Board of Directors and Leadership Team Bios

USA Board of Directors

Erna L. Grasz - CEO, Founder and Chairman of the Board

Erna is the CEO and Chairman of the Board for Asante Africa Foundation. She founded Asante Africa Foundation after returning from travels to Tanzania in 2005, saddened by lack of basic education access and facilities. She met two amazing women on that trip, Emmy in Tanzania and Hellen in Kenya, and forged partnerships with them that would evolve to the current the Asante Africa Foundation. Since it began, the Asante Africa Foundation programs and scholarships have touched the lives of more than 10,000 students and teachers, in more than 10 schools. Erna is passionate that all children deserve a chance to be educated and create their own dreams.

Although Asante Africa Foundation is her first priority, Erna is currently still in the corporate world part time as the Chief Technology Officer for Critical Perfusion, Inc. She manages a team of scientists and engineers in health care technology. Her previous work includes development of robots for land mine discovery, radioactive waste handling and bomb removal. Her advanced degrees are in Electrical Engineering and Engineering Management. She is also a executive coach, authoring seminars and speeches on the topics of leadership, communication skills, and project management.

Mike Carter - Vice President Officer and Board Director

Dr. Michael Carter has over 25 years of experience as a scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Mike has served as a technical advisor at the White House during the formation of the Department of Homeland Security and served as the initial Director for Radiological and Nuclear Countermeasures in the new Department in 2003. Mike has a passion for science and technology education and is dedicated to providing opportunities for children to learn and develop their passions.

Mike is an avid hiker, skier and photographer. He lives with his wife, Laura, and son David in Livermore California. Their daughter, Sarah, is a Chemical Engineering major art the University of Virginia.

Colin Higgins - Director

Colin Higgins is the President and an owner of the Golub Group, a Registered Investment Advisor located in San Mateo, California that manages approximately $650 million in assets for high net worth individuals and institutions. Prior to the formation of the Golub Group, Colin served as a research analyst and portfolio manager with regional investment firms Branch Cabell, & Co. and Hoefer and Arnett, Inc. Colin is a graduate of Washington and Lee University.

Ally Haug - Director

Allyson and her husband were introduced to the great work Asante Africa Foundation was doing while on their on honeymoon in Tanzania in early 2007. She recently joined the Board with a primary focus on Fundraising. She is a Director of Individual and Corporate Giving at the Alberta Cancer Foundation. She has six years of major gift fundraising experience in post secondary education and healthcare. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies from the University of Albert and a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistics from the University of British Columbia.

Mark Newton - Director

Mark Newton, a co-founder of Asante Africa Foundation, has been actively involved in many of the Foundation’s activities from its inception. A vacation to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2005 led to an appreciation of a tremendous need for greater access to basic education in Africa. Mark has been supporting both the development and implementation of projects in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as helping to develop the basic business tools needed to operate the organization in the United States. Mark has a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering, an MBA, and is a manager at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory where he has worked for nearly 30 years.

Mike Bilby - Corporate Treasurer and CFO

With 20 years of accounting, finance and controllership experience, Mike brings his Silicon Valley financial acumen, from small .com to global manufacturer, to Asante Africa Foundation. A donor and supporter for several years, he joined as a volunteer in 2009, and welcomed the opportunity for a board role in 2010 to continue to not only learn about the children's lives being changed and infrastructure being developed through Asante’s programs in Eastern Africa, but to help financially and strategically guide a growing foundation in its formative years. An avid golfer, Mike lives with his wife Laurie and two daughters in Northern California.

Drew McMillan - Secretary Officer and Board Director

While visiting East Africa and climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in January 2009, Drew made some good friends and saw enormous opportunity to impact the Eastern African region through educational initiatives. He returned home and sought out the Asante Africa Foundation. He initially volunteered with the programs team and in 2010 has taken the role of Director and Officer – Corporate Secretary. Drew received a BA in Political Science from Tulane University and a JD from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. He currently resides in Northern California with his wife.

Global Program Leadership Team

Rebecca Raymond - Director, US Programs

Rebecca Raymond has more than 12 years of experience working with children, youth and communities - most recently as the Director of the Indian Education Center at the American Indian Child Resource Center (AICRC) in Oakland; Special Projects Consultant with the Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) in Uganda and Kenya, and as a Youth Development Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kingdom of Tonga.

She has successfully written proposals at local, state, and federal levels, developed and directed community based initiatives, monitored and evaluated international programs, and served as a technical trainer producing educational materials and procedural guidelines for the United States Peace Corps, FSD in-country teams, and AICRC staff. Her education and clinical training includes master’s degrees in Counseling Psychology and International Social Development, both of which have focused on the positive development and education of youth and communities, creating synergy among partners across cultures and time zones.

Prosper Msafiri - Program Manager, Tanzania

By academic training and profession Prosper Msafiri is an architect and engineer (for the past 12 years). He is currently married to Dina with a very smart 3 year old daughter, Malaika Tiffany. Prosper came to know of Asante Africa Foundation’s work in Tanzania through mutual friends. Because of his passion for design and construction, when he heard about the school construction projects and programs specific for improving education, he became interested in our work. Perfect timing for us in that we were in the search of a Program Manager for Tanzania. His passions and talents happened to be in sync with our needs and plans. He is observant, thoughtful, and deliberate in his approach to life. He enjoys sharing his knowledge about his worlds with anyone who is interested in learning.

Gathii Kanyi - Program Manager, Kenya

Gathii Kanyi holds a masters degree in Entrepreneurship (MSc in Entrepreneurship) from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology-Kenya, Bachelors degree in Education (B.Ed) from Moi University-Kenya and Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He has worked as a teacher with the Government of Kenya for over 13 years where he taught in three public schools in both Makueni and Murang'a South. Kanyi has also worked with Public and Private Development (PPD) Consultants since 2006 as an associate director in charge of Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) development. He has participated in various projects including designing proposal for assessing the impact of Constituency Development Fund (CDF) in Kenya. Kanyi is the Chairman of Starlets Youth Soccer Academy which is a community based organization whose role is to tap and develop soccer talent among boys and girls from less privileged backgrounds. He is Investment Advisor to Thika Bridge Welfare Association. He is married and has young children.