Founding Chair: Xanthe Scharff

Xanthe leads the AGE Board of Directors drawing on her experience in sustainable development gained from working with diverse organizations, including CARE, the United Nations and the World Bank. A PhD candidate at the Fletcher School, Xanthe also studies education reform in post-conflict Uganda.

Executive Director: Katie Hatch

Katie collaborates with the AGE Team and Board of Directors for strategic planning for both programming and funding. Katie has worked with a wide range of development organizations in different capacities, including an educational development organization in Sudan, the United Nations and the World Bank.

Operations Officer, Team Manager: Rinn Self

Rinn manages the US-based AGE team as well as all financial procedures. Having worked at Management Science for Health on USAID projects in Malawi and elsewhere, Rinn ensures that AGE meets the highest standards of accountability and transparency. Rinn graduated from the Fletcher School (07) with a Masters in International Relations.

Program Manager: Jessica Dunsmore

Jessica designed AGE's current program and manages all program activities, including the monitoring and evaluation of scholarship activities. Formerly, Jessica was the Gender and Development and Girls Education Program Coordinator for Peace Corps Mauritania in West Africa. Jessica is a Masters candidate at the Fletcher School (08) where she studies International Conflict Negotiations and Resolution with a focus on gender-related issues.

Director of Communications: Megan Bromley

Megan creates and implements marketing campaigns that communicate the AGE mission across different audiences. Megan graduated from Regis College with a BA in Communications (02), and completes her MBA at The Carroll School of Management, Boston College this December. She brings several years of marketing experience to the AGE Team.

IT Manager: Peter Braitsch

Peter developed AGE's new website and provides on-going volunteer technical support to the team. Peter is an System & Network Engineer at X-BAR in Seattle.

Ben Chambers: Program Director

Ben collaborates with AGE's partners in Malawi to administer the scholarship fund and to develop the mentoring program. Prior to joining AGE, he taught English for two years at a rural secondary school in Lilongwe District through Peace Corps Malawi. Ben has also been involved in girls' education in Malawi through participation in Peace Corps' Gender and Development Initiative.

CRECCOM Team

AGE works with CRECCOM, Malawi's premier education NGO, in order to implement the scholarship program. CRECCOM has been working with USAID and other donors since 1994 and has played a major role in the process of improving conditions for girls education in Malawi. The CRECCOM team that works with AGE includes: Zikani Kaunga (Executive Director), MacForster Chingayipe (Assistant ED Finance), Madalo Semati (Assistant ED Operations), and Florence Sepula (Program Coordinator).

Special Advisor: Ulemu Chiluzi

Ulemu's vision and dedication made AGE possible, as he volunteered to help set up the AGE scholarship fund and implemented program activities in the Bowa village during the first year. Ulemu, who works for Concern Universal in Malawi, now serves as an advisor to AGE.

Special Advisor: Jimmy Mpina

Jimmy volunteers key support and input to the AGE program. Jimmy works at CARE Malawi, where he helps implement programs to bring relief to rural communities through food distribution and other means. Jimmy contributes both program experience and an astute understanding of local culture.

Special Advisor: Jeremiah Mvula

Jeremiah, an employee at CARE Malawi, volunteers his insight and time to help with the implementation of the AGE program. Jeremiah's dedication to helping the girls in Malawi is evident in his tireless effort to help our scholars and their communities.

Neesha Mallavarapu

Neesha Mallavarapu is a junior at Tufts University double-majoring in Philosophy and Political Science. She spent two months teaching English to students in China, is a volunteer teacher with CORES (Committee of Refugees from El Salvador) and the Community Outreach Coordinator for Tufts ChinaCare, a nonprofit organization that helps provide medical care to orphans in China and foster a nurturing community for adopted Chinese children in the Medford/Somerville area. Neesha is excited to be a part of AGE's commitment to girls' education in Africa, and looks forward to its successful year.

Brittany Zenus

Brittany is in her second year at Tufts University, studying Public Health and Media Arts & Communications. She has lived in and around Boston for most of her life and has worked with many small, non-profit organizations. She has previously worked in Nicaragua with Save the Children, as well as in Puerto Rico with Earthwatch. She is very involved in a general campaign to promote and provide education to children world wide. So, Brittany is extremely excited to be on board with AGE and its fight to provide secondary education for girls in Africa.

Sarah Driscoll

Sarah Driscoll is a senior at Tufts University majoring in Anthropology and minoring in Mass Communications and Media Studies. Throughout her academic career she has studied social reconstruction in post-conflict zones, and has conducted in-depth research on child combatants in Colombia and the processes of DDR (Demobilization, Disarmament and Reintegration) of ex-combatants in Liberia. For the spring semester of 2008, Sarah studied at the Universidad de Sevilla in Spain. She is originally from Fairlee, Vermont.