Green Creek Township, NC, July 07, 2023 - The AFRICAN CONNECTIONS Research and Education Fund, Inc. (ACREF) is pleased to announce the appointment of its 2023 - 2025 Board of Directors.
The following individuals have been welcomed to the board for a two year term:
Emily Achieng’ Akuno
Dr. Emily Achieng’ Akuno studied at Kenyatta University, Kenya; Northwestern State University of Louisiana, USA and Kingston University, UK. She is Past President and Treasurer of the International Music Council, a Paris-based UNESCO-affiliated umbrella organization.
She is a member of the International Society for Music Education (ISME), where she has served as Commissioner and Chair of Music in School and Teacher Education Commission (MISTEC), member of the Board of Directors, Interim Secretary General and President.
Through the ISME presidency, she served as chair of World Alliance for Arts Education (WAAE).
Emily has taught music performance and education at high school and university levels in Kenya (Kenyatta University, Maseno University and now at the Technical University of Kenya) and South Africa (the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban).
Melvin H. Cox, President
Melvin Cox, Lecturer, University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) and President, The AFRICAN CONNECTIONS Research and Educational Fund, Inc.
Since the Fall of 2014, Mr. Cox has been the principal instructor in the Focus on Africa program at UCSC’s Merrill College.
From the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Melvin has taught courses remotely - successfully incorporating digital technologies such as Canvas, Zoom, Yuja and Kahoot!. This has facilitated the active participation of students and faculty from The Co-operative University of Kenya in Focus on Africa courses.
A UCSC alum (Merrill College, Class of 1973), Mr. Cox has also taught in the Paralegal Studies program at the University of San Francisco and spent more than a decade as a Technical Support Engineer for a leading Silicon Valley technology firm.
He holds a certificate in UNIX System Management and Administration from the University of California, Santa Cruz Extension. In December, 2000 he was awarded a Diplome D’Honneur by l’Université Simon Kimbangu in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Anna Gray
Anna Gray is a graduate of The University of California, Santa Cruz and holds a degree in Global Economics – with a focus on Africa. Anna is passionate about creating opportunities for other students to visit, study in, and appreciate the continent.
Anna currently serves as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana, where she works with community partners to improve health practices through education and outreach.
Denis K. Muthoni, Vice President
Dr. Denis Muthoni is a senior lecturer of Supply Chain Management at the Co-operative University of Kenya (CUK).
He holds a PhD in Supply Chain Management from the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), a Master of Science in Procurement and Logistics from JKUAT and a Bachelor of Education; Arts in Economics and Business Studies from Kenyatta University.
Denis currently serves as Director of the Board of Postgraduate Studies at the Co-operative University of Kenya. Previously, he served for four years as CUK’s Director of Alumni, Career Services and International Students.
Stephen S. Robinson, Treasurer
Dr. Stephen Robinson received his MD from the School of Medicine at the University of Washington and his MPH from the School of Hygiene and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Harlem Hospital Center and later worked within the Sophie Davis School at the City College of New York to establish the CUNY Medical School.
During the five years he lived in Tanzania, he actively participated in the creation of an exchange program between the National Institute for Medical Research in Tanzania and the Public Health Sciences Institute at Morehouse College. He also worked with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health evaluating health facilities for their readiness to provide HIV/AIDS care and treatment under the auspices of The United States President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
He has been a board member of the Society for Cannabis Clinicians and currently serves as its President.
Kelvin "Sterling" Scott, Secretary
Sterling Scott is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz and holds a degree in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology. He currently works in Environmental Health, but is also passionate about the arts, particularly photography and film. His photographs are included in two self-published books.
Sterling understands the importance of global community and intersectionality and seeks to further promote the Focus On Africa program - so that others may gain from its impact.
The AFRICAN CONNECTIONS Research and Education Fund, Inc.
A nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, ACREF’s principal mission is to illuminate, to educate and to provide a balanced viewpoint that celebrates genuine achievement and service to humanity.
The AFRICAN CONNECTIONS Research and Education Fund (ACREF) seeks to train and nurture a new generation of internationally focused "virtual griots" - multimedia historians, journalists, writers, technicians and photographers.
Contact
The AFRICAN CONNECTIONS Research and Education Fund, Inc.
Melvin Cox, President
+1 510 326-3522
www.africanconnections.com
Dr. Denis Muthoni, Vice President
dkamau@cuk.ac.ke
