Ms. Ellie Van HouttePhotographer, Citizen Diplomat, Creative Communicator
www.ellievanhoutte.com www.ellievanhouttephoto.com
Ellie is a skilled photographer and creative communications professional who connects communities across the globe together through cultural diplomacy. Ellie’s experiences range from documenting gender inequality, education, and rural economic conditions in India & Bangladesh, to working with non-profit and advocacy organizations across the United States, and even serving as a citizen diplomat on climate change, women’s rights and international affairs.
Ellie began her career in the field of architecture, but quickly realized that empowering people with the materials they needed to build stronger communities was more important to her. She began her new journey by working in local politics in Washington, DC and grew into organizing, fundraising and management roles on Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential Campaign, several Congressional races, as well as a statewide healthcare reform campaign in Ohio, where she coordinated a team of 12 staff who contacted over 300,000 voters and mobilized 6,000 advocates in less than six months. In addition to acquiring skills in creating strong campaign strategies, building leadership capacity, and quickly growing networks, Ellie became familiar with the many faucets of advocacy work on a national level on the Government Relations Team at the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
More recently, Ellie has merged together her background interests to start her own photography business, focused on working with nonprofit organizations, NGOs and citizen groups to help them tell the stories of the work they are doing through photography. Her documentary work on an adaptive sports program by Dreams for Kids DC, a local organization dedicated to helping youth living in poverty and those with disabilities, was recently recognized as a finalist in the Worldwide Gala Awards Storyteller Contest. Continuously striving to find creative and innovate ways to use photography and arts to impact social change, Ellie recently completed a multimedia piece for an affordable housing organization and is planning a 2011-2012 photo documentary on the role that gender violence and personal attacks play on women candidates running for office in Kenya and the United States.
Mr. Jared Ondieki
Bio Coming Soon...
Mr. Denzel E. Musumba
www.tesosouth.com
www.eastafricaradiousa.com
I Kinya MururuKinya Mururu has a strong interest in gender and social development issues. She spends her time raising awareness about the challenges women face all over the world. Kinya serves on the board of Running Start - a nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring and encouraging young women to participate in public leadership.
Kinya has worked for Representative Donna Edwards as a Constituent Service Representative. Kinya helped constituents navigate U.S. federal agencies by acting as a facilitator and in some cases, an advocate on various issues. Before joining Representative Donna Edwards’s staff, Kinya served as a Research Analyst at Macro International Inc., a firm based in the Washington, DC area which focuses on research, management consulting and information technology.
Her work career began in community corrections as a Resident Supervisor at the Montgomery County Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Pre-Release and Reentry Services Division. Here she served as a correctional officer and counselor to inmates participating in the reentry program. Kinya joined the department as an intern during her last year of college. She holds a B.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from University of Maryland and a M.A. in Public Administration from Howard University.
Kinya is a member of the Youth without Boundaries a program under Communities without Boundaries International www.cwbi.org. She has also taken part in the Prevent Human Trafficking Institute summer program in Thailand, in 2008, served as community outreach chair of the WeLEAD Alumni association from 2006-2007, and participated in the WeLEAD: Public Leadership training program at American University in 2005.
Mr. Jimmy Onkangi
Candidate for Office
Jimmy Onkangi was born on January 13, 1977 at Kisii General Hospital, kisii. His father, The late Andrew Onkangi, was a hotelier based in mombasa . His mother, Elmelda, was a lifelong Businesswoman and both devoted parents.
Not long after Jimmy Onkangi was born, the family settled in Mombasa. Growing up there, his parents taught him the values of service and responsibility and the blessings of his Seveth Day Advantist faith, lessons Jimmy Onkangi carries with him to this day.
Because his father was a hotelier Service Officer in the Diani beach Resort, Jimmy Onkangi traveled a lot when he was young. On these trips, he learned firsthand what makes Kenya a leader in the Africa - our optimism and our democratic values. And he learned that nations across the Africa share many common goals and that the best way to achieve them is through building strong alliances side by side with Kenyan’s military might for a dream of united states of Africa.
As he was graduating from Mosocho Academy High School ( MOSAC), Jimmy Onkangi volunteered to help his parents with a family business, because, as he later said, "it was the right thing to do." He believed that "to whom much is given, much is required." And he felt he had an obligation to give something back to his parents. Later,in 1997 Jimmy Onkangi accepted a partial scholarship to further his a college education in the united states of America.
Jimmy Onkangi has never forgotten the lessons he learned as a young man – lessons that have been strengthened in his 12 years as student and community worker in the united states. He has learned that kenya needs the strongest military on the face of the earth– and that Kenya should lead other African countries to achieve our goals and the world's common goals.Upon completion of his college education Jimmy returned to Kenya to dedicate his life to public services.
In 2006, After extensive research and a report from his exploratory committee on the ground, Jimmy Onkangi unsuccessfully run for Kitutu Chache 2007 Parliamentary Seat.A seat which he intends to run again in the general election of 2012
In his life of public service, Jimmy Onkangi is sustained by his loving family. He is married to Kristin Onkangi , and they have a blended family that includes one daughter, two sons.
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content has been created by and is copyright of Ellie Van Houtte. 