Who We Are

As the senior FCDE representative in Uganda, Sylvia has been with the organization since inception in 2011. She has more than 14 years of experience with nonprofit organizations and is passionate about sustainable development through empowering grassroots community groups. A strong believer in positive thinking and team building, she regularly engages her staff in consensus-building exercises and values the power of mentorship, collaborative communication, and spearheading strong leaders. She is energized by the Local Partner Organizations who are championing sustainable development in the communities they serve.

Outside work, she enjoys spending time with her sons, reading and dancing to good music (We can dance!). Also ask her about soccer, a game she has loved since childhood. Sylvia can be reached at sylvia@fcde-dev.org.

Barnabas is an experienced fundraiser, grant-writer, and program planner. He has been working to promote the right to holistic education and wellbeing for rural children for the past three years.

Dedicating himself to empowering grassroots organizations at FCDE, Barnabas is passionate about working with our local partners to fight poverty and injustices in their communities. He is a certified coach in small business development for low income women and has been an African Visionary Fellow with the Segal Family Foundation.

Barnabas enjoys jogging with his wife and seeing his three sons grow. He can be reached at barnabas@fcde-dev.org.

A proud member of the FCDE team since 2015, Robert is passionate about building effective programs and trainings that advance knowledge in information communication technology for grassroots community organizations. He has expertise in website designing, computer networking, repair and maintenance, and digital marketing and communication.

Robert enjoys being out with friends and playing with his four children, Elvis, Ellyssa, Elliana, and Nishtha during his free time. Robert has a strong conviction in teamwork and believes that Together Every One Achieves More (TEAM). Contact Robert at robertb@fcde-dev.org.

Robert received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Nkumba University. He is an innovative and self-driven accountant professional who strives to learn new ways of doing things and looks for challenges that take him out of his comfort zone. Robert has been with FCDE since 2016 and is responsible for supporting the fiscal management and transparency of the organization. He has strong interpersonal and communication skills and enjoys the energy he gets from his colleagues that work with him.

Beyond his professional work, Robert loves watching soccer and is a fan of Manchester United football club; He also likes dancing and swimming. Please feel free to contact him at robertm@fcde-dev.org.

Prior to joining FCDE, Juliet worked with grassroots communities to implement innovative initiative programs to improve community cohesion and development. She likes learning new things that help her to grow and create results and also motivated by local partner organizations that are self-driven who enjoy their work and make a difference in their communities.

She loves cooking and singing. Juliet is a community advocate against domestic violence among families through music, and skits that portray messages of hope to those affected by domestic violence and other injustices. She also likes watching soccer and African movies. For any information contact Juliet at juliet@fcde-dev.org.

A true FCDE old timer, having worked with us since 2011, Benard is responsible for maintaining the office premises, and most appreciatively, ensuring that all the FCDE Kasese staff are well-fed, happy, and comfortable every day of the workweek! Benard has almost a decade of experience working in a nonprofit organization in office maintenance and management and holds a certificate in catering services.

In his free time, Benard enjoys watching football and cheering for Chelsea, listening to music, watching adventure and action movies, and doing business at his local retail shop in Kasese Town. Feel free to reach out to him at bernard@fcde-dev.org.

As a team leader, Patience has been a part of the FCDE family since 2016. She is dedicated to the growth and sustainability of our partner grassroots organizations and enjoys playing an active role in increasing their impact in the community. Believing accomplishments are best achieved through teamwork, she is a flexible and dependable leader to FCDE staff! Approaching nearly a decade of experience in the NGO world, Patience excels at networking and values partnership building as a cornerstone for sustainable development.

Patience is a family person. Outside work, she spends her time with her 2 daughters and loves being with family on weekends. She also enjoys listening to music. You may reach Patience at patience@fcde-dev.org.

With over 15 years of experience in design and delivery of context appropriate programs, Gordon has managed systems that strengthen programs at community, regional and national levels. A graduate of Makerere University, he is a member of many professional organizations and committees with skills in developing and delivering strategic and innovative programs that address the social and health needs of a wide range of audiences. Joining FCDE in May 2019, Gordon is a natural peacemaker with an excellent sense of humor and is everyone’s friend.

An avid jogger, Gordon can do 21 KM on a good day. He likes sports, especially tennis and would not fail to mention anyone that will offer him a free tennis kit in his will! He is a strong believer in talent development and works with a youth football team in his community with one of his sons training to be a professional footballer. Feel free to contact him at gordon@fcde-dev.org.

With a passion for community engagement and commitment to social change, Moses joined FCDE in 2021. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurship and Project Planning from Uganda Christian University-Mukono. Along with his strong academic background, Moses has internship and volunteer experience in the community development space.

A self-motivated individual, Moses believes that there is always a way to create meaningful change in society. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer and loves to connect with his peers through a friendly match. You can reach out to him at: moses@fcde-dev.org.

Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Reachel’s expertise includes designing graphics, installation and maintenance of computer systems and the integration of end-to-end security solutions. After joining the FCDE team in 2019, Reachel has been inspired by strengthening communities with knowledge and skills in data communication technology and looks forward to enhancing our local partners’ capacity in creating a positive and lasting change in their communities.

She enjoys spending her leisure time with family, discovering new opportunities, adventuring new places, and listening to music.You can reach out to Reachel at reachel@fcde-dev.org.

With extensive experience in office management, Beatrace has had 4 years of working experience with TASO Rukungiri and  joins FCDE with administrative, interpersonal and organizing skills. She manages staff welfare ensuring that everything at the site is taken care of! Bearace is interested in strengthening her interpersonal relationships.

In her free time, Beatrace enjoys socializing and catching up with friends.  Feel free to reach out to her at beatracenabaasa@gmail.com

A nonprofit devotee, for more than 25 years, Rebecca has been working with change-making organizations dedicated to youth and community development across the globe. Domestically, she has worked as the Director of Family Counseling Services for a San Francisco Beacon Center and the Director of Indian Education for the American Indian Child Resource Center in Oakland. Internationally, she was a youth development Peace Corps Volunteer in the Kingdom of Tonga and has held senior positions with the Asante Africa Foundation based in Kenya and Tanzania, the Foundation for Sustainable Development in Uganda, and currently with FCDE, as the Director of Operations. Her education and clinical training include Master’s Degrees in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco and in International Social Development from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and American Studies with a Peace and Justice Studies concentration from Tufts University.

As FCDE’s first team member (in it for the long haul), Rebecca is inspired daily by the dedicated teams in Uganda who work tirelessly to impact sustainable change. Rebecca also serves on three community boards, supports the family business, and can be found embarking on mystical adventures with her daughter typically involving coastal sand, fairy dust, and much laughter. Feel free to contact her at rebecca@fcde-dev.org.

Eric has worked and studied in the field of sustainable economic development for two decades. With a Masters degree from Thunderbird (the American School for International Management), he has focused on issues of sustainable development and its influence on the social, political and economic development issues throughout the world. Eric served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Papua New Guinea where he taught mathematics and consulted with the local community on sustainable forestry projects. Following the Peace Corps, Eric ran an NGO on the Navajo Reservation that focused on sustainable development by integrating health, literacy and economic development projects to address a wide range of needs for local native families.

Five years later Eric’s desire to work abroad returned, taking him to Sofia, Bulgaria where he served as an Associate Peace Corps Director. In this role he worked with over 400 volunteers to help assure that their two years of volunteer service were relevant, productive and safe. Eric returned to the U.S. as Executive Director of the Foundation for Sustainable Development, which brought interns, small grants and technical training to small grassroots organizations in support of their development work. In 2010, Eric established the Foundation for Community Development and Empowerment.

Heidi served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroon from 1989-1991 and has a Masters Degree in Environmental Health from Oregon State University. As part of her graduate work, Heidi conducted a microbiological assessment of water quality in streams throughout the state of Oregon. Following her graduate studies, Heidi moved to Thoreau, New Mexico and worked with Navajo women to provide a home-health visiting program for expecting and new mothers. While in New Mexico, she developed a nationally distributed catalog for Native American artisans that provided them with a greatly expanded market. In 2002, Heidi and her family moved to Sofia, Bulgaria where Heidi worked with a gallery that supported local, disabled, minority and orphaned artisans.

Heidi now lives in Ketchum, Idaho and is the mother of two wonderful boys. She is an active volunteer for the schools, environmental causes and international development.

Founding Advocates for the West in 2003, Laird has been a leader in environmental litigation for over twenty years– compiling a strong track record of success for the conservation movement in Idaho and other western states. He has won many decisions in federal and state courts over public lands logging, grazing, water quality, endangered species, water rights, and other environmental issues. Among other awards, United Vision for Idaho named him the 2002 Idaho Environmental Leader of the Year; the Wilderness Society named him an “Environmental Hero” in 2003; and a leading publication has named him a “Mountain State Super Lawyer” every year since 2007 for environmental litigation. Laird is a 1986 graduate of Yale Law School, and has an MA in International Relations from Yale Graduate School.

Scott is FCDE’S newest Board member and holds an MBA from the University of Washington. He brings private sector experience and perspectives to the table that enrich conversations about organizational growth and business development. We are grateful for his support and passion for the impactful work that FCDE does in Uganda.

As chairperson at Nyabikuuku Women in Development (NUWID), Christine has been working with community based organizations and women groups since 2010. She is passionate about seeing women and girls’ empowered and taking leadership roles in transforming their households and communities. With more than 13 years of experience in community development work, Christine believes in locally led solutions that enhance women’s empowerment and strongly believes that when you empower women, you develop the nation. Outside of work, Christine enjoys farming and does it as a business!  You can reach out to her at akankundachristine@gmail.com

Bathsheba is a Community Psychologist and Social Worker with more than fifteen years of field experience in social work and community-based interventions. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Community Psychology, a Counseling Psychology Certificate, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Planning and Management.  She has had extensive experience working with communities as a District Probation and Welfare Officer / OVC Focal Officer, an HIV counselor, a Community Linkages Officer in the USAID-RHITES South Western Region, and other responsibilities at a household level. Bathsheba enjoys playing volleyball and interacting with children. You can reach out to her at bbahumwire@gmail.com.

Betty has more than 23 years of community work experience implementing programs with UNICEF, Save the Children, ACODEV and South Rwenzori Diocese.  She has championed work in the promotion and protection of children’s rights, maternal and child health, access to safe water, HIV/AIDs prevention and the mentorship of women leaders.  She holds a Masters Degree in Public Health Leadership and Master of Arts in Contextualized Pastoral Ministry. Betty has a diverse understanding of the cultural context in Uganda and in working with local governments, advocacy, leadership and quality control.

James Ssekikubo Katumba, a Ugandan, is the co-founder and Managing Director of Wezesha Impact. He has a Bachelor’s Degree with Education from Makerere University and holds certifications as a Master Trainer for UN-ILO’s entrepreneurship programs and UNICEF’s UPSHIFT social innovation program. James also pursued the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship in Education Administration, Planning, and Policy at Vanderbilt University.

Muhindo Jackson Rukara Holds a Master of Science in Development Management from the Open University , A bachelor’s degree in Adult and Community Education from Makerere University, a post graduate Dip. Development management, Post certificate in Managing development, post graduate certificate in war intervention and development, post graduate certificate in development context and practice.  Jackson Muhindo Rukara is the oxfam GROW campaign lead in Uganda –Mobilisisng alliances and Networks for Influencing the enactment, financing and implementation of climate change policies and programmes , Jackson has been part of the Oxfam COP advocacy and campaign global team for the las 4 Conferences Of Parties  on Climate Change (COP 23 in Bonn, COP24 in Katowice-Poland, COP25 in Madrid and COP26 in Scotland) doing advocacy on Agriculture under the KJWA as well Loss and Damage and Adaptation Financing.