Our Team - USA

The Koins Board of Directors oversees all of the Koins for Kenya Projects. Our mission is to strive to assist developing communities in eliminating dependency by providing long-term solutions for everyday problems through programs that are self-sustaining and use education as their foundation.

All board members are volunteers, contributing their time, expertise, resources and ideas to the building and advancement of rural communities in Kenya.

The Board of Directors is comprised of:

Bret Van Leeuwen 
Chairman of the Board

Bret Van Leeuwen has traveled to Kenya 17 times since 2001, with the desire to assist the rural villages of the Kwale district, the southeast coastal region of Kenya. Bret has been able to use his business acumen as well as his persuasive personality in accomplishing many things, among them establishing a good working relationship with Kenyan political figures and building trust with villagers. The working model he has established within the Koins villages, requiring them to provide at least 10% of all necessary project funds up front, and to provide all of the unskilled labor required to accomplish a project has a two-fold outcome. This method gives true ownership to the local villages, with immeasurable gratification knowing their efforts created the opportunity. And it has built a trust between the local villagers and Koins, as they see the rewards of new school buildings, water cisterns and other completed projects. Bret lives in Alpine, Utah. He is the owner of Stratus Insurance Services.

Ingrid Van Leeuwen 
Administrative Assistant

Ingrid accompanied Bret on his first trip to Kenya in 2001. Initially naive to the issues faced by so many Kenyans, both had a desire for their children to experience Kenya and help the people there. Bret returned the following year with our oldest daughter, and continued returning, each trip building on the concept of a family foundation that would focus on the needs of the people of Kenya. With the establishment of Koins for Kenya as an official 501(c)3 in August of 2006, Ingrid stepped up to meet the requirements of a growing organization, doing a little of anything and everything that needed to be done to keep things in order. Ingrid is the mother of 3, the grandmother of 3, and resides in Alpine, Utah.

Mike Workman 
Head of Construction

Mike Workman became involved with humanitarian work in Kenya when he sent his wife and daughter on their first expedition in 2002. Since then he has traveled to Kenya several times and has been instrumental in helping to build and develop several classrooms and libraries and continues to lend his expertise to the ongoing desk project in Kenya. He lives in Utah and runs his own construction company - Pineview Builders.

Cindy Workman Education Specialist

Cindy Workman is a 6th grade school teacher in Utah. She became interested in humanitarian work in Kenya in 2002 when she and her daughter participated in their first expedition. Since that time she has returned to the village of Mnyenzeni several times with the sole purpose of improving lives through better education. She involves her classroom students in Utah in a project each year and as a result has been able to help facilitate the building of classrooms, sponsoring of scholarship students, and providing text books.

Steve Littlefield
 Treasurer

Steve Littlefield became involved with Koins For Kenya in 2004. A life long desire to work with the African people came to fruition through his introduction to the Koins organization. As Treasurer, he handles financial responsibilities for both the Koins USA organization and works closely with the Koins Board in Africa on financial matters. Steve is a software executive whose company provides systems for the lumber and buiilding materials industry. He divides his time between Seattle, Washington and Park City, Utah.

Nancy Littlefield
 Scholarship Coordinator



Nancy Littlefield became involved with Koins for Kenya in 2004. Her love of education, and particularly teenagers led to her area of work with the scholarship program in Mnyenzeni. As Scholarship Coordinator, Nancy tracks students who have been chosen to receive scholarship assistance at the secondary school, coordinates student/sponsor information, and raises funds to allow the scholarship program to succeed. Nancy, a homemaker and mother of three daughters and nine grandchildren, divides her time between Park City, Utah and Seattle, Washington.

Kristin Brown
 Executive Director

Kristin Brown received her Masters of Public Health from Brigham Young University (BYU). Kristin has conducted health research in Kenya and Uganda and has a strong interest in women's health. She served as the Koins Health Administrator prior to taking on the role of Executive Director. Kristin and her husband are the parents of two children and live in Orem, UT

Jami Quesenberry--Expeditions

Jami was raised in San Diego, California.  She served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Buenos Aires Argentina.  She graduated from Brigham Young University in 1986 in Civil Engineering.

She has been married to Stephen Quesenberry since 1985.  They have lived in Kansas, Washington, and now reside in Salem, Utah.  Jami is the mother of 8 children and 1 grandchild.  Jami says she has traveled extensively through the world but no place has affected her as much as little Mnyenzeni, Kenya.

Our Team - Kenya

The Kenyan board meets at least quarterly and is comprised of four male headmasters at local schools, the local head chief, and one of the local women in the community. The Kenyan board assesses the community needs and proposes projects for the year to be approved by the US board. The Kenyan board works with the community in implementing the projects approved and is responsible for the management of funds. The community is expected to raise 10% of the funds for projects as well as provide all unskilled labor. This ensures ownership and sustainability of the projects initiated.

Anthony Yama Managing Director

 

George Kihoro Education

 

Samuel Tuku Community Development

 

William Mwenge Construction