Seenaa Jimjimo / Executive Director
Seenaa is an Oromo-American born and raised in Ethiopia. She grew up witnessing injustice against the Oromo people by the Ethiopian security force and second-class treatment of the Oromo women. Wanting to make a difference, she studied political science as undergraduate and public health and administration as a graduate student. While at the University of Illinois, she was a Senator at Large for the Graduate Student Association and Treasurer for the African Student Organization, going on to found many of her organizations. She has received numerous awards, including the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship and Whitney M. Young Fellowship., and was a key player in the adoption of House Resolution 128 – an important factor in enabling change in Ethiopia in 2018. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of OLLAA, alongside numerous other projects advocating for the Oromo people.
Ayyaantu Abduselam / President
Ayyaantu was born in Ethiopia and immigrated to the USA with her family at the age of 10. She works as a frontend developer and consults for small businesses. One of her missions is to motivate young Oromo professionals based in the USA to rediscover their heritage. She started an Ethiopia video series “@magaleeExplores” to share the beauty of Oromo culture and inspire the Oromo diaspora (especially youth) to reconnect with their traditions and families back home. Ayyaantu holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering from Purdue University and is passionate about nature, technology and entrepreneurship. She is the current President of OLLAA and takes care of the technical and program management side of things, mainly working with the English-speaking population.
Sandra Assasnik / Board Chair
Sandra has degrees in Middle Eastern Studies and completed her doctoral coursework in Medical Anthropology. She has over 20 years of experience working in health care including primary care, rural health, multicultural health, women’s health, and chronic disease. She has been an advisor to NATO, applying her knowledge of Middle Eastern populations to prevent misunderstandings between local populations and armed forces. She has worked with local populations in Afghanistan and evaluated the International Police Training Program in Afghanistan. Areas of research include brain trauma, domestic violence, healthcare workforce, and diabetes. Sandra currently is a Director of Quality and Safety for the Washington State Hospital Association. Sandra is very involved in helping young women access education to improve the lives of themselves and their communities.
Teferi Nigussie Tafa
Teferi Nigussie Tafa (PhD) is an Assistant Professor at University of Northwestern, Minnesota and a prominent Oromo novelist, scholar, and filmmaker. He has previously held positions as a visiting professor at Norwich University, and lecturer at Addis Ababa and Ambo Universities. He received a PhD in Literature from Addis Ababa University, MMA in Human Rights from Curtin University, Australia, and is currently studying media at New York University. In addition to publishing the first scholarly analysis of Oromo-language novels and films, he has also published several of his own novels in the Oromo and English languages. His research areas include social identity, indigenous studies, nationalism, literature, and film studies. Dr. Tafa was instrumental in the formation of the Oromo Gada Council in 2014 and the inscription of Gada as Intangible Human Heritage by UNESCO in 2016.
Sherrie Kimball / Board Secretary - HR
Though Sherrie is retired from her professional life she is still and has always sought ways through work and volunteering to express her desire to help others. She has worked on 24-hour crisis lines, taught ESL to refugees and found them employment; has also assisted rural health clinics find health care providers for underserved populations, and worked on an HIV education grant.
Midhasso Foge
Midhasso B. Foge, is a clinical pharmacist in Ambulatory care at Los Angeles high desert regional medical center, Los Angeles county, specializing in anticoagulation. Prior to that, he served as a pharmacist at Walgreens for a few years. He completed his undergraduate studies and earned a bachelor of science degree at University of Minnesota where he studies Chemistry. His passion in helping others led him to continue to pursue an advanced degree in the healthcare field. By following his dreams, he obtained his Doctor of Pharmacy (PhramD) degree from Loma Linda University. He has been an exemplary citizen and a leader in the Oromo community since a very young age. He is currently serving as secretary for the Uta Wayu Foundation (UWF)
Jaleta Abdo
Abdo is a lifelong advocate for the Oromo people and human rights activist. He started his involvement in community organizing while in grade school and is able to sustain it until today. In addition, Mr. Abdo is a true entrepreneur organizing and operating several businesses in multiple cities across the western part of the United States. He is the founder and CEO of JH & KN LLC, in the Denver Colorado area for over 12 years. He holds Bachelor of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering and in Electronics from Tampere University of Technology, Finland and University of Portland respectively. He has been a dedicated member of the Denver Oromo community over 20 years serving them in various capacities. He is currently the chairperson for a community group, Afooshaa baha, a post he has held for the past two years. Outside of his community work and business ventures, he is immersed in the world of investing. Mr. Abdo is a husband and a father of two beautiful young ladies.
Lisa Westerfield
Lisa Westerfield is a teacher and curriculum developer at Newark Charter High School in Newark, Delaware. She has taught and developed a three-year program called the Global Context for Leadership. She teaches leadership and global citizenship through this program. She oversees responsibilities including student leadership, clubs, community service, etc. She has been a teacher for 26 years and holds an Associates of Arts degree from Southwestern Illinois College (Liberal Arts), Bachelor of Arts degrees the University of Maryland and University of Wyoming, a Masters in Teaching from Grand Canyon University, and a Masters in Economics from the University of Delaware. Prior to her current role, she worked as a 7th grade U.S history teacher. She later went on to teach courses in psychology and sociology.
Birhanu Derara
Birhanu graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas and Addis Ababa University and received MS in Accounting and Information Systems and Business Administration respectively. Birhanu has over 13 years of financial management and audit experience in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, with a focus on developing policies and procedures, internal control and risk management. Birhanu has three major audit and fraud related certifications: Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). Currently, Birhanu is working as Audit Project Manager in one of the largest U.S. retail companies.