Molly Melching

Founder of Tostan

Since arriving in Senegal in 1974, Molly Melching has helped thousands of communities achieve transformative social change through her NGO, Tostan, and its groundbreaking educational programs. Her primary role on the Board of Directors is to represent the interests of Tostan’s participants and staff and to ensure the vision and philosophies of the organization. Aimee Molloy has written a best-selling biography of Molly, recounting Tostan’s origin story: However Long the Night: Molly Melching and the Sparking of a Grassroots Movement for Human Rights in Africa.

Kelly Hawke Baxter

Board Co-Chair & Board Member of Tostan Canada

Kelly Hawke Baxter is a consultant and strategic advisor who has worked in the field of sustainable development and social change for over 25 years. She works with non-profit leaders and organizations to advise on social change strategy and governance. Kelly founded and led The Natural Step Canada, a Canadian non-profit organization promoting sustainable development, and now sits on their Board of Directors. Kelly is also a member of the Board of Tostan Canada, a sister organization that raises funds and awareness for Tostan International. Kelly has Masters degrees in International Development from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Ottawa, in International Journalism from the City University, London, as well as a Masters Certificate in Social Innovation from the University of Waterloo. She is also a student mentor and member of the Global Strategy and Leadership Expert Panel of the Desautel School of Management at McGill University. She lives in Montreal, Canada.

Maimouna Diop Ly

Board Co-Chair

Maïmouna Diop Ly is a medical doctor specialized in public health with more than 27 years in the health, nutrition and social protection sector supporting the global universal health coverage and inclusion agenda. She has led health projects and programs at national and international levels including neglected tropical diseases, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, child survival. Through health multisectoral approach, she has worked in cross cutting domains such as gender, environment, climate change, water and sanitation. She has worked as civil servant of the Senegal Ministry of Health at the National Food and Nutrition Service as Head of the health Department for the Senegalese Red Cross and as Chief Health and Social Protection for the African Development Bank. She is currently a consultant Senior Advisor on Public Health Policy and Financing at Speak Up Africa supporting policies in health especially global health, research, and development agenda as well as the regional partnership with institutions such as the African Union Commission, the West African Health Organization. She is a former board member of United to combat Neglected Tropical Diseases and currently a board member for the Foundation for a Healthier Senegal. She has also recently set up a startup producing a complementary food based on local products for aging people. She holds a medical doctorate from the University Cheikh Anta Diop, a master’s degree in public health (D.E.A) from the University Paris VI, France, a master’s degree in management (D.E.S.S) from the Institut Supérieur de Management (ISM), Dakar, a post-graduate degree in tropical medicine & parasitology from the University Paris VI and one in dietetic and nutrition pathology from the University of Rennes.

Mary Ellen Cunningham

Board Secretary

Mary Ellen brings 25 years of diverse professional and personal experience to her organizational consulting and nonprofit executive search work. Her primary focus is to unleash the potential of individuals and organizations to create sustainable social change. Through her work in nonprofit management, community development, fundraising, and education, she has developed a keen understanding of how teams work, what it entails to achieve truly mission-driven work, and the importance of partnership as the foundation for almost anything worth doing. She has had the privilege of working with numerous nonprofits, both domestically and internationally, as a founder, executive director, program developer, board member, volunteer, donor and consultant. Her breadth and depth of perspective has honed her skills and sensibilities to support organizations to be strategic, inclusive, fueled by mission and highly effective. Mary Ellen holds a Masters of Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a B.S. in Experiential Education from the University of New Hampshire. She lives in Seattle, WA with her husband and son.

Celeste Barone

Founder, 4Pines/ Board Member

Celeste is an accomplished financial leader with 25 years’ experience managing the financial affairs of multi-billion-dollar private capital and asset management firms. As chief financial officer, she has served on executive committees, worked closely with the CEOs and Board of Directors on strategic and tactical initiatives. Celeste is currently the President of 4Pines Fund Services, a firm she co-founded in 2000 that provides outsourced financial support and services to investment firms. Celeste holds a bachelor’s degree from Baruch College in NYC.

Dr Terence Ngwa

Board Member

Dr. Terence Ngwa is a veteran educator and organizational leader with over 20 years of national and international service. He has worked for many years to ensure an effective voice for educators, parents, and students in the K-12 setting, bringing together education stakeholders to collaborate on improving outcomes for students, especially those from historically marginalized backgrounds. He has designed and developed culturally responsive and inclusive content for school leadership preparation and supervised aspiring principals’ internship experiences.

Terence holds a doctorate degree in organizational leadership from Southeastern University, a Masters degree in educational leadership from Trinity Washington University, a Bachelors degree in French and English from the University of Yaoundé I, and certificates in Diversity and Inclusion and Collective Bargaining from Cornell University.

He is passionate about social justice, diversity, equity and inclusion and antiracist initiatives in education.

Louise Cord

Board Member

Louise Cord is a development economist and has more than 35 years of experience working on the front lines to promote poverty reduction and economic development. She works with civil society and local governments as a strategic advisor on climate action and social change. She was the Global Director for Social Sustainability and Inclusion at the World Bank, leading a global practice to develop a new strategy on social sustainability focused on social inclusion, environmental and social governance, social cohesion and fragility, the social dimensions of climate change, and citizen engagement and accountability. Prior to that, she was the World Bank Country Director for Senegal, Mauritania, Cabo Verde, Guinea Bissau and The Gambia. Before joining the World Bank, Louise was a consultant for USAID and worked at UNDP and the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD. Louise holds a Ph.D. in development economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Benoît Kalasa

Board Member

Benoît Kalasa is a seasoned and experienced professional with national, regional and international experience with the United Nations and academia. In these various capacities, he had successfully engaged with Heads of States and Ministers, Chairs and Commissioners of Regional Economic Communities, Africa Union Commission, and also Donors countries; giving him learning opportunities and understanding of challenges and structural drivers of development and policy dialogue skills to engage not only with political leadership but also with communities’ leadership, necessary for ownership and sustainability.

He strongly believes on the need for increased equity and social inclusion, accountability and transparency.

Estelle Zanga

Board Member

Estelle Zanga is an entrepreneur, artist, and strategy consultant dedicated to leveraging cutting- edge technologies and behavioral insights for sustainable development. As the CEO of Safeware, a garment factory in Cameroon, she has driven her mission to sustain over 120 employees, primarily women, and to boost the local sustainable textile industry. With her international consulting experience at McKinsey & Co, Estelle combines a unique blend of technological acumen, cross-cultural understanding, and strategic thinking, honed while advising large organizations across Africa, Europe, and Asia.

She harnesses the power of performing arts to convey messages of social change/appreciation and raise funds for impactful initiatives in her home country through musicals and children’s books. She holds a Msc in Management, with a thesis in behavioral economics from HHL

Leipzig Graduate School of Management and has completed the Artificial Intelligence Programme at the University of Oxford. She is passionate about technological solutions in education and health.

Dr. Mame Aby Seye

Founder of Rezyne/Board Member

Dr. Mame Aby Seye is a sociologist-demographer and trained urban planner. She brings more than two decades of experience in the design and implementation of public policies promoting economic inclusion and territorial development, both in Senegal and internationally.

She has held senior leadership positions within national institutions, where she played a key role in structuring large-scale programs in vocational training, entrepreneurship, and social innovation.

As the founder of the consulting firm Rezyne, she now supports public, private, and community stakeholders across Africa, drawing on hybrid, participatory, and strategic approaches to territorial transformation and inclusive innovation.

As a member of Tostan’s Board of Directors, she is committed to strengthening African community-driven models and amplifying their international reach, in pursuit of more sustainable and equitable development.

Nathalie O’neil

Board Member

Nathalie has significant experience working for the Government of Canada on development issues. She
has negotiated and managed multi-million-dollar contribution agreements with Canadian college
associations, colleges and universities; directed planning, reporting and policy analysis in support of the
Haiti Program; and led the food security team and provided policy analysis and strategic advice on the
development and implementation of strategies and programming at the Canadian embassy in Mali. She
was the Director, Development Program and Counsellor (Head of Aid) at the Canadian Embassy in
Senegal from 2015 to 2017. In 2017, she was appointed High Commissioner of Canada to Cameroon,
which also included responsibilities as Ambassador of Canada to the Central African Republic, Chad and
Gabon. Before her retirement in 2021, Nathalie led a Global Affairs Canada team on education and
social development.
She has since joined the Board of Directors of CODE, Canada’s leading international development agency
focused uniquely on education and literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is currently chairing the Board for
a two-year mandate.
She is a graduate of McGill University and has an M.A in political science (international relations) from
the Université de Montréal.