Advisory Board & Officers

Aaron is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in California. As a behavioral and educational consultant for school districts and families, he assesses and implements interventions for children with ASD, ADHD, emotional disturbances and other developmental disabilities.
He has shared clinical experiences and partnered with educational professionals in countries such as Italy, Slovenia, Guatemala and Canada. The Friends of Yimbo mission matches Aaron's passion for international education and travel.

Bill is a professor of economics at the University of Pacific in Stockton, California. He has previous experience as a senior economist for the Federal Housing Finance Board in Washington, DC.
He has published work on Ugandan housing markets. He spent two years teaching and doing research at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, and has traveled to East Africa many times since 1994. He has spent time in Nairobi and Western Kenya, including time in Yimbo.

Cheryl met the Odipo family when she studied as an exchange student at University of Nairobi in 1990. Over the past two decades she has traveled multiple times to East Africa including a visit to Yimbo.
She lived in Kampala, Uganda for a year teaching at Makerere University and consulting with USAID. She has traveled to over 40 countries, both for fun and working as a study abroad coordinator for the School of International Studies at University of the Pacific.
She currently teaches in the departments of Counseling and Psychology at Cal State University Fullerton.

Judy met Ben Odipo in 1999 while they worked together at Los Rios Community College District in Sacramento. Ben shared his passion for his home in Kenya and his goal to start the Friends of Yimbo.

After sharing many of his photos and memories, she was anxious to support this endeavor. So far, Judy and her husband have traveled twice to Kenya with the Friends of Yimbo.

With over 20 years of experience, Judy has been a business development manager working with large financial institutions covering the western portion of the United States. Her responsibilities consist of the recruitment and training of local banks and credits unions on various mortgage solutions to deliver affordable products to future homeowners.

Recently, Judy began developing her entrepreneurial talents and has created a small business as a Photo Organizer. She primarily helps people preserve their analog/digital photo memories and develops personal digital montages. After years in the corporate world, she has learned that running a small business requires flexibility and patience, along with constant learning and adapting, in order to keep a business up and running.

http://fotopassion.zenfolio.com/

Judy loves to travel and when possible, she combines her travels with support of a humanitarian effort. In doing so, she gets the opportunity to share her business experiences with developing communities to help them improve their quality of life.

Judy has over 13 years of experience as an international trade negotiator. She has worked with entrepreneurs in microenterprise development in both developed and developing countries such as Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Malawi, India, Japan, Italy, UK and Switzerland as well as 178 member countries of the World Trade Organization.
She has worked on small business projects in rural communities funded by the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development, International Trade Organization, United Nations Industrial and Development Organization, USAID and WTO.
She currently works as a Business Consultant for Sacramento Valley Small Business Development Center.

Joyce is a mother of seven children. She was widowed in 1992 after the passing of her husband Joseph Odipo. From the early days of their marriage, the two had their doors opened to those in need in the village. Both Joseph and Joyce worked with the East African Railway Corporation and constantly moved within the three countries of Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
She retired in 1996 as a secretary and continues to work on FOY projects in the village of Muguna.

Kaye has over twenty years in public education and is a firm believer that each child should have the opportunity to learn.
In 2008 as the principal of Vejar Elementary in Walnut, California, she helped organize students in raising money for children in Ethiopia. She later followed with another effort to raise money for Muguna through "The Pennies for Yimbo" program.
She has taught English at Japanese schools during her American school summer breaks and has been involved with service for projects for internationally focused organizations. She is currently a retired K-12 school administrator spending valuable time with her family and supporting communities in need.

Larry is a retired college counselor and International Student Coordinator/Advisor at American River College, Sacramento, California. He served in the American Peace Corps in Bangalore, India (1965-70) working in agricultural extension.
He has continued his interest and knowledge in international education and development for over fifty years by way of travel, reading and organization participation.