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Board of directors and senior management

Members of the Board


Jack Leslie, Chairman

            Jack Leslie, USADF Chairman

Jack Leslie is the chairman of Weber Shandwick, one of the world's leading public relations firms. Mr. Leslie is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, former Chairman of the Board of USA for UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) and a participant in UNHCR Missions to Afghanistan (1998), Kosovo (1999) and Tanzania (2001). He is a trustee of the Circumnavigators Foundation and is a director of various corporate boards. 


Dr. John O. Agwunobi, Vice-Chairman

Dr. John O. Agwunobi, USADF Vice Chairman Dr. John Agwunobi is currently the Senior Vice President and President of Health & Wellness for Wal-Mart Stores Division, overseeing the company’s health and wellness business unit, which includes pharmacies, vision centers, and health care clinics. Prior to joining Wal-Mart, he was the Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and an Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He has served as Florida’s Secretary of Health and as a pediatrician.        


Mimi Alemayehou, Board Member Mimi Alemayehou, Member of the Board

 Ms. Alemayehou serves as Executive Vice President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.  Previously, she was the United States Executive Director at the African Development Bank, where she was responsible for executing Board decisions on behalf of the United States government. As the senior US Treasury official in Africa, she pushed for reforms to make the Bank more transparent and more engaged with outside stakeholders.  Earlier, she founded Trade Links, LLC, a development consulting firm that worked with clients on emerging markets issues and promoting African exports under the African Growth and Opportunity Act.  Earlier in her career she worked in the US Congress.  Ms. Alemayehou is a naturalized US Citizen; she was born in Ethiopia and spent her early years in Kenya before immigrating to the United States. 


Ward Brehm, Board Member
Ward Brehm, Member of the Board

Ward Brehm is an entrepreneur and public servant, engaged in African humanitarian efforts and public speaking on African relief and development.  In his professional life, he is Founder and Chairman of The Brehm Group, a Twin Cities, Minnesota-based insurance consulting firm. Previously, Mr. Brehm served as Chairman of the Board of USADF from 2004-2008.  In 2008, he was the keynote speaker at the 2008 National Prayer Breakfast -- the first person from the business community to do so.  That year, he also was awarded the Presidential Citizenship Medal, the country's second-highest civilian honor, for his work in Africa.  He has authored two books on his experiences in Africa, Life Through A Different Lens and White Man Walking.  He and his wife Kris live in Minneapolis, MN and have three adult children, Andy, Michael and Sarah. 


Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Board Member
Ambassador Johnnie Carson, Member of the Board

Ambassador Carson serves as the Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs.  Previously, he was the National Intelligence Officer for Africa at the National Intelligence Council and Senior Vice President of the National Defense University.  Mr. Carson's 37+ year Foreign Service career includes ambassadorships to Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Uganda, and posts in Botswana, Mozambique, and Nigeria.  Earlier, he was Staff Director for the Africa Subcommittee of the US House of Representatives and a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania. He has received several Superior Honor Awards from the State Department, a Meritorious Service Award from Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, and the Centers for Disease Control highest award, "Champion of Prevention Award," for his leadership in directing the US Government's HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in Kenya.


Iqbal Paroo , Board Member

Iqbal Paroo, USADF Board MemberIqbal Paroo has devoted his life to alleviating suffering among the world's most marginalized populations through improved health care and investment strategies. Mr. Paroo's expertise lies in complex health care systems, academic institutions, technology companies and venture-funded startups. He brings his unique expertise in business turnarounds, transition management and market strategy formulation and organization governance to USADF. He is the Managing Partner of Paroo and Associates and previously lead the Omidyar Network as President and CEO. Born in Nairobi, Mr. Paroo is multi-lingual with a diverse global network of social and professional relationships.


Morgan M. Davis,  Board Member

Morgan M. Davis, USADF Board Member

Morgan Davis currently serves on the Boards of Directors for Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd., OneBeacon Insurance Group, Ltd., and White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. Morgan is a member of the Board of Directors at the United States African Development Foundation, as well as a member of the internal Audit Committee.

Morgan is the former Chairman of the Board for Global Strategies for HIV Prevention and is a former member of the Faith Alive Foundation. It was Morgan's involvement with Global Strategies that brought him to Jos, Nigeria several times, where the organization worked diligently to improve the health care options for the region. Morgan resides in Southern California with his wife Sandy.

 

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