Kevin Salwen
Philanthropist and Author
During 18 years at the Wall Street Journal, Kevin wrote two columns, helped cover two presidential administrations and launched two publications. In his last job at the paper, he was National Small Business Editor and a weekly expert guest on CNBC. After leaving the WSJ in 2000, Kevin created several media ventures. He is now the expert on small-business issues for Yahoo! Kevin, his wife, Joan, and their two teenagers are investing money, time and talent with The Hunger Project to help build opportunity for villagers in Africa. Their audacious family project has been featured on the Today Show. Kevin’s book about that project, co-authored by his daughter, Hannah, a junior at the Atlanta Girls’ School, is entitled The Power of Half, and will be published by Houghton-Mifflin in February 2010. The book teaches families how to improve the quality of their relationships through a common purpose to serve others. A graduate of Northwestern University, Kevin serves on the board of Habitat for Humanity in Atlanta, the East Africa Children’s Education Fund and the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Olympic University.
Debbe Gregory-Sugrue
Vice President Banker- J.P. Morgan
Debbe Gregory-Sugrue is a Vice President with J.P. Morgan, a leading global financial services firm. Debbe formerly served as a Director and Owner of Hendon & Sugrue, an executive search and consulting firm based out of Atlanta, and brings twenty years of legal and financial services expertise to EACEF. Previously, Debbe has occupied senior level roles with financial companies such as Neuberger Berman and SunTrust Banks. Previously practicing law, Debbe holds an undergraduate degree from the Honors College at Western Michigan University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Toledo College of Law.
Leitzel Schoen
Service Learning Coordinator, Glenn Institute for Philanthropy and Service Learning
As the Service Learning Coordinator at the Glenn Institute for Philanthropy and Service Learning at the Westminster Schools, Leitzel brings a host of knowedge and expertise to EACEF in the realm of youth social action and engagement. Leitzel was a founding participant in the Mount Kenya Academy Exchange, where she witnessed firsthand the harsh realities of public education in rural areas of East Africa.
M. Ann Cox
Senior Director-Business Development, BNY Mellon Wealth Management
Ann serves as a Senior Director of Business Development at BNY Mellon Wealth Management. She holds a J.D. and C.P.A.
Kimberly Hayez
Andrew Sugrue
Chairman of the Board
Andrew laid the groundwork for what is now EACEF as a high school exchange student in Kenya in the Spring of 2007. From that first experience at age 17, Andrew has lead the organization's expansion from building one library at a local primary school in Kenya to a multinational effort focused on holistically improving educational communities across Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. As a representative of EACEF, Andrew has attended conferences and events at venues such as the U.S. Department of State and the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford, England.
Andrew is currently a senior in the Robertson Scholars Program at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University. As an International Studies major, Andrew is writing a Senior Honors Thesis on political and economic integration among developing countries through the context of five East African nations. Andrew is being advised on the thesis by Professor Bereket H. Selassie, the former Attorney General of Ethiopia and leading African law and government scholar.
In the summer of 2010, Andrew worked for Investcorp, the global private equity firm, in their Gulf Growth Capital unit based in Manama, Bahrain. Andrew is spending the summer of 2011 working for Barclays Capital in their Global Mergers and Acquisitions group in New York City. In addition, Andrew serves on the Board of Directors of the GenerAction Foundation, Inc.
Alexis Mitchell
Yale University
As an original staff member of EACEF, Alexis led the Engage! initiative as Vice President of Community Relations. She currently studies Political Science and International Studies at Yale University. Among her many interests, she focuses on social justice as Co-coordinator and treasurer for the Social Justice Network, and writes for Five Magazine, which highlights human rights abuses. Alexis also co-founded the Human Rights Club at the Westminster Schools and has volunteered extensively in the Atlanta community.
Swinton Griffith
Director of the Bisate Project
Swinton is currently a freshman at the University of Alabama and leads the Bisate Project, EACEF's first venture into Rwanda. A member of the EACEF-Westminster Staff since his sophomore year, he has worked in a variety of positions in development and project management. In October of 2008, Swinton traveled to East Africa where he first found the Bisate School. Upon returning home, he developed the plan for what is now the Bisate Project as a way to benefit the Bisate community in Rwanda. At Westminster, Swinton was a Peer Leader, an All State and All American swimmer, and a member of the 2008 Georgia State Championship Golf team.
Maxine Litre
Stanford University
Maxine is currently a sophomore at Stanford University, and has worked with EACEF since her junior year of high school at Westminster. She previously served as Director of Development and was one of four core team members to participate in the 2009 EACEF trip to Kenya.
Carolyn Candler
Auburn University
Carolyn is a freshman at Auburn University and has worked with EACEF since her sophomore year of high school. As a sophomore, she assisted with EACEF's annual benefit concert, the Tumaini Music. In her junior year, she took on the role of Director of Events. In her previous role of Executive Director, she sought to better serve EACEF's schools in East Africa while seeking to constantly improve the effectiveness of the Westminster Chapter. At Westminster, Carolyn was a varsity football cheerleader and managed the baseball team in the spring. She is an active member of Young Life and served as a Wyld Life leader to junior high students, as well as a Junior High Fellowship Leader. In the summer of 2009, Carolyn travelled to Tanzania with Young Life where she witnessed the harsh realities of education for children in East Africa.
Weston Newman
Millsaps College
Weston jumps into his freshman year at Millsaps College excited to continue his passion for community service. Weston has enjoyed working with the Boys and Girls Club and was an active member of the Westminster Community Service Club. Service learning has been an important part of Weston’s life both domestically and internationally. Locally, Weston works with The Atlanta Day Shelter For Women and Children, Children’s Restoration Network, and Community Action center. He has been a member of the Boy Scouts of America for six years holding the rank of, Life with a goal of starting his Eagle Project this year. Weston has served in a Chinese and Romanian orphanage, remote villages on the Amazon River in Iquitos Peru, and a Costa Rican fair trade co-op and village. Five service trips to Nicaragua in seven years have allowed Weston to be a part of short and long-term change for Nicaraguans living in garbage bumps. Working alongside locals, in a match labor format, digging wells, irrigation ditches and latrines, as well as building homes, clinics, schools and libraries allowed Weston to witness and be a small part of rebuilding a community in a new sanitary location away from the bump. Weston is honored to be a part of the dynamic EACEF team and looks forward to collaborating with other students and donors to make a difference in the lives of children in Kenya.