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Biography: ABCDEF GHIJKL MNOPQR STUVWXYZ

A

Aaron "Ron" Allbright was a Peace Corps volunteer in Monghere, Valunia Chiefdom, from 1970-1972. He then taught English at Njala University College Secondary School (also as a PC volunteer) the school year of 1972-73. After Sierra Leone, he went to graduate school at Indiana University, Bloomington, where he took a master's in linguistics and Russian literature. He then taught at the Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for one semester. Next he moved to Paris, France and taught English and was a stage actor for four years. He returned to the US and taught at the University of California Irvine for five years and was a tenured professor at Saddleback College for 19 years. In 2004, he and his partner retired and moved to New Zealand where they now reside. [Jul. 2011]

Vicki Armstrong was a Peace Corps Volunteer (Community Development) in Mabonto from 1965 to 1967. She now lives in Littleton, Colorado, U.S.A. [Mar. 2010]

Scott Auwarter was a Peace Corps Volunteer (Health) in Kamakwie from 1984 to 1986. [Mar. 2010]

B

Abu Bakarr Bah is from Kono. He did his undergraduate studies at Sofia University in Bulgaria. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the New School for Social Research in New York. He is currently an associate professor of sociology at Northern Illinois University, USA. He is the author of Breakdown and Reconstitution: Democracy, the Nation-State, and Ethnicity in Nigeria (Lexington Books, 2005). [Mar. 2010]

Dr. Mohamed Yamba Bangura, popularly known as M.Y.Bangura, is a teacher, trainer, and consultant in Training, Education and Development. M.Y.Bangura holds a Doctorate degree in Management, Executive Masters in Business Administration, Masters in Development studies, B.Sc Honours in Sociology, Diploma in Higher English and a Teachers Certificate. Born in Yoni Chiefdom, Tonkolili District, Northern Province of Sierra Leone. He attended the UMC Primary School-Rochen Kamandao, Yonibana Secondary School-Yonibana, the Freetown Teachers College-Freetown, the Fourah Bay College-then University of Sierra Leone, and the St.Clements University-British West Indies. He started as a Laboratory assisatant/teacher of the Yonibana Secondary School, taught in some primary schools in Freetown, worked in the former Paramount Hotel near State House in Freetown, and joined the Senior Staff Association of the Milton Margai College of Education and Technology (MMCET)-Goderich campus in 1999/2000 as Assistant Lecturer. In 2002, he became Lecturer, and Senior Lecturer in 2004. He took a leave of absence from the MMCET in 2006 to undertake additional international pursuits. Within 2002 to 2006, he had worked as a visiting lecturer to the St.Clements University-Freetown campus and Course Director of Development Studies distance education programs through the St.Clements University at the international level. In 2005, he became overseas consultant for the Stratford College of Management-U.K. and in May 2007 to date he is serving as Deputy Registrar of the same college. In 2009, M.Y. enrolled as a PhD Student in the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom to pursue full-time research about his country Sierra Leone and would hopefully complete the research in 2012. [Jul. 2009]

Richard Barrows worked as a a Peace Corps Volunteer (Agriculture) in Giema and Kamabai. He is Professor and Associate Vice Chancellor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison. [Jul. 2009]

Carol Benson, Ph.D (UCLA 1994) was a primary teacher trainer with Peace Corps in Masiaka (Mile 47) from 1980 to 1982. She was a recruiter in San Francisco from 1983 to 1985, and later trained volunteers in Dominican Republic, Guinea-Bissau, and Cape Verde. She currently works as an educational developer at the Centre for Teaching and Learning at Stockholm University in Sweden, as well as doing research and consulting in mother tongue-based education in multilingual countries. Her latest projects are in Vietnam and Mozambique. [Mar. 2010]

John Birchall worked as a VSO in the Ports Authority and other posts from 1971 to 1973. Since then he has regularly visited Sierra Leone and has worked on various education projects. He hopes to start work on various education and health projects in 2011. He lectures on Sierra Leone at The School of Oriental and African Studies, London and in Cambridge. [Mar. 2010] 

Lansana Boima was born in Freetown . He attended the R.C. Model Primary School and Christ the King College , both in Bo Town. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Social Sciences from Fourah Bay College in 1991. he was a soccer referee with SLFA between 1986 and 1997, a member of the SLFA Referees; Committee 2004 - 08. He has worked for the Sierra Leone Red Cross, the Central Bank, British Council, Public Admin International and Adam Smith International. He is married and lives at Regent Village , Greater Freetown, with his wife and five children. Lansana has a passion for sports and loves friendship. [Mar. 2010]

Richard "Ric" Bond was a VSO volunteer at the agriculture station in Torma Bum from 1971 to 1972, then in the Planning and Development Unit (ODA) of MANR to 1975 on Tower Hill Freetown. He is married to Catherine (nee McAnulty) ex-VSO of Lunsar Mission Hospital and Serabu Mission Hospital 1973 to 1975. They have three daughters. He is a Research Fellow at Manchester University and does freelance consultancy in Rural Development. [Jul. 2009]

Sr. Lois Anne Bordowitz, an F.C.J. Sister, worked at the Pastoral Centre in Kenema from 1984 to 1994. She now lives in Toronto, Canada and works with refugees. [Mar. 2010]

Rebecca Busselle and her husband, Sam Busselle, served as Peace Corps Volunteers in Bo from 1972 to 1975, and lived on Gerihun Road with their three children. Sam was area architect for the Southern Province, Ministry of Works, while Rebecca organized the Bo Workshop, for the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Their son Wynne attended Christ the King College, while Max and Katrina attended nursery and primary schools in Bo. Sam now consults for not-for-profits in Poughkeepsie, NY, and Rebecca is a writer doing work in New York City. Wynne works in New York and lives with his wife and children in Westchester County. Max and his family are in Los Angeles, California, while Katrina, her husband and their twins can be found in Brooklyn. [Mar. 2010]

C

Dave Carmean was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Bumbuna, Tonkolili District, from 1980 to 1982, teaching Science and Agriculture at St. Matthews Secondary School. He trained as an evolutionary entomologist (U.C. Davis) and now works on databases and computer support for the Biology Department at Simon Fraser University. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with Mary Berbee and son Brian. [Mar. 2010]

Hubert Charles was born in Freetown and attended Methodist Boys' High School from Form 1 to Upper 6th, where he was Head Boy and Chairman of the Debating Society during his final year. He received his BA from Fourah Bay College, a Diploma in Social Work from Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation (Zambia), a Postgraduate Diploma in Development Administration and an MA (ECON) in Economics and Management in Rural Development from the University of Manchester. He was previously the Country Director for CAUSE Canada Sierra Leone Programme in Freetown. He is now Country Director for Christian Children's Fund in Ethiopia. Hubert has excellent conceptual knowledge of social development and emergency humanitarian themes and significant experience in the implementation and management of social development and emergency programmes with emphasis on strategic planning, capacity building and institutional development, and post- war recovery. He is a member of a number of a number of professional bodies, including the Commonwealth Association for the Education and Training of Adults (CAETA) and the Sierra Leone Adult Education Association (SLADEA). He is a past President of the Methodist Boys' High School Old Boys' Association. [Mar. 2010]

Jeff Cochrane was a rice extension agent with te Peace Corps in Sierra Leone from 1980 to 1982. He later did research in Freetown markets in 1991 for his doctorate in agricultural economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then continued his research through a Fulbight Fellowship at Fourah Bay College in from 1994 to 1995. Since 2005 he has served as Regional Economist for USAID/West Africa, based in Accra, and is Chief of the West Africa Trade and Investment Office, promoting exports from Sierra Leone and other West African countries to the U.S.A. His current tour of duty there ends in 2010. [Jul. 2009]

Dr. Ernest Cole was born in the east end of Freetown, Sierra Leone . He attended the Wellington Municipal Primary School and later the Methodist Boys' High School, Kissy Mess Mess, where he did both the Ordinary and Advanced levels General Certificate of Education Examinations. In June 1986, he left the Methodist Boys' High School for Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone; after functioning as the Senior Prefect of the school. At Fourah Bay College, he pursued the Bachelor of Arts program in English and eventually graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in English Language and Literature in 1990. In that same year, he was invited to join the teaching staff of the English Department at Fourah Bay College as Research Teaching Assistant, a position he held till September 1994 when he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in African Literature. In 1994, he was promoted to the position of Lecturer, Department of English, Fourah Bay College. At the outbreak of the civil war in Sierra Leone, he left for The Gambia and took up appointment at The Gambia College, Brikama, as Senior Lecturer and Head of English. At the commencement of the University of The Gambia, he was appointed Lecturer in the Department of English in September 2000. In 2003, he embarked on a Ph.D program in English in Post-Colonial Literature at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, U.S.A. In 2008, he graduated with a Ph.D. and is now Assistant Professor of English at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. He is married to Everetta Cole (nee Palmer) formerly of Methodist Girls' High School and the Institute of Library Science, Fourah Bay College. They have two daughters, Ernesta and Tunde Cole. [Jul. 2009]

Dr. Rowland J.V. Cole attended the Prince of Wales and Albert Academy in Freetown. He holds an LLB(Hons) obtained from Fourah Bay College University of Sierra Leone and an LLM obtained from the University of South Africa. He was in private practice in Freetown Sierra Leone and lectured law part-time at Fourah Bay College. He is currently a Principal Magistrate in Gaborone, Botswana. He spends his spare time writing and publishing poetry and scholarly articles. He obtained the degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) from the Stellenbosch University, Cape Town South Africa in March 2010. He lectures in Law at the University of Botswana after having served in the Judiciary of Botswana for eight years.[Mar. 2010]

Seltzer Cole was born in London and lived in Freetown between the ages of nine and 20. Following university in the UK, he worked in broadcasting as a producer, journalist, presenter and news editor. He is founder of Fizz Media and Newlaunch.net. [Aug. 2009]

Samuel Sarrah Conteh was born and grew up in Makontande, Mabonto, Tonkolili District. He attended the Government Secondary School for Boys-Magburaka from 1981 to 1989. He studied computer programming in Sierra Leone and currently is based in Tyre City, Lebanon, where he is attached to the United Nations - Department of Peacekeeping Operations as Information Technology Assistant doing computer networking and applications support. He has done the same, for the United Nations in Sierra Leone with UNOMSIL and UNAMSIL (September 1998 to June 2000), East Timor (July 2000 to June 2002), Afghanistan (June 2002 to June 2005), Western Sahara/Morocco (June 2005 to June 2007), and now in Lebanon (June 2007 to to date). [Mar. 2010]

Malcolm S. E. Coomber lives in Freetown, where he is Logistics Manager at the Sierra Leone Bottling Co. Ltd., formerly Freetown Cold Storage Co. Ltd. He attended Sierra Leone Grammar School.  [Mar. 2010]

Walter G. Coppenrath, Jr. taught African History and African Geography at Schlenker Secondary School in Port Loko from 1968 to 1970 as a Peace Corps Volunteer. He is currently a trial attorney specializing in complex business and maritime litigation in Los Angeles/Long Beach, California (UCLA Law School) with the law firm of Coppenrath & Associates LLP. He is Of Counsel to the law firm of Pierro & Associati in Rome, Italy. He is regular Visiting Lecturer at the International Development Law Organization in Rome, Italy. Walter has remained involved with Africa. He climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with his son Walter III in 1997 and toured Mali extensively in January 2006 with his daughter Kellie. He taught a course on Mediation and Arbitration to the judges of Swaziland in 2004 for IDLO. He was in Kenya for IDLO for a month in 2009 working with the governmental commission that is revising the constitution for that country. He has also visited Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar and South Africa. He currently lives half of each year in Italy in the Tuscan village of Montisi and the other half in Long Beach. Walter and his wife Suzanne have two children. Their son, Walter III, is a physician. He graduated from UCLA Medical School and is currently in Los Angeles working as a Family Medicine specialist for Kaiser Permanente with an emphasis on health care for the homeless. Their daughter, Kellie, is a graduate of Occidental College in Los Angeles with a degree in International Relations. Kellie worked in India at the village level promoting microfinance projects for two years and is now a graduate student at the University of Geneva studying NGO administration and development economics. [Mar. 2010]

D

Myles Dannhausen was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Freetown from 1964 to 1966. During his first year he was a teacher at the Albert Academy. During his second year he worked at the Sierra Leone Central Statistics Office (now Statistics Sierra Leone), and wrote a History of Education in Sierra Leone for later Peace Corps Volunteers. Myles returned to the United States and earned a Masters Degree in Urban Studies at Loyola University in Chicago. After a few years as an executive with the City of Chicago Mayor's office, Myles left city life to start a tourism career in Wisconsin. Myles currently operates the Bay Point Inn in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin, where Groundnut Stew is often one of the dinner specials. [Jul. 2009]

Pliney Davies was born in Freetown, and lived most of her life at Wallace-Johnson Street (formerly Water Street) in front of King Jimmy Market and, before relocating to the U.S., at Cannon Street. She attended Freetown Secondary School for Girls at Brookfields from nursery school to Form 6. She is a former employee of Barclays Bank Sierra Leone Ltd. Currently, she lives in Maryland, U.S.A. and works in Washington, D.C.  [Apr. 2010]

Idris Shuaibu Din-Gabisi was born in and had lived in Fourah Bay in Freetown for over twenty years. He graduated from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts (General). He has also completed a Master of Arts in Peace and Development Studies at the Njala University (New England Campus) in February 2009. At present, he is still working with the National Electoral Commission but has been promoted to Senior Elections Officer at the Outreach and External Relations Unit. He is currently based in Freetown, Sierra Leone. [Oct. 2009]

Joseph A. Dougall was engaged in sponsoring tobacco growing in various countries in the sub region with his team of Sierra Leone experts, where they have made a name for themselves and for the company, Duiker International Corporation, out of Sierra Leone, during the time of turmoil in their homeland. This was brought to an end in the year 2000 but continues to make cigars in his home island, Malta, a family tradition now in its sixth generation since its inception. He was made Honorary P.C. Pa Almamy Dougal Bangura in Sella Limba Chiefdom in December 1993. He currently resides in Malta, where he is Honorary Consul for Sierra Leone. [Mar. 2010]

Charles During was born in Chester, England. At an early age he moved backed to Freetown where he attended St Anthony's Primary School, Prince of Wales and KSS in Kenema. He played both volleyball and basketball both at school and for Sierra Leone's national teams. He returned to London where he completed his Bachelors degree in Mathematics and Computing. He worked for SmithKline Beechams for several years, then left to play professional volleyball in Belgium, Holland, France and Switzerland while he continued working in the computing industry. He worked for IBM as a consultant for several years in Holland and was transferred to IBM in Tampa Florida. He gained his Masters in Computer Science, and worked for VISA International in California for seven years. In 2004 he left Visa and went to AlcatelBell in Belgium as a consultant. He is back in Boca Raton, Florida, consulting for IBM in Hollywood, Florida. Whilst living in London, he played volleyball for the top British teams, such as Polonia and Malory. He was Captain for the England Men's National Volleyball Team for ten years, and captained the Great Britain Men's Volleyball Team for the World Students Games in the then Yugoslavia. He is currently on a three year contract consulting for Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, Indiana, as a Network Design Engineer. [Jul. 2009]

E

Glenn Elert was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kamakwie from 1987 to 1990, where he taught physics and mathematics. [Mar. 2010]

Sybella (Davies) Ellong is from Wilberforce and has lived in the U.S. since 1976. She currently works for the IBM Corporation in Washington, D.C. She attended the Cathedral School for Girls and the Methodist Girls' High School in Freetown. [Mar. 2010]

Thomas Eric-Williams is from Freetown and attended Kenema Secondary School, Bo School, and Georgetown University. He is retired from the United States Army Intelligence Command and lives in Lanham, Maryland, U.S.A. [Mar. 2010]

Kenneth A. Evans served as a Peace Corps Volunteer primary school teacher from 1969 to 1971 in Jimmi Bagbo. He also helped organize and conduct educational workshops with Sierra Leonean teachers and other PCVs. He is a graduate of Clark University, Worcester, MA, with a BA degree. He currently resides in northeastern Connecticut and is production manager of a weekly advertising publication serving the tri-state region. [Mar. 2010]

F

Aiah Fanday was born in Koidu Town, Kono District on June 30, 1968. He grew up in Kissy, Freetown, and attended Prince of Wales Secondary School from 1980/81 to 1985. After graduation in 1985 he left for England, lived there for a year, then traveled to the U.S. in 1986. He is currently own and managed his owe company DISTINCTIVE EVENTS RENTAL located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He is the past president of the Kono Union USA (KONUSA) and currently serving on the Friends of Sierra Leone (FOSL) as Vice President. He is also the Financial Secretary for the National Organization for Sierra Leoneans in North America (NOSLINA). He his the Founder and Fund Raising Committee Chair for Kono Foundation. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1999, with a B.Sc. in Business Management, and Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the same university in 2005. [Mar. 2010]

Dave Figi was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Moyamba, and taught at Harford School for Girls and Moyamba Boys' School from 1965 to 1967. He now lives in Janesville, Wisconsin, U.S.A. He retired from teaching in 2004 and participated in Operation Classroom in Makeni in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.  [Mar. 2010]

Judy (Lamm) Figi was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Moyamba, and taught at Harford School for Girls from 1964 to 1966. She now lives with her husband, Dave Figi, in Janesville, Wisconsin, U.S.A. Their daughter Alison served in the Peace Corps Volunteer in Micronesia. She retired from teaching in 2004 and participated in Operation Classroom in Makeni in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and the FOSL-SFS teacher training programme in Bo in 2009. [Mar. 2010]

Chad and Susan Finer were Peace Corps Volunteers from 1968-70 and were secondary and teacher’s training college teachers at HRSS in Kenema and at the Kenema Teacher’s Training College. After a long career in public education in New Hampshire and a 23 year stint as a middle school principal Susan retired in June of 2007. She returned briefly as an interim assistant middle school principal in New York City. Chad is still working as an ER physician but since November 2007 has gone to a part-time position. Both remain excited Obama supporters. They currently live in Vermont. [Mar. 2010]

Shirley M. Fretz lived in Sierra Leone from April 1967 to August 1985. From 1967 to 1970 she was Boarding Home Superintendent at Minnie Mull Memorial School for Girls in Bonthe, Sherbro. From 1971 to 1981 she worked in the office at Mattru UBC Hospital in Mattru Jong, and from 1981-1985 worked in Christian Education in connection with Bumpe Primary School and Bumpe High School, in Bumpe, via Bo. She currently lives in Ridgeway, Ontario, Canada. [Mar. 2010]