Directors
Victor Mayeya Odwori
Victor is a management professional with conscientious and strategic knack for detail. He is motivated by over 20 years of broad experience in administration, supervision, management, production and creativity in the advertising industry.
He is a seasoned Marketing and Public Relations expert with relevant hands-on experience. He is Founder and Executive Director of Cypace Marketing, a U.S minority-owned consultancy firm with representation in Nairobi, Kenya. He founded Cypace in 2005 and launched it in the United States in 2013. Cypace focuses its efforts on startup and established businesses owned by Africans. It functions as a Federal contractor with among others, the Smithsonian Institution’s African Arts Museum to deliver initiatives that generate awareness among Americans about African culture.
In addition, Victor has handled operational management roles in Kenya with Take Two Communications, Forward Vision Communications and Face to Face Limited. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of Infinite Quest Marketing, a communication consulting firm and Kisima Music Awards, an awards ceremony recognizing the achievement of the East African Community in the entertainment field.
Victor has engaged with various initiatives and worked with organizations, such as Kenya Connect, a U.S non-profit dedicated to education of rural kids in Kenya with projects in Wamunyu, Kenya and Learn for Life Kenya, a U.S. non-profit empowering youth with vocational and technical skills currently fundraising to build a modern vocational center in Nyeri, Kenya. Victor heads Afti-pace, a non-profit subsidiary of Cypace Marketing LLC. Afti-pace, or African-led Technical Initiatives at our Pace, that promotes international cooperation and fosters actions among Africans throughout the diaspora to guide change.
He is passionately dedicated to the advancement of Kenya through engagement in corporate patriotism initiatives with the Kenyan Embassy located in Washington DC through a branding and public relation advisory role, supporting activities and initiatives as well as holding a seat on the Jamhuri Day (Kenya Independence Day) Celebration Events Committee.
Victor’s academic background includes the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry College Diploma in Marketing, Advertising, Public Relations, Selling and Sales Management. He has various certifications for Information Technology, Import and Export Trade and is currently pursuing an MBA in Leadership and Sustainability with the University of Cumbria (Robert Kennedy College) in Zurich, Switzerland.
Carolyn Musyimi-Kamau
Carolyn brings years of experience in the fields of Community Development and International Relations. She currently works as the Executive Director of New American Africans, an organization that strengthens and sustains former refugees of African descent by gathering for mutual support and education. The organization also works to ensure that the youth prosper through building strong relationships with the host community; creating new pathways for African workers to move into living wage employment; promoting leadership development and community engagement among Africans in the greater Concord, New Hampshire community.
Carolyn earned her undergraduate degree from Daystar University in Community Development and Communications. After graduating, she worked for World Vision International, in Makueni, Kenya, overseeing construction of projects, microfinance groups and volunteers. She gained additional experience, working with youth with HIV, their families and churches to mitigate spread of the disease in Nairobi through the Baptist Aids Response Agency.
She moved to the Boston area to further her studies at Brandeis University where she earned a Master’s degree in Sustainable International Development. Upon completion, she joined the Consortium for Law and Development at Boston University School of Law. She has done a lot of community organizing, fundraising for the Kenyan Diaspora, and organizing events that bring the community together. She joined the Kenya UN Mission in New York, serving on the Economic and Financial Committee of the United Nations that worked on the post 2015 development agenda, a process led by the UN that aims to help define the future global development framework that succeeded the Millennium Development Goals.
Carolyn also founded her own organization Upendo Women Alliance which brings Kenyan women in the USA together for investment purposes. Through this organization that consists of 15 committed ladies, they have invested over Kshs. 8 Million at the UAP Old Mutual Bank in Kenya and have also been able to visit Israel through their savings and interest made from their investment.
Carolyn is excited to share her wealth of experience with the FOKCDF-US as a Board Member.
Irene G. Mugambi
Irene G. Mugambi has practised law for over 20 years now. She served at the Dallas County District Attorney Office as an Assistant District Attorney from 1995-1996, where she negotiated plea agreements with defence attorneys for individuals charged with offenses. She established a strong track record in criminal law, during her time of service as a public servant. In 1997, she went on to establish the Law Office of Irene Mugambi P.C., where she has been working (to date) as a Shareholder Attorney. She has extensive experience in Family Law and Immigration Law and has thus been involved in conducting investigation and mediation on various matters. She is a member of professional association with State Bar of Texas, American Bar Association, American Lawyers Association and JL Turner Association. She is also a member of various boards and committees. Irene is a dual citizen of Kenya and the US, and travels extensively across several continents. She enjoys pro-bono work and is recognized by several organizations for services given to local communities. She brings to FOKCDF-US, a wealth of networks with local city officials and congressional representatives in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Amanda Yagan
Amanda Yagan is a compassionate and
community-focused professional currently
pursuing a Doctor of Audiology (AuD) at the
University of Pittsburgh. She holds a Bachelor
of Arts in Speech, Language, and Hearing
Sciences from the University of Connecticut,
and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the
University of Nairobi.
She has been actively involved in various
professional organizations throughout her
academic journey, including the National
Student Academy of Audiology and the
National Student Speech Language Hearing
Association.
Amanda’s commitment to community service
is evident through her extensive volunteer
work. She has also volunteered at UConn
NSSLHA and the Mission of Mercy in
Pittsburgh serving patients in need of dental, vision and hearing care.
In addition to her volunteer efforts, Amanda has held significant
leadership roles that reflect her dedication to community philanthropy. As the Vice President
of Projects for AIESEC Kenya, she led educational initiatives and organized art therapy
sessions for children with cancer, demonstrating her commitment to making a positive impact
on the lives of others.
She also served on the High School Outreach Subcommittee of the Northeast Alliance for
Speech, Language, and Hearing, where she worked to inspire and educate the next
generation of audiologists and speech-language pathologists.
Currently, Amanda is a graduate research assistant in a Translational Auditory Neuroscience
Lab at the University of Pittsburgh.
Chania Lackey
Chania Lackey, brings over 13 years of experience
in program management, design, monitoring,
implementation, and evaluation of technical
assistance programs aimed at strengthening
counter-financing of terrorism (CFT) regimes. She
specializes in countries at high risk for terrorism
financing across Africa and currently leads
initiatives at the Global Center on Cooperative
Security.
Before joining Global Center, Chania gained a
wealth of experience in both the private and public
sectors, including leading the implementation of
regulatory and compliance programs within
financial and technology firms across Latin America,
Southeast Asia, and Africa.
She has also worked as a lawyer at law firms in
New York (USA) and Nairobi (Kenya) and at the
Republic of Kenya’s Attorney General’s Office.
Chania holds an AML/CFT accreditation from the
Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists and earned an LL.M. in Commercial Law,
specializing in International Financial Law, Regulation, and Policy, as well as an LL.B. (Honors) from The University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Fred Cooper – Advisory
Fred Cooper is Senior Vice President, Finance, International Development and Investor Relations of Toll Brothers, Inc. (Tollbrothers.com) (NYSE: TOL), a Fortune 500 company, and one of the largest home builders and land developers in the U.S. The company began business in 1967 and went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 1986. In 2019, Fortune Magazine named Toll Brothers the World’s Most Admired Home Building Company, the fifth year in a row. Fred has been with Toll Brothers since 1993.
From 1989 to 1993, Fred was Director of Corporate Finance and Planning at DKM Properties Corp, the real estate arm of the Dyson-Kissner-Moran Corporation, one of the nation’s largest private companies. From 1984 to 1989, he was Senior Vice President and a member of the Executive Committee of the Financial Services Corporation, New York City’s Economic Development Bank. From 1980 to 1983, he worked in community-based affordable housing and economic development in the South Bronx and Brooklyn, New York.
He holds an A.B. from Brown University and a Master of Public Policy in Finance and International Development from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.
Fred is a founding Board member of the Friends of KCDF and an advisor to Real International, which provides capital and technical assistance to affordable housing developers in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He is a volunteer consultant with the Stanford University SEED Program, where he works with African entrepreneurs in the real estate development sector. He co-developed and teaches in Wharton’s “Real Estate Development in Emerging Markets” course and has lectured on real estate finance and development since 2006 in Wharton’s International Housing Finance Program.
Fred also serves on the Harvard Alumni Real Estate Board and as an advisor to the Harvard Journal for Real Estate.