US Team
“Ripple Effect’s work is truly done in partnership with those that we serve in Africa. Seeing their work first-hand in Kenya helped me to see how passionate and caring our field staff are about walking alongside farmers, increasing their knowledge, their crop yields, their income and their ability to thrive in rural Africa. It truly is life-sustaining work that is making an incredible difference in the world, and I am so honored to support it.”
Robyn Davis Sekula
Chair
Staff
Steven Kleiber
Steven Kleiber serves as Vice President of Development and U.S. Lead for Ripple Effect US, where he leads fundraising and donor engagement efforts to expand the organization’s work with farming families across Africa. He is passionate about building meaningful partnerships that empower communities to create lasting change through sustainable agriculture, climate resilience, and economic opportunity. Steve works closely with individual donors, foundations, corporations, and partners to connect their generosity with Ripple Effect’s mission and impact. With more than 25 years of nonprofit leadership and fundraising experience, he brings a collaborative approach, deep expertise in philanthropy, and a genuine commitment to helping supporters make a difference in the lives of others.
Email: steven.kleiber@rippleeffectus.orgÂ
Board of Directors
Robyn Davis Sekula
In her working life, Robyn Davis Sekula is Vice President of Communications and Marketing for the Presbyterian Foundation in the Louisville, KY area. She oversees strategic communications from the Foundation to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s two million members. She has worked as a communications and marketing consultant for non-profit organizations and businesses and also as a journalist and writer.
She joined the US Board of Trustees in 2015, visiting farmers in western Kenya in 2017 and Rwanda in 2019.
Freddy Bob-Jones
Freddy Bob-Jones is the managing director of Aceli Africa, where he leads the organization’s work across Africa, building partnerships to increase private-sector lending and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in East/Southern Africa. Before joining Aceli Africa, Freddy served as the Head of Operations at SEMA Reproductive Health, where he played a key role in establishing the multi-million dollar initiative funded by the Gates Foundation, CIFF, and the French Government to shape sexual and reproductive health markets in Africa.
Amal Murgian
Amal Murgian was born in Kenya and educated in the UK and the US. After a career in management consulting and finance, Amal has shifted her focus to improving the lives of women and girls is East Africa.
Her primary interests are improving the livelihoods of disadvantaged women through improving access to justice, healthcare and economic opportunities, specifically in agribusiness.
Andre Nsengiyumva
Andre has more than 15 years of experience in international development with NGOs, working both in humanitarian response and in the development sectors. Andre is not new to the Ripple Effect family, having been the Country Director in Rwanda and Burundi before joining his family in Canada. Currently, he is completing a Career Bridging course on Leadership and Management program at Collège Boréal, Canada.
Paul Stuart
Paul qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young before spending over 20 years in international business. During this time he developed partnerships in a number of different countries whilst leading an international publisher. He lived and volunteered with an international NGO in Mozambique for a year and joined Ripple Effect in 2013. Paul is also a Trustee of Development Initiatives.
Jeanine Thorpe
After more than 25 years in the software industry with roles in both marketing and customer success, Jeanine currently focuses on supporting her local community with particular emphasis on advancing women and ensuring food security. She serves on the board of directors of Mercy High School Burlingame, an all girls school, and volunteers weekly with both the San Francisco Marin Food Bank and Dress for Success San Francisco.
Elzadia Washington
Elzadia Washington is a retired Senior Foreign Service Officer who served for more than thirty years with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
She has hands-on experience and knowledge of sustainable development. Ms. Washington is currently the owner and operator of the Vera Heritage Farm, LLC producing naturally-grown vegetables in rural Arkansas.
Christie Leighton
Christie Leighton serves as Ripple Effect US’s treasurer. She has worked extensively as a Certified Public Accountant. She began her career with Deloitte as an external auditor and has worked in various finance and audit roles for large publicly-held companies. Beyond her corporate responsibilities, Christie has had the honor of serving as the Treasurer for two nonprofit organizations and enjoys volunteering in other capacities as well, including as a special project accounting consulting for AfID (Accounting for International Development), which is how she came to be acquainted with Ripple Effect. In her personal life, Christie enjoys exploring the world through travel, hiking, and scuba diving. Christie lives in Italy with her daughter and spouse. She is eager to contribute her skills and passion to Ripple Effect’s goals.
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