Our Board

Jennifer Kron is the Deputy Chief Information Officer of the National Security Agency.  She has been involved in FOT leadership in various roles since visiting Tanzania on vacation in 2008.  She lives in Washington, DC with her husband and two cats.  

Jackline is a Tanzanian native and a proven FOT member and volunteer over the past several years. She's a creative-entrepreneur, Owner of JKanule Boutique, that provides African fashion and arts that channel the richness of Africa. Jackline is also a nonprofit professional, currently working at NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and is a big advocate for mental health and wellness. Jackline has served in various capacities in community organizations, including previously serving as an Executive Secretary and board member on a Tanzania non-profit in the New York City area, New York Tanzanian Community (NYTC), Inc. She embraces the concept of Ubuntu. She has engaged with other organizations that champion Tanzania and has been a member of DICOTA (Diaspora Council of Tanzanians in America). Jackline lives in the Washington, DC area, but her current business ventures lead her to travel frequently back to her home country. 

After 38 years as a lawyer and community volunteer, Bob fulfilled a life-long ambition as a PCV volunteer in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania.  Bob joined FOT upon his return in 2018, and served on the Projects Committee for two years.  Bob is currently serving as the Board Secretary, and overseeing FOT's Website.  In addition to his work as an attorney, Bob volunteers with several other non-profits, both in the States and in Tanzania.

Bob grew up in California, received a BA in Mathematics from Middlebury College in Vermont,  and his JD from the University of Michigan Law School and now lives in Madison, New Jersey.

Brandon is a RPVC TZ 2018-2020.  He has previous experience in nonprofits and financial administration, with a BS in business administration with an emphasis in finance and a minor in public health from Fresno State, as well as a Masters of Public Administration from Syracuse University. Brandon is currently working with the City of Stockton as a budget analyst where his financial responsibilities include complex budgeting, forecasting, payroll and accounting for various City departments.  Brandon has served as FOT’s Treasurer since January 2022.

Rita Kamazima is a Tanzanian born global citizen with a passion for travel, service, youth empowerment and international development, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is a global health practitioner with over 10 years of experience. Her most recent experiences including working at USAID, FDA and Peace Corps in Washington, DC and Maryland. Prior to these Rita served as a Peace Corps Youth and Community Development Volunteer in Swaziland (now Eswatini), where she worked with vulnerable communities implementing HIV/AIDS prevention interventions, teaching life-skills courses, health & wellness and promoting English literacy through a variety of activities such as establishing libraries and debate clubs. Together with her local counterparts she also established multiple girl empowerment clubs to help build resiliency and install confidence among the young girls in her community.

Rita holds a B.A in Biochemistry and is currently pursuing an MPH from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She enjoys traveling, listening to music, interacting with people from different countries, and spending time with family and friends. 

Chris Biles currently lives in Washington D.C. and works as a International Program Specialist for the Foreign Agricultural Service. She previously worked for various conservation and environmental education organizations in California and Alaska, and for the United States Peace Corps in Tanzania from 2015 to 2018 where she focused on sustainable agriculture and water management as a Agriculture Volunteer in Njombe and Peace Corps Volunteer Leader in Dar es Salaam. Chris graduated from St. Lawrence University with a BS in Conservation Biology where she studied at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and extensively in the Adirondack State Park of New York. Chris is originally from Western NY, just outside of Rochester, and enjoys music, hiking, ultimate frisbee, and creative writing.

Andrew is a RPCV – TZ 2014-2016 and is currently Senior Program Manager at Digital Green.  He also worked for One Acre Fund in Tanzania from 2016-2019. Andrew is an active member of the FOT Projects Committee.  Andrew is currently working for a global development organization that empowers smallholder farmers to lift themselves out of poverty by harnessing the collective power of technology and grassroots level partnerships. He and his wife, also a RPCV-TZ, live in Brownsville, Texas.

Thomas Arminio is a first generation farmer and global development practitioner. He farmed in the Finger Lakes region of New York for eight seasons before serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kilimanjaro and Iringa, Tanzania from 2016-2019. He then worked as a Program Manager and consultant for One Acre Fund until 2022. He serves on the Friends of Tanzania Projects Committee.  
Thomas grew up in New Jersey, received a bachelor’s degree in Literature from Seton Hall University, and a master’s degree in Global Development from Cornell University. He currently lives in Washington DC and works as a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist for CNFA (Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture).

Maureen served on the FOT Board in 2016, and is now returning at a Board member. She has also been assisting with the FOT social media presence, including its Instagram account  Maureen is an administrative professional with several years of member management and engagement experience at professional organizations, and currently serves in an Association whose ultimate goal is student success. Maureen views her position on the Board as way to assist FOT in providing access for communities in Tanzanians to much needed resources.

Mr. Flock is an agribusiness and humanitarian assistance professional with 15 years of experience leading multimillion dollar agricultural and emergency response projects that align public private relationships, strengthen (last-mile) market systems and design and implement activities for communities in need of emergency response.  Mr. Flock's career began as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya working with farmer cooperatives which further informed his programmatic approaches to foster sustainable growth in both emerging and post-conflict economies throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Currently, Mr. Flock is ACDI/VOCA's Chief of Party for the USAID Resilience Learning Activity (RLA) that implements program activities in Kenya, Somalia and select countries operating in East Africa region. Mr. Flock holds a Msc. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University and has a working knowledge of Kiswahili.  When not spending his time in Kenya, Mr. Flock enjoys returning to his home in Utah trying to spend as much time as possible outside either skiing, biking, camping or fishing.

Shamis Abdulla is a Zanzabari who moved to the USA in 1998 in Washington DC area. He finished his studies at Montgomery college in graphic design, and lives and works in DC.   Shamis has been active in the Tanzanian community, and is one of the founders of Zanzibar Diaspora Association (ZADIA) which is an umbrella which unites all Zanzibari who are in the USA.  He has also worked with the Association of Tanzanian Community in DMV (DC, Maryland and Virginia), as well the Tanzanian Muslim Community in the Washington DC area.  Shamis looks forward to working to connect FOT with more of the Tanzanian community in the DC area and elsewhere. 

David served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania from 09/1991 to 12/1993, and then worked in Tanzania and Southern Africa with UNDP Biodiversity Project 01/1994-12/1995 and Robin Hurt Safaris Cullman and Hurt Community Wildlife Project 01/1996-03/2001.  Among other activities, he made several films on flora fauna and park staff/projects in Conservation Areas, National Parks, wetlands, lakes and coastal regions in Swahili for use in Tanzanian secondary schools.    David also owns and runs a cross-cultural safari company, Aberdare Adventure, which he started  in 1996, through which he organizes safaris and cross-cultural tours for clients in Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, and Southern Africa. As part of the safari experience he encourages his clients to understand the local culture and has utilized donations from clients to undertake projects in local villages. He returned to the U.S. in 2001 and continues to lead safaris to Eastern/Southern Africa most summers.  During most of the year David teaches 1st-5th grade science, 4th and 5th grade computer skills, and Middle School STEM at Falcon Ridge Charter School in Kuna, Idaho.

Clay Batko served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania from 2016 – 2019 as a sustainable agriculture extension agent.  In addition to training local farmers in sustainable farming practices, Clay served as chair of the Peace Corps Tanzania Projects Committee, where he reviewed and edited 45 volunteer grants and designed, implemented, and evaluated a $250 USAID-funded grant.  His project review experience makes Clay a valuable member of FOT’s Projects Committee.  Clay currently works as a Program Analyst at US Environmental Protection Agency.