Our Board
Patrick M Keane
Patrick serves as the President of the Rukwa Foundation. Patrick is a licensed Mechanical Engineer and acts as the Chief Operating Officer for a real-estate development company in the US. Patrick has an undergraduate in Political Science from the U.S. Naval Academy and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Patrick’s interest in rural development in Tanzania stems from his early work helping his dad launch the Marian Stove project. Patrick has made several extended trips to the Rukwa region in Tanzania and holds his many friends there in high regard
Susi Keane
Susi serves as the Secretary and Treasurer for The Rukwa Foundation. Susi is an entrepreneur and active member in her community. She currently serves as president on Team Driving for a Cure which supports research and local support for families dealing with cancer.
She holds an Undergraduate degree in early childhood Education from Central Washington University. Susi is motivated by a strong desire to see her friends in Tanzania benefit from the same access to education and capital that drove her own success.
Glenn Perrone
Glenn Perrone has spent his entire professional career working for, or consulting to a variety of non-profit institutions within the higher education, arts, and healthcare arenas. He was Vice President for University Relations with Pace University, a consultant for the New York Medical College (Valhalla, NY), Big Brothers of NYC, and a corporate officer for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Fenimore Art Museum, The Farmers’ Museum, and the Templeton Foundation (Bassett Healthcare Network).
He has also served as a founding Trustee, corporate secretary, and a member of the Executive Committee for the Cobleskill Regional Hospital (New York State) and, following retirement, has continued as the Acting Corporate Secretary for the Bassett Medical Center (Cooperstown, NY).
Carolyn Kandusi
Carolyn Kandusi is a social development enthusiast and entrepreneur with a passion for community-driven and human-centered development models that allow communities to create solutions to their everyday challenges and optimize their assets. She is driven by the possibility of realizing a vision of a just society in which everyone (especially the marginalized and the powerless) can be heard and live a full, dignified, and meaningful life.
Currently, Carolyn serves at Segal Family Foundation and is a program officer managing grants, partnerships, and capacity strengthening for Segal Family Foundation grantee partners. Carolyn is co-founder and sits on the board of Westerwelle Startup Haus-Arusha, the first youth hub in Arusha, empowering small and micro-entrepreneurs with essential skills to start and scale-up businesses. Carolyn and the Obuntu team are the proud developers of the Class Enterprise Model that gives trainees real-life experience in establishing and running a business.
Previously Carolyn worked as gender manager with Pastoralists Indigenous NGO forum, which advocates for the rights and social development of indigenous communities in Tanzania. She loves to mentor, coach, and hold spaces that allow women and youth to build their self-esteem, reshape broken dreams and find purpose in life.
Carolyn holds a BA in Mass Communication and an MSc in Leadership and Governance. Carolyn is a member of the Generation Equality Forum’s National Advisory Committee for Economic Justice and Rights and a member of the STiR Education Global Advisory Council.hatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Debora Reynolds
Debora Reynolds is a former Technical Director at America Online, Inc., where she led an international team of engineers and support staff in their advertising and internal systems divisions. Following her retirement, she has been involved with charitable organizations as founder, Board member, and member. Debora is currently a small business owner in northern CT. She holds a BA from The George Washington University.
Kathleen Keane
Kathleen Keane is an Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Instruction and Administration at a large high-needs school district in New York. In this capacity, she has overseen the development of career and technical education programs, decreased the achievement gaps for students of poverty, and increased overall graduation rates. Her educational career began as a Research Fellow at the Institute on Education and the Economy & the Community College Research Center at Teacher’s College, Columbia University where she completed her master’s in education. She has a dedicated over 25 year to education and is committed to the belief that investing in students and schools can lead to sustainable community development and hopes to support this goal for the Rukwa region in Tanzania.
Dr. Daniel Morrison
Daniel Morrison, MD, FACS, is a practicing general surgeon and department chief at a busy urban community hospital. He has a lifelong interest in the building of sustainable medical resources in the developing world and has provided care at two missionary hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Morrison brings years of experience in medical service line development, hospital facility oversight, medical staff leadership and nonprofit hospital governance to assist the Rukwa Foundation. He and his family reside in Suffield, CT.
Mark Vandevanter
Mark is a Senior Vice President and National Head of Professional Liability Insurance for AXA XL, a division of AXA. He was a founder of Executive Liability Underwriters (ELU), a business unit of XL Capital Ltd. Since its inception in 1999, ELU (now part of AXA) has grown to be one of the largest underwriters of corporate directors & officers liability insurance in North America with annual premiums exceeding $1 billion. In his role with AXA Mark regularly engages with the senior management of many of America’s leading companies. Mark received his B.A. in Management from Assumption College. He lives in Suffield, CT with his wife Dawn and their son Cole.
