Lalafofofo Board Members

Laura Vaughan, Founder and CEO Lalafofofo-Amka Sasa

As Executive Director of Lalafofofo-Amka Sasa, Laura’s focus is on poverty alleviation, improved access to education for children, and women and girls’ empowerment.

Laura has been involved in multiple education and philanthropic organizations, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Golden Hearts. While in industry, she held positions at Genentech Inc. and ALZA/Johnson & Johnson in Regulatory Affairs. A graduate of the University of California, Davis and Utah State University, she holds a B.S. in Biological Sciences and an M.S. in Plant Science. Laura has studied Kiswahili, German and Spanish, and enjoys hiking, skiing, and traveling with her husband and three sons.

Beth Davis, Vice President

Beth Davis is the co-founder and CEO of the PAR Framework. She has a proven record of bringing technology products to market, having previously served as the vice president and general manager of Macromedia, Inc., where she was responsible for managing their entire suite of products including Flash, Dreamweaver, Flash Communication Server, Contribute, Director, and Authorware.

During her tenure as managing partner at Sage Road Solutions, LLC, Beth was a trusted business advisor for institutions and enterprises interested in putting learning technologies to work in the service of student success. With PAR, she has assembled a team of professionals up to the challenge of bringing this high-tech, high-touch project to the higher-education market.

Reema Shah, Strategic Advisor

Reema Shah shares a passion for social entrepreneurship and education. She currently is a Senior Advisor at Dalberg Global Advisors, a strategy and policy advisory firm focused on international development. She also serves as an advisor to the Center for Social Innovation at Stanford Business School. Previously, she served as an advisor to the Center for Social Sector Leadership at University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business. Reema also serves as a National Advisory Board Member at The Netter Center, University of Pennsylvania. Reema has also been involved with various philanthropic organizations in the Bay Area focused on education. Over the last few years, she also has advised various education and internet startups on marketing, strategy and business development. Previously, she was a software and internet investor helping manage a multi-billion dollar technology fund. Reema earned a M.B.A from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts & Sciences from the University of Pennsylvania.

Jennifer Doettling, Asst Secretary

Jennifer Doettling is Director of Content and Editorial at Visa Inc, leveraging more than 30 years of experience in high tech, non-profit and small business marketing and communications. She also leads Visa’s Bay Area employee volunteer council, supporting a number of social impact initiatives in the community. Prior to joining Visa, Jennifer was the Communications Director at Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco. She also held positions in public relations at Sun Microsystems, Netscape, AOL, and other Silicon Valley firms. Jennifer holds a B.A. degree in German and M.A. in journalism, both from the University of Michigan.

Isabella Sikaffy

Isabella is Founder and CEO of Florabella Studios and Florabella @ Home, and is active in multiple philanthropic organizations including the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula. She brings extensive experience in event planning and outreach, and has deep ties with the local Bay Area Peninsula community. A native of Port Townsend, WA, Isabella enjoys traveling wherever an airplane will take her and pretending to paddle board. Isabella holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Washington State University and lives in Silicon Valley with her husband and three sons.

Holly Sutton

Holly first visited Moshi, Tanzania and became involved with Lalafofofo-Amka Sasa during her 2016 sabbatical from her employment law practice at the San Francisco law firm of Farella Braun + Martel, where she has been a partner for over 15 years. She brings to the board her experience providing legal counseling to numerous local and national nonprofits.

Beyond her legal career, Holly has been an active volunteer at the schools of her two children, and involved in other local community organizations in the Bay Area. Holly received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and her law degree from Stanford Law school. In her spare time she enjoys hiking with her dog, skiing with her husband, and traveling with her family.

Linda Beck, PhD

Linda is the Associate Dean of Experiential and Global Education at the University of Maine at Farmington. Prior to her appointment as Dean, Linda was a professor of political science specializing in African politics, civic engagement and environmental activism. She lived in Moshi, Tanzania during her sabbatical in Spring 2015 while conducting research on environmental activism and ecotourism. Since her first visit to Tanzania in 2015, Linda has taken several groups of undergraduates on ecotourism travel courses to Moshi, Tanzania.

Manuela Mischke-Reeds

Manuela Mischke-Reeds is an international teacher of psychology and mindfulness, and a published author. She loves to travel to fun places and explore with her two teens and husband. Manuela likes to write, be creative and meditate. A personal goal is to discover Bhutan with her sons.

Carla Funk, Strategic Advisor & Secretary

Carla Funk specializes in nonprofit management and resource mobilization; she is currently completing a doctorate on the topic of privately funded international development aid. Moshi Tanzania was her home these past two winters as she interviewed recipients and donors of 20 nonprofit organizations for her case study research. She is looking forward to working with nonprofit organizations, putting in to practice some of the key findings of her research