Abdallah Mohamed, born and raised in Kenya, has been part of the ThinkImpact team for almost 5 years. He has always been motivated by how significantly people’s lives can be changed from being given the opportunity to make a difference. Abdallah’s role as country coordinator during the Institute is to work with homestay families, translators, design teams and other community members to make sure everything runs smoothly. He organizes logistics and plans details of the summer from water deliveries to excursions. Abdallah is full of energy and has lots of experience to offer and is always a special part of any scholar’s experience.

Tim Bailey has a masters degree of science in social work with a concentration in Community and Administrative Leadership. Tim has been involved in international humanitarian projects for the past six years in Mexico, India, The Dominican Republic, and Ghana. All country associates have extensive experience in the developing world and most have experience in the country they are working in with ThinkImpact. As a Country Associate Tim works closely with the Country Coordinator to make sure everything runs smoothly during the Institute. In addition he works with the advisors to implement the curriculum and is a great source of inspiration throughout the Institute.

Amy Vreeland works as an advisor for ThinkImpact in South Africa. Amy is interested in high-impact social change organizations, program models, and best practices. Her experiences have been grounded in social entrepreneurship, including working as a founding high school teacher in the unprecedented charter school movement in New Orleans, Louisiana and helping to develop programming to catalyze the leadership capabilities and professional trajectories of first-generation college-students at a nonprofit start-up in Boulder, Colorado. As an advisor Amy will live in the same community with 4-6 scholars and be their team leader for the summer. She meets with scholars daily and helps facilitate activities from the Innovator and acts as a support and mentor for her scholars.

Regina has been an integral part of ThinkImpact in Kenya for many years. She used to be a school teacher and is actively involved in a women’s group in the community where she lives. She is an active member of the ThinkImpact Community Committee, which helps us identify homestays, community partners, and translators. She is also a loving homestay parent and has even been part of a ThinkImpact design team. She works tirelessly every day to take care of her family and has a great sense of humor. To keep people entertained, she LOVES to tell stories using different voices; her laugh is infectious that you can’t help but to join in.

Meet Tlangelani, Karabo, and Wisdom, three adorable and rambunctious kids from South Africa. Tlangelani is your hosts sister and you are not entirely sure where the other kids live but they are always around and full of energy. They love piggy back rides and always looking at what you have in your hands. Even though you don't speak the same language you find you can communicate easily with them. They chatter at you in their local language and you learn bits and pieces throughout the summer. Kids can be some of the best teachers!

Meet Walter from Nkomanga, Rwanda. Walter is a ThinkImpact translator. He is a scholar’s guide, friend and communication bridge between students and community members. As scholars explore the community, they often spend more time with translators than anyone else. He is a recent high school graduate and currently unemployed. He lives at home with his mother, sister and three year old son Obama. He is an active member of the community as president of the local youth club and often joins the choir on Sundays. While he has not found steady work, Walter’s passion for electronics has earned him a reputation as an electrician. When you visit his house, he will proudly show you his battery run surround sound radio system. Walter’s enthusiasm and desire to help his community is contagious. This past summer in Rwanda each scholar benefited from his passion. His commitment to Rwandan hospitality and dedication to the Institute resulted in four successful product innovations. After the institute he joined a scholar project working on basic electricity.

Brent Davidson was a scholar on the Institute in South Africa. He is an adventurous mountain biker with an enthusiasm for design thinking. He tackles every challenge with a steady energy that was contagious in his Design Team in South Africa. Brent is always traversing new terrain and making plenty of friends along the way. He is recent graduate from the University of Missouri who is off to do great things in Washington DC!

Kal Bhakri is originally from Nepal and graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University with degrees in Political Science and Sociology. He joined ThinkImpact for the 2011 Institute in Kenya while he was still a student and returned to intern with ThinkImpact HQ in the summer of 2012. In order to be a scholar he managed to raise the entire tuition, which is a great example of his tenacity and far reaching friendships. He was a great addition to the team in Kenya and worked hard with his community design team members to prototype their greenhouse innovation (pictured below).

Stacy Klingbeil started off working for ThinkImpact HQ and then went to be a scholar on the Institute in Rwanda. She graduated from Miami University of Ohio and after completing the Institute went to start graduate school at Northwestern. Stacy and her design team prototyped ways to increase milk production in the communities.