Jackie spent the 1990’s in Ghana and Kenya where she worked with the US Agency for International Development and the US Ambassador’s Self-Help Project in Kenya. Through her work World Oregon (formerly The World Affairs Council of Oregon) Jackie met Grace, and in 2001 Harambee was launched!
Jackie passed away on December 24, 2025 while surrounded by her family.
A native Kenyan, Grace Kuto is a retiree of Oregon Health and Sciences University (OHSU) after close to 30 years of service. She is the co-founder and president of Harambee Centre.
Grace is a Rotarian, philanthropic author, speaker, renowned chef, passionate educator, and always a Girl Guide (Girl Scout). Grace has touched the lives of thousands of students, teachers, families, corporations, social organizations, and faith-based communities throughout the Pacific Northwest of the U.S.A. and beyond through her renowned, classroom tested, “Africa is Not a Country” curriculum in partnership with the K-12 Global Education Program of World Oregon (formerly World Affairs Council of Oregon) since 1979. She has served as Adjunct Faculty at George Fox University and Lewis and Clark College. Grace has led numerous cultural exchange trips and events across the two continents that have transformed many lives through educational, healthcare, and micro-enterprise outreach.
Grace has served on numerous local, regional, and national boards including American Friends Service Committee, Right Sharing of World Resources, and World Oregon. A consistent and recognized voice in the Pacific Northwest region on African development issues (especially women and children), Grace has also co-hosted the Africa Roundtable edition of the “Africa on Fire!” News broadcast with KBOO Radio.
Though Grace and her husband Paul have lived in Portland for more than 40 years, together with their two daughters, they consistently remain devoted to the call of their villages in their homeland through community development and cultural exchange opportunities. They regularly take volunteers to Kenya for healthcare, education and small businesses projects for women and children, and their families. They have worked tirelessly for over 40 years to educate, connect, give back, and enrich their African and American communities.
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Kellie is passionate about encouraging people to embrace opportunities to strengthen local and international communities & cross-cultural understanding through personal and professional relationships. She currently manages educational homestay programs at ANDEO International Homestays. Kellie is proud to help facilitate Harambee's mission to support Oregon-African communities locally and internationally.
Cameron is passionate about transitional justice, conflict resolution, and intercultural exchange. She graduated in 2020 from the University of Arizona with Honors and a degree in International Relations, minor in Cultural Anthropology, and emphasis in American Indian Studies. Cameron also studied International Organizations at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, in 2019 and partnered with The United Nations, The Red Cross, The European Union, and The Swiss Parliament. Cameron has worked extensively with St. Andrew’s secondary school in Kalisizo, Uganda, Southridge High School, and the greater Portland community to conduct cultural exchanges and fundraise thousands of dollars for developmental projects in Matale, Uganda. Cameron has continued to conduct cultural exchanges while facilitating government- to- government relations as a professional Cultural Ethnographer and Research Anthropologist at the University of Arizona on behalf of American Indians. Cameron is also a published author, public speaker, educator, photographer, mixed media artist, and travel enthusiast.
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David has been a board member since 2017. He is currently a Physics / Engineering teacher at Southridge High School in Beaverton, OR. His main focus is facilitating with the Sister School Program to provide educational and cultural experiences for students at both Southridge High School and St. Andrews Secondary School in Matale, Uganda.
Crystal is a graduate of Oregon State University, and currently works as a systems administrator. She is passionate about bringing people together. Crystal is proud to bring her administrative skills to Harambee Centre’s mission to continue to support Pacific Northwest and Eastern African communities.
Adrienne Gassaway is a student at Grinnell College, interested in mathematics and medicine. She became involved with Harambee Centre through the Sister School Program, serving as the president of St. Andrew’s Sister School Club at Southridge High School for two years. In 2024, she traveled to Kenya and Uganda with Harambee Centre to bring projectors, books, and other supplies to St. Andrew’s Secondary School in Matale, Uganda. Adrienne is thrilled to have the opportunity to serve as a member of the board and to stay involved with the wonderful work of Harambee Centre.
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Kelly is passionate about technology education and has taught programming to kids around the world. With her background in software engineering and education, Kelly is excited to join the board of Harambee Center to further the connection with sister schools in the Pacific Northwest and Africa.
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Emily is a University of Washington student majoring in International Studies with a concentration in African Studies. She has a strong passion for learning about other cultures, human rights, and the interconnectedness of the world. Her connection with Harambee Center started through the Sister School Program where she hosted a student from Chwele Girls High School and went on to help lead the Mountainside High School Kenya Club in learning more about Kenyan culture, connecting with students in Chwele, and fundraising for projects in Kenya. She is excited to learn a lot as well as bring her knowledge to support the important mission that Harambee Center serves.
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Jennifer is an educator and community advocate with significant experience in school leadership, youth development, and educational partnerships. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, where her research focuses on empowering young people and strengthening community-based support systems. Previously, Jennifer served as Deputy Principal of St. Andrews Matale Secondary School in Uganda, a partner institution of the Harambee Center. In this role, she led academic programming, supported student development, and helped facilitate the sister school partnership with Southridge High School.
She also maintains a professional affiliation with the International Center for Child Health and Development (ICHAD) and is committed to expanding educational opportunities for youth. She brings leadership, cross-cultural insight, and a deep passion for community empowerment to the Harambee Center Board.
Robert Kasumba is a doctoral student at Washington University in St. Louis pursuing his Ph.D. in Data and Computational Sciences. Robert holds a Masters degree in Computer Science from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor's degree in Software Engineering from Makerere University, Uganda.
He attended St. Andrew’s Secondary School Matale in Uganda and was part of the first cultural exchange group from the school that visited Southridge High school, Oregon. He is interested in using his success story and platform to inspire other young people to achieve their potential. In his own words “I am happy to serve on the board because Harambee has had a direct impact on my life and I am honored to contribute to this amazing work giving many underprivileged young people opportunities to succeed in life”.
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Sarah Oyungu is a transformational marketing leader and digital strategist with a wealth of experience working with diverse teams from all around the world. Working across a range of industries she applies her expertise to generate revenue, create stakeholder engagement, lead collaborative teams across functions, and design customer journeys and experiences that foster conversion and loyalty. Sarah is passionate about empowering women, and invests her resources in supporting vulnerable communities.
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Amber Burkhart has had a strong personal tie to the Harambee Centre for many years. In 2011, she spent a summer in Chwele, Kenya volunteering at the health clinic and conducting research for her undergraduate program. This transformative experience kick started Amber’s passion for improving health care systems both in the U.S. and abroad.
Amber has over eight years of health care policy experience, and she currently works at a policy-oriented philanthropy dedicated to maximizing opportunity and minimizing injustice. Amber holds a double executive master's in health care policy from the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in international political economy and minor in global health from Colorado College.
Amber lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband. In their free time, you can find them mountain biking, backpacking, scuba diving or exploring the outdoors with their dog.
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Christine McCulloch, MBA, has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Business Administration. Her work experience covers healthcare, hotel and restaurant industries and helps mentor small business owners and entrepreneurs in growing their businesses. She serves on other boards in the Lake Oswego community and is the Co-Owner of Counseling Services of Portland.
Jennifer has been teaching middle- and high-school English language arts for 14 years. She currently teaches at Mountainside High School in the Beaverton school district. From 2009 to 2019, Jennifer and her husband lived overseas, teaching middle- and high-school English in international schools. Five of those years were spent in west Africa, in Cameroon and Ghana. Prior to her entering teaching, Jennifer worked in public health as a researcher and project manager in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at The University of Arizona. Her work there focused on collaborating with communities to design and implement grant-funded community-based projects that promoted awareness and prevention of chronic disease in residents along the U.S.-Mexico border, and in American Indian communities. Her experiences have led her to a greater understanding of how successful collaboration is achieved through the development of positive working relationships with community members. She is excited to be a part of Harambee’s exchanges and projects in East African communities because of her passion for and belief in education, awareness, and intercultural collaboration.
Jill is the Associate Director of International Student Life at Portland State University and has worked directly with international students for over 20 years. With a masters degree in Conflict Resolution, focusing on intercultural and international conflict, and extensive training in Intercultural Communication and Personal Leadership, Jill has been able to pursue her passion to facilitate workshops and trainings as a NAFSA trainer corps member across the country as well as in the Northwest region and on the PSU campus. She is an Oregonian and a Quaker who loves visiting with friends at home and abroad, exploring quiet trails, creating music, sharing a meal, and spending time with her two daughters. Her ongoing professional goal is to serve as an advocate for international students’ concerns and needs, as well as create a space for people from diverse backgrounds and ideologies to share and connect at a deeper level. Jill is very excited to join the Harambee board to support the many vital and exciting Harambee projects in East Africa.
Jeremiah has been a social studies teacher in the Beaverton School District since 2004. He spent over a decade at Southridge High School, where he worked with many wonderful students and teachers to build a sister school program with St. Andrew’s secondary school in Kalisizo, Uganda. During that time, he organized many cultural exchanges, raised tens of thousands of dollars for development projects, and helped to unite the communities of Beaverton, Oregon and Matale, Uganda. He now teaches at Mountainside High School, where he leads the Kenya Sister School club. "I am proud to be a member of the Harambee Board, where I work with a great group of people who are building bridges between cultures."
Jodie was drawn to Harambee Centre because of the organizations particular focus on the education and development of children and women. Having previously been a student at a school with a sister school initiative in Ghana, ensuring that all children worldwide have equal access to education is a cause that is very close to her heart. She served on the board for 5 years and continues to serve as advisory council.
Julius lives in Seattle. He is a senior project engineer for a general contractor. Julius has known Harambee Centre since the early 2000’s, with both his dad and sister having previously served on the board representing Uganda. The Matale community, where Harambee has focused its Ugandan operations, is where his family is from. He received his bachelors in Civil Engineering from the University of Portland and served as President of the Student Body. Julius enjoys running and reading auto-biographies in his free time. He is a builder at heart.
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Kerry is an educator in Oregon with over 15 years’ experience teaching reading interventions to elementary students learning to read in Spanish. Kerry led a team of educators to create a Spanish phonics program called El camino al éxito, that is sold through Pacific Learning. She currently trains instructors at schools that purchase the program.
A native of Uganda, Thomas Lwebuga has called Oregon home for 30 years. Thomas works for Nike and his volunteers work has been supported by Nike and his colleagues for more than 20 years. Thomas came to Oregon to attend the University of Oregon through a chance encounter with a former Peace Corps. Thomas is involved in work that touches youth here in Oregon and in his ancestral home in rural Rakai district in Southern Uganda.
“Do the Right Thing” is one of the Nike’s Maxims. It encourages each Nike team member to make a unique contribution to the quality of life for others and to our world. Thomas is guided by this Maxim and helped by his colleagues to volunteer and give back. Thomas has served on boards of several non-profits including the Harambee Centre, Children of Uganda, and the University of Oregon Alumni Association. Thomas says that his work with the Harambee Centre and ZoomUganda has allowed him to give back to the two communities that mean the most to him in Uganda here in Oregon.
Zsuzsa is a veteran teacher, having taught ESL, EFL and Russian in her native Hungary and in the US. She taught ESL for Portland Public Schools for over two decades, and for the past six years she has been supporting ESL teachers and students in her role as a Teacher on Special Assignment at PPS. She is a strong advocate for ESL students, their families, and their communities; and promotes cross-cultural understanding and intercultural communication. She believes that bringing people from diverse backgrounds together, dialoguing and constructing common understandings is the most important step towards peace, both on a local and global scale. She is honored to serve on Harambee Centre’s Board and is committed to advancing its projects and goals.