U.S. TEAM
Nora Tobin
Executive Director
Nora joined Self-Help as Executive Director in January 2014 after earning a Master’s in International Peace Studies from Trinity College Dublin. Originally from Clive, Iowa, she earned a BA in Political Science and International Studies from Iowa State University. Nora is a recipient of the Des Moines Business Record’s 40 Under 40 Award and the ISU Outstanding Young Alumni Award. Nora’s previous work focused on food security and youth development with the World Food Prize Foundation in Des Moines, Iowa, promoting public health and community development at the Office for Institutional HIV Prevention in Stellenbosch, South Africa, and administering international exchange programs between universities in the USA and Africa in Washington, DC. Nora served as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar in Dublin, Ireland, where her research focused on the impact of tourism on economic development in post-conflict areas.
Susan Cornforth
Administration, Finance, and Technology Manager
Susan joined Self-Help in 2015. A US Army veteran, she earned her BS in Geography/GIS from South Dakota State University after her service and recently completed her MA in International Development from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota after she and her family worked and lived as volunteers for a year in rural Bolivia. She has worked in the administrative and bookkeeping fields much of her career, as well as teaching geography, political science, English as a Second Language and history at the high school and college levels. A seasoned US and international traveler, she understands that the needs are great and that the work is important, and she is delighted to join SHI staff and volunteers fighting hunger. In her free time, Susan volunteers for local hunger organizations and as a youth leader for the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa. She is a voracious reader and amateur military historian who enjoys spending time with family, singing and listening to true crime podcasts.
Anne Denholm
Development & Communications Specialist
As an Iowa farm girl, Anne worked on the family farm raising corn and beans. She was active in her local 4-H chapter and as a teenager, traveled to Japan through the 4-H exchange program. After high school, she went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in communications from Wartburg College in 1989. For the last 30 years, Anne has worked for a variety of industries developing her skills in writing, marketing, advertising, fundraising and special event planning. Her career has taken her to three states in the Midwest including Minnesota, North Dakota and Iowa. When she’s not working, Anne enjoys traveling, golfing, reading and cheering for local sports teams. Anne and her husband recently moved to Cedar Falls, Ia.
Rose Dougan
Development and Administration Assistant
Rose joined Self-Help International in 2022. Born in Waterloo, IL (20 mins SE of St. Louis) she moved to Iowa when she was 12. She has never lived more than an hour from Waverly. She has an AAS in Child Development from Hawkeye Community College and a BA in Accounting from Upper Iowa University. She has several years of experience in both Customer Service and Administrative/Clerical roles. One of Rose’s life goals was to work for a non-profit and she feels very blessed to help make a difference in the lives of others. Rose and her husband have seven children in total. In her spare time she enjoys fishing, baseball/softball, camping, and spending time with her grandbabies.
NICARAGUA TEAM
Jorge Campos
Country Director
Jorge was Self-Help International’s first hire in Nicaragua, after Hurricane Mitch devastated the country in 1998. He started as the Agriculture Program Officer, promoting Quality Protein Maize (QPM) all over Nicaragua, and has since been promoted to his current role as Country Director and legal representative of the organization. Jorge graduated from Escuela Normal Ricardo Morales Aviles in Jinotepe, Carazo as a Primary School Teacher in 1985, then moved Rio San Juan. Since then, Jorge has been dedicated to educating high school and college-age youth. In his continual pursuit for higher education, Jorge earned a degree in Agricultural Sciences Engineering in 1998 from the UPONIC University in San Carlos, Rio San Juan and later earned several agriculture-related continuing education certificates from various universities, and participated in seminars promoted by CIMMYT-CIDA-QPM in San Andres, El Salvador in 2005, and studied high quality seed production and post-harvest practice at CIMMYT Agriculture University in Honduras in 2006. Jorge has also served as a member of the CSE-CED (Supreme Electoral Council) supporting the national elections process in Rio San Juan in 2001, 2006, and 2011, and in local elections in 2004, 2008, and 2012. Jorge enjoys combining his educational and agricultural experience to help the highest need population in rural Rio San Juan – the famers. Jorge finds satisfaction in helping farmers obtain basic knowledge and skills to improve their yields by implementing new technologies, planting process managing, and soil maintenance, in service to Self-Help International’s mission to alleviate hunger by helping people to help themselves.
Lucia Vega Galeano
Program Operations Manager
Lucia Joined Self-Help International in June 2011 as the Program Operations Manager. In this position, Lucia manages the finances and programs of Self-Help International – Nicaragua. Lucia believes that the money donated to Self-Help needs to be managed well in order to benefit Nicaraguans served by Self-Help through trainings, technical support, equipment, and loans, and takes pride in ensuring that it is. She also arranges all board member and volunteer visits to Nicaragua, ensuring that they have unforgettable experiences. Prior to joining Self-Help, Lucia received a Cooperative Association of States for Scholarship (CASS) scholarship from Georgetown University in conjunction with USAID, and in 1999, she graduated from Forest Park Community College in Saint Louis, Missouri, with degrees in Quality Control Technology and English as a Second Language. After graduating, she received another scholarship from the World Bank and Georgetown, which she used to study Business Administration and Accounting in Nicaragua. She also obtained Marketing, Business Management, and Project Management and Evaluation certificates from the Virtual University Nicaragua-Monterey, Mexico. During her studies, Lucia worked as an administrator for the Wisconsin/Nicaragua Partners, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting economic and social development in Nicaragua.
Carlos Alfredo Obando Ruíz
Staff Accountant
Carlos grew up with three brothers and two sisters on a farm Santa Isabel, near Self-Help’s headquarters in Quinta Lidia. For five years in primary and secondary school, Carlos had to walk 5 kms to school but near the end of high school he and his parents decided he should switch schools to find something that was both closer and offered better education. His new school was still 3 km from home, but it had computer equipment, so Carlos had the opportunity to learn computer science in addition to his regular studies. He ultimately graduated high school from the Institute of San Carlos Borromeo in San Carlos. After graduating from high school, Carlos emigrated to Costa Rica where he worked for 2.5 years, saving money so he could continue his studies in Managua. He graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Public Accounting and Auditing in 2016 from the Universidad del Valle in Managua. Carlos has worked as an accounting assistant in two large and recognized companies in Managua – Gilberto Bendaña & Cia Ltda from 2014 to 2018 and Bombas de Nicaragua SA and Piscinas de Nicaragua SA from 2019 to 2020. Carlos lost his job due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so he moved back to his parents’ farm. While job hunting, his aunt, a member of Self-Help’s Women’s Empowerment Program, recommended Carlos for the role of Accounting Assistant. He has been with Self-Help since March 2021.
Yolanda Fletes
Micro-Credit Program Officer
Yolanda attended the Agriculture National University-Managua from 2006 to 2010 and graduated with a degree in Agribusiness with a focus on Finance and Marketing. After graduation, she began working for the Austrian Development Agency, a nonprofit organization supporting in the development of women in her community of Sabalos. In September 2013, Yolanda joined Self-Help International as the Micro-Credit Program Officer, allowing her to continue supporting underserved women in rural Rio San Juan. She helps them grow their skills and abilities and to improve their quality of life by creating business opportunities for themselves and their families to become self-sufficient.
Orlando Montiel Salas
Clean Water Program Officer
Orlando is an Agricultural Sciences Engineer, with continuing education certification in Project Management and Evaluation. He has had experience working in both private and public sectors, at the Ministry of Agriculture, as Program Committee Organizer at San Carlos City Hall, and as teacher at two universities (UPF and Martin Lutero) in San Carlos, Rio San Juan – Nicaragua. Orlando started working part-time as Self-Help Nicaragua’s Micro-credit Program Officer in June 2006. In 2012, he transitioned to his current role as the Clean Water Program Officer where he promotes the use of the CTI-8 chlorinator and educates community leaders about the importance of purified water in rural areas around Rio San Juan. Under his leadership, the program has extended to additional Nicaraguan states including Nueva Guinea, Zelaya Central and Chontales. Orlando proud to carry out Self-Help’s mission and help people help themselves by training people to treat water with this new technology so they receive higher quality water and learn good hygiene!
Mario Barberena
QPM Agriculture Program Assistant
Mario joined Self–Help International as a Quality Protein Maize (QPM) Agriculture Program Assistant in 2013, and oversees seed producers of QPM in Ochomogo, Rivas. Having previously worked on his family farm and cultivating crops without the benefit of Self-Help’s improved technology, he appreciates the opportunity to help other farmers understand the benefits of new planting and harvesting technologies by putting into practice procedures he learned from the Self-Help agriculture program.
Rodolfo Ricardo Hernandez Navas
Agriculture Program Officer
Rodolfo is originally from San Carlos, Río San Juan. He graduated college in Rivas with a degree in Agricultural Engineering in 2006, where he also studied minor surgeries and participated in a national science exposition in a study on bananas. He continued working for the science exposition for an additional year after graduating, focusing on every aspect of pig management. His work experience includes working for APAC San Carlos (Pueblos en Acción Comunitaria) on environmentally friendly cocoa and management of a coffee farm in San Marcos, Carazo. He’s spent the last five years working on micro-finance at FUDEMI and the PRODESA Corporation. Rodolfo and his wife have two children. Rodolfo is grateful for the opportunity to work at Self-Help International.
GHANA TEAM
Benjamin Kusi
Country Director
Benjamin joined the SHI team in 1998 to develop his engineering skills after receiving his Bachelor’s of Science in Agriculture Engineering at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana, and has continued to take on greater leadership positions within the organization ever since. Benjamin earned a Masters’ degree in Human Resource Development from University of Cape Coast, focusing on the support of humanity through provision of services to the poor and marginalized. Helping the disadvantaged has always been of upmost importance to Benjamin, and he finds his work at SHI to be very fulfilling in regard to service. He is also an active member of the United Methodist Church of Ghana and enjoys daydreaming and watching movies in his free time.
George Saforo
Program Coordinator, Ashanti Region
George earned his Bachelor’s from the University of Cape Coast and received a Master’s of Science in Monitoring and Evaluation from the University of Cape Coast. He has worked for over 10 years in various roles in the cocoa production value chain with companies such as Olam Ghana Limited and Agroecom Ghana Limited. He has also been involved in managing cocoa sustainability and certification projects with the nonprofit Source Trust in Ghana and Nigeria. Since 2017, he has been involved in the cereal and legume value chain by supporting and training farmers and traders. George joined the Self-Help International team in 2020 as the Programs Coordinator. He is a farmer and passionate about the environmental and sustainability issues facing rural communities and agricultural value chains.
Banye Mumuni Ali
Accounts Officer
Banye Mumuni Ali is a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana. Before joining Self-Help International in 2019, he was a part-time lecturer at the College of Distance Education, University of Cape Coast Wa Campus. Within this same period, he also provided consultancy accounting services to Agriaccess Ghana Limited, a tropical agriculture organization involved in research and cultivation of drought resistance varieties of sorghum in the three Northern regions of Ghana in Wa in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Prior to that, he worked as the Municipal Coordinator of Local Enterprises and Skill Development Programme in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region. Banye Mumuni Ali also holds a Diploma in Marketing and Diploma in Accounting from Sunyani Polytechnic.
Grace Marfo
Teen Girls Club Program Officer
Grace joined SHI in July 2019, bringing her passion for youth empowerment programs, especially among young women and girls, to the Teen Girls Club. Prior to joining Self-Help, Grace volunteered with a small nonprofit organization for five years where she ran after school programs in senior high schools, helping young boys and girls to become future leaders and agents of social change. She has also been involved with radio discussions on “HeForShe” and campaigns about boys and men for positive change in Ghana which was sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund. Grace earned her bachelor’s degree in Development Education from the University for Development Studies in Tamale, Ghana. In her free time, she enjoys reading and watching movies.
Bridget Gyamfi
Teen Girls Club Program Officer
Bridget Gyamfi joined Self-Help International 2019 as a support staff. She became a Teen Girls Club Program Officer 2021. Bridget holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geography and Rural Development from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi, Ghana. She graduated in 2017. Bridget is very passionate and interested in any activity that brings about positive change in the lives of people. Prior to joining SHI, she was involved in a three month internship in community engagement with the Japanese Water Project by The Hunger Project and the USAID KG Project in Birim South District Assembly. After graduating she had the chance to work with the Bureau of Integrated Rural Development (BIRD) at KNUST. She profiled rural farmers in the Upper West Region and conducted a survey to know their livelihood situation to assess the performance of the private sector in agriculture in Ghana. Her top priority in life is Inspiring young people especially those in rural communities and urban villages by empowering them to always strive to the top. She does that through involvement with her church, family, and community whenever she is given the chance.
Bridget is grateful to be able to help empower rural girls to become independent adults in the future.
Lydia Adomako
Micro-Credit Program Officer
Lydia joined Self-Help International’s micro-credit team in July 2019. Lydia received her bachelor’s in Sociology from KNUST in 2010, and she is currently pursuing a Master of Philosophy in Sociology with an emphasis on gender and development. She has more than seven years of practical experience in coaching and empowering young women in various areas, from human rights related issues to economic empowerment. As an adept researcher, Lydia is looking forward to bringing her expertise in women’s economic empowerment to Self-Help International, helping in whatever capacity to fulfill the mission and to help people help themselves.
Florence Boamah
Micro-Credit Program Officer
Florence Boamah Joined Self- Help International team as a Microcredit Program Officer in February 2022. She has a Bachelors Degree in Integrated Management Studies from the University for Development Studies Wa, Ghana. As a Customer Service Executive at Ison BPO MTN Ghana Tema, she was responsible for providing support and helping customers solve their daily problems. She served as a Loan Officer for Double Dream where she was responsible for all financial transactions and report writing. Ms. Florence has been practicing her profession for four years. Growing up she loved coaching women at church and in the community on the need to work hard and raise good citizens for their communities and country as a whole. She is committed to Self-Help’s mission to alleviate hunger and poverty in the rural Ghanaian communities. She likes reading and listening to music in her free time.
Christopher Doe
Micro-Credit Program Assistant
Chris has contributed greatly to the organization’s efforts at alleviating hunger by ensuring effective and efficient credit management and internal control systems. Prior to joining SHI, Chris had the opportunity to work as a field officer with Food Logistics and Agric Support Center, Ejisu Juaben- Kumasi.
Consequently, he looks forward to bringing his expertise in Information Technology and Agriculture to the program to ensure effective and efficient credit management, He also hopes to assist rural families with modern agricultural practices to help them to improve upon their crop yield and thus help to alleviate hunger among the rural communities.
Chris loves writing and listening to music in his free time.
Matilda Amanor
Promoting Good Nutrition Program Officer
Matilda Amanor joined the Self-Help international team as the Promoting Good Nutrition Program Officer in February 2022. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Community Nutrition from the University of Development Studies Tamale, Ghana. Prior to joining Self-Help, Matilda worked for almost 1 year with Linking Up Initiative as the Assistant Project Manager coordinating activities in the Project site in the three municipalities (Lower, Upper and Yilo Krobo Municipalities). She served as a Research Assistant examining the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on maternal health and infant and young child feeding practices. As a Personal Assistant to Queen Elizabeth scholar’s programs, she was responsible for financial report writing and assisting in with all program activities for the period of the activity. Ms. Matilda has four years of practicing Nutrition especially in Ghana. Growing the health of people is her priority and educating people on healthy living. She is committed to Self-Help’s mission to alleviate hunger and poverty in the rural Ghanaian communities. She likes reading and listening to music in her free time.
Christiana Daankwa
Promoting Good Nutrition Assistant Program Officer
Christiana joined Self-Help International in February 2022 as an intern to the Promoting Good Nutrition Team to support the Growing Healthy Food, Growing Healthy Children Program. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health Nutrition from the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ho, Ghana. Christie gathered experience working on some programs in the field of human nutrition; unbalanced nutrition and nutritional deficiencies especially in the area of young girls, maternal and child health in the Volta and Oti Regions. She also had the opportunity to serve at the Maternal and Child Health Hospital (Pampaso Children’s Hospital) in Kumasi, treating and caring for Severe Acute Malnourished Infants and pregnant women at the Nutrition Rehabilitation Center. She has great interest in food production, such as converting raw herbs into powdered herbs for marketing. She loves music, sings and enjoys sewing during her free time.
Ignatius Tang
Training Center Manager
Ignatius Dinituo Tang is an enthusiast of everything agriculture. He is a ‘student’ of regenerative agriculture and soil resilience. He has over 15 years combined experience in programs/project management, human resource management, corporate administration, research, missionary work and teaching. Ignatius holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Social Sciences and a Master of Business Administration in Human Resource Management. He held various positions in corporate management including Head of Human Resource and Administration in an asset management company, and Head of Credit in a non-bank deposit taking company. He was a research assistant at the Research and Development Division of the Ghana Health Service. He is a professional teacher and once worked with the Ghana Education Service. His interest in livelihood development and agriculture developed when he was a missionary ‘stagiaire’ in Mozambique where he managed livelihood projects in agriculture for youths and women. He has interests in forward and backward integrations in crop and livestock development, irrigation development, soil resilience and aquaculture.
Justice Amoka Sam
Community Crop and Livestock Specialist
Justice completed school with a Higher National Diploma in General Agriculture at Kumasi Institute of Tropical Agriculture (KITA) in Kumasi, Ghana. He was employed as the Projects Manager at the Kumasi Institute of Tropical Agriculture, where he led planning and supervising all student related projects. Justice is also an entrepreneur who makes low cost gardens for families and educational institutions, making sure people eat and learn about what they grow. He offers gardening lessons, vegetable supplies, honey, and mushrooms to a niche of organic consumers. He is a promoter of gardening and eating what you grow and develops garden structure modules for families and institutions. He has great interest in testing new innovations and sharing the results with other farmers. Family food security is one area he focuses on and cares about deeply. Justice enjoys being around all things agriculture related and spending time with his family.
Dominic Boakye
Training Center Caretaker
Dominic loves working with agriculture and teaching new practices to improve the lives of farmers in rural Ghana. He enjoys football and listening to the games while he works in the fields and test plots. Dominic is never found without a smile and his radio!
Constantine Nanguo
Program Coordinator, Upper West Region
He also consulted on freelance basis on research projects, medium term development planning for MMDAs, and strategic planning. Constantine also has interest in dry season irrigation farming where he grows watermelon, pepper and other vegetables.
Edna Baloo
Programs Officer, Upper West Region
Edna joined the Self Help International Team in February 2022. She earned a BSc. in Planning from University from Development Studies, Wa-Ghana. She is currently pursuing a MPhil Monitoring and Evaluation at the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Wa. She is a researcher and believes in participatory team work.
Bernice Agyekwena
Communications Manager
Peter Canicius
Program Coordinator – Design, Strategy and Evaluations
Kuusaana, Peter Canicius joined Self Help International in November 2022. He is originally from Sombo in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Peter did a greater part of his schooling in Northern Ghana where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Integrated Development Studies from the University for Development Studies. He also received a Master of Arts in Environmental Management and Policy from the University of Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana. Peter is also a professional Health and Safety practitioner with an International General Certificate from the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health in the United Kingdom. Peter is passionate about social impact programming with focus on projects/programs that aim at transforming the lives of the marginalized and deprived segments of society. He has social impact programming experience spanning over two decades with engagements in agricultural extension, emergency relief/refugee resettlement, environmental conservation, fisheries and coastal zone management. Peter also has a career in occupational/food safety and health as a freelancer.
Experience by Visual Logic