetrician/ Gynecologist
who has volunteered her expertise in Maternal and Child Health in Latin America,
Southeast Asia and East Africa. She spent her last rotation in medical school
at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi and returned as an OB/GYN resident
to Kenya, volunteering at Tumu Tumu Hospital in 1986. Her humanitarian interest
has taken her to work in maternity wards in war zones, cervical cancer screening
programs in Central America and educational training programs in other developing
countries. She has done projects for her master thesis in female circumcision
and symphysiotomy practices in areas that lack surgical capabilities.
Sherry Villanueva
Sherry is a co-founder and principal of Twist Worldwide, a consumer
trend and intellectual property management agency. Passionate about
social justice, Sherry is actively involved in her community and in addition
to ASKenya, she sits on several non-profit boards including Direct Relief International,
Community Action Fund for Women in Africa, 1 in 6, and Santa Barbara High School
Education Foundation.
