Our Leadership & Board

OUR LEADERSHIP & BOARD

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Terri A. Khonsari

Founder & Executive Director
Chairwoman of the Board

Terri Khonsari was born and raised in Iran and lived in Germany for 10 years where she earned her Master's Degree in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of Hannover. Terri is also a graduate of the Executive Program for Nonprofit Leaders at Stanford Graduate School of Business.

While leading Families Without Borders, Terri has been supporting the Techwomen program since its expansion to Sub-Saharan Africa in 2013. She has served as cultural mentor as well as an impact advisor to different African teams.

Prior to founding Families Without Borders in 2011, Terri worked in corporate management, consulting and coaching as well as in business management in the medical industry. Terri has a positive outlook on life and sees the potential in all people and situations. She strives to make the most out of everything in front of her. This attitude and perspective have been the key contributor for success and growth of Families Without Borders.

Terri currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband who always has been by her side from the inception of Families Without Borders and supported the work wholeheartedly throughout the years. Terri is the recipient of a Global Citizen Award from the United Nations Association (2012) for the impact of Families Without Borders on global development.

Arthur Bart‐Williams

Arthur Bart‐Williams, of Sierra Leonean descent, is a serial entrepreneur who has founded four technology companies in the last 20 years, including Canogle, a Smartphone‐based storytelling platform that is used by the San Francisco Bay Trail, National Park Service and John Muir Land Trust.

Arthur was a practicing licensed civil engineer, earning his BS from U.C. Berkeley after emigrating from Sierra Leone. As a child, he primarily studied in London and traveled extensively with his parents who served in the diplomatic service. Today Arthur is expanding his latest venture, Vizzit, a mobile platform for destinations and venues to share stories about the places they love. Arthur lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and three daughters.

Hamid M. Khonsari, M.D.

Dr. Hamid Khonsari has been working as a board-certified family physician since 1989. In addition to his private clinic in Antioch, Dr. Khonsari offers his time and free medical services as Medical Director to Rota Care, a free clinic for the less fortunate and uninsured patients in the Pittsburg area. Dr. Khonsari graduated from Ross University School of Medicine in New York in 1984 and completed his residency at Jamaica Hospital as chief resident. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Adelphi University in Long Island, New York.

Dr. Khonsari has been with Families Without Borders from its inception and has contributed to the work financially and strategically throughout the years.

ADVISORY BOARD

Jack Canfield

Jack Canfield is the Founder of Chicken Soup for the Soul Enterprises and the Foundation of Self‐Esteem. He is the author and editor of more than 200 books and audio programs, including The Success Principles and more than 100 Chicken Soup for the Soul titles.

Affectionately known as “America’s No. 1 Success Coach,” Jack Canfield has also conducted intensive personal and professional development seminars for more than a million people worldwide. Many more millions have seen him on national media, as well as in the movie and the book The Secret, in which he was featured as one of the teachers.

Mr. Canfield holds a BA from Harvard University and a Master’s Degree from University of Massachusetts.

Counselor Dr. Yvette Chesson‐Wureh

Counselor Chesson‐Wureh is the Establishment Coordinator of the Angie Brooks International Centre (ABIC) for Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security, which was the concrete outcome of the International Colloquium. In a coalition with more than 30 other women and youth groups, she initiated a non‐violent elections campaign entitled “The Peace Is in Our Hand,” which she successfully established as the “Women's Situation Room” (WSR) for the Liberian elections in 2011. The Women's Situation Room has now been successfully replicated in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda and Ghana.

In her capacity as Establishment Coordinator of ABIC, Counselor Chesson‐Wureh played critical roles in chairing the logistics and event planning committee for the United Nations High Level Panel (HLP) on the post Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), held in Liberia in 2015 and co‐chaired by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the President of Indonesia.

An advocate and a champion of women’s rights and gender equality, Counselor Yvette Chesson‐Wureh has served in different capacities in International Women’s Colloquium for Women’s Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security, which was co‐convened by H.E. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and H.E. President Tarja Halonen of Finland that brought together over two thousand women from around the world including four sitting presidents (Liberia, Finland, Rwanda and Senegal).

Counselor Dr. Yvette Chesson‐Wureh of Liberia obtained a juris doctorate law degree with honors from the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) School of Law. She is one of the 18 Global Commissioners of the United States Academy of Science and Medicine.

Professor Linda Herkenhoff

Linda Herkenhoff is currently a professor in the Graduate School of Business at Saint Mary’s College where she teaches Leadership and Organizational Behavior and Quantitative Analysis. She serves as the Director of the Global MBA program where she supervises social service projects in countries at the base of the economic pyramid. These projects strive to balance people, planet and profit.

Linda is the past executive director of human resources for Stanford University. Linda’s university degrees include BS in geophysics from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, MBA from Saint Mary’s College, MA in engineering from U.C. Berkeley and Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Management at the University of Western Australia.

Chike Nwoffiah

Chike Nwoffiah is the founder and executive director of the Silicon Valley African Film Festival (SVAFF). He is an award‐winning filmmaker and the president of Rhesus Media Group, a full‐service media production and consulting firm in California and South Africa.

Chike was named as one of the “Top Ten Most Influential African Americans” in the San Francisco Bay Area by CityFlight Magazine in 2000.

Chike has been a guest lecturer and keynote speaker at many universities, conferences and events. He is a graduate of the University of Lagos, Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business INM program, and the Hollywood Film Institute. He is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum – Silicon Valley and serves on multiple advisory boards.

LEADERSHIP

Terri A. Khonsari

Founder & Executive Director

Ayuko Picot
Director of Operations, USA

Ayuko Picot brings her passion for international education and development to her role at Families Without Borders. Prior to joining FWB, Ayuko served as the Operations Director at UniversalGiving, leading the recruitment process and helping improve operational systems.

She previously conducted social science research in the fields of gender equality and civil society in Ghana, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Her diverse experience ranges from serving as a researcher for Millennium Cities Initiative to designing curriculum for Deloitte and leading a social entrepreneurship course for high school students at Stanford University. Ayuko earned her BS from Georgetown University and her MAs in International Education and Political Science from Columbia University and Northwestern University respectively.

Adam Goguen, J.D.
Strategic Development Consultant, West Africa

Adam Goguen is a native of Massachusetts, who is based in Sierra Leone. He received a Juris Doctor from Columbia University in 2011 and a B.S. in International Relations from Seton Hall in 2007. Adam brings eight years of international nonprofit and educational management experience and has worked in Jamaica, South Africa, Liberia, South Sudan and Sierra Leone. He has previously held several key positions at the University of Makeni including: Director of Academic Affairs, Head of Law Department, and Lecturer of Law.

Currently, he serves as the Registrar at the Canadian College of Modern Technology in Sierra Leone. Adam has been involved in various capacities with Families Without Borders since 2012.