Director of Edification & Philanthropy
Rebekah joined Edify in February 2024 as a Director of Edification & Philanthropy for the Austin/San Antonio area. With an extensive background in development and experience as a family mentor in Uganda, alongside her husband Daniel, she is passionate about ministry growth and youth coming to know Christ. With a BS in Psychology and a minor in crisis counseling, Rebekah is dedicated to making a positive impact in her community. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, and camping with her husband. Together, with her husband, Daniel and Rebekah lead Young Life in their small, central Texas town.
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Uganda
Prior to joining Edify, Josephats served as the Regional Coordinator for Monitoring, Evaluation and Organizational Learning at Cornerstone Development Africa for nine years and had served in different capacities at the same organization for over six years. He is passionate about teaching and has served as a part-time lecturer at Kyambogo University, Uganda Martyrs University (UMU), and Africa Renewal University (ARU) at various times over a period of more than 15 years. Josephats has also worked as a consultant and trainer/workshop facilitator for several organizations in East Africa in the areas of strategic management, monitoring and evaluation, leadership development, and human resource management for over 10 years. Additionally, he has worked as a Human Resources Assistant at the United Nations Regional Service Centre Entebbe (UNRSCE) and served as student president for Campus Crusade for Christ (locally known as LIFE Ministry) at Makerere University Business School, as well as served at his local church in Uganda. He possesses an MSc in Monitoring and Evaluation from Uganda Martyrs’ University, an MBA from AMITY University and a Bachelor of Hospitality Management from Makerere University.
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Director
José Ochoa has dedicated his career to serving leaders who fight for transcendental causes. He has studied at UNALM in Peru, at MIT, GWU, and Eastern University in the US, and at Salamanca University in Spain. His degrees include Engineering, MBA, and master’s degrees in Consulting and Coaching. As a former Country Director of World Vision in Ecuador and a board member of various Christian organizations, he has played a role in child development, financial inclusion, and the social commitment of the Church. Currently, as CEO of Australis, José is honoring the impact of the Church in the Southern Hemisphere and demonstrating its contribution to the rest of the world. He is also the Vice President of Corporación Cristiana Semillas, which has helped establish over 30,000 churches in Latin America. He resides in Quito, Ecuador, and has two daughters who live in Germany. José is also the author of two books and an active member of the Ecuador Mosaic Church.
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Director of Edification and Philanthropy
Erin Conrad joined Edify in September 2023 as Director of Edification & Philanthropy. Prior to joining the Edify team, she served for 10 years as Director of Development for Atlanta Youth Academy, a Christ-centered independent school serving children in Atlanta’s inner-city. Prior to that position, she served on staff with Young Life Expeditions Africa. Through these experiences, the Lord has given Erin a passion for the transforming power of educational opportunity. Erin graduated from Vanderbilt University with a BA in English. She enjoys playing golf, traveling, and reading. She especially loves spending time in the mountains hiking and relaxing with her family. She and her husband, Stuart, reside in Atlanta, Georgia, and have a wonderfully crazy blended family with eight children.
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Bolivia
Grisel Quiroga Villanueva joined Edify in August of 2023 as Country Director of Bolivia. Prior to joining Edify, she has more than 20 years of experience in Christian education in the various roles of teacher, pedagogue, academic coordinator, school principal, researcher, trainer of teachers, and educational consultant. Throughout her experience, she has been responsible for designing and managing a virtual education model, applying biblical education perspectives to teaching, creating a long-term plan for student academic success, coordinating the design and management of an emotional well-being program, and more. She has been in charge of overseeing more than 900 students and 70 employees. She strongly believes that God called her to serve Him through education, and He gave her the gift of teaching, serving, and guidance to accomplish her mission. Grisel has a bachelor’s of Science Degree in Education as well as other educational certificates specific to the implementation of Bolivia’s curriculum, Special Needs Teaching for Children, and Innovation and Technology in Education.
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Ecuador
Santiago Gamboa joined Edify in July 2023. Previously, he worked in the Ministry of Education of Ecuador, overseeing the Department of Educational Support, Monitoring, and Regulation. Prior to that, he spent 15 years in various non-profit organizations and Christian ministries, leading and implementing social projects through training, strengthening local child protection networks, and Christian education programs. He also spent six years teaching in higher education. Santiago has a Bachelor’s Degree in Child Psychology and Education, a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Family Education from the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, and a Master’s Degree in Psychopedagogy and Neuropsychology at the San Gregorio University of Ecuador and the IMF International Business School in Madrid-Spain. Santiago is married and has one daughter. They are active members of their local church, where they serve as youth leaders as well as preach.
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Ghana
Florentine Adjoa Ansah-Asare is the Country Director for Edify Ghana. She joined Edify in February 2017 as an Education Specialist and was responsible for designing, implementing, following up and assessing Edify’s programs for school improvement and school leadership development in its partner schools. She acted as a coach, providing support supervision for school leaders. In March 2022, Florentine was appointed the Program Lead, Impact Assessment where she was responsible for tracking progress and measuring outcomes of Edify’s interventions in partner schools in the country program. As the Impact Assessment Program Lead, she supported, advised, coached, and provided training and technical assistance to staff and field partners, assisting them in maximizing their effectiveness through the design and implementation of Impact Assessment systems (baseline, performance and impacts assessments, reporting, formative evaluations, summative evaluations) based on the Edify Outcomes Map. She worked closely with the Edify Core and Champion Schools and was responsible for the managing the entries of new schools to the program. Before joining Edify, Florentine served as a Communication and Research Specialist with Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation (GILLBT) on the USAID Partnership for Education: LEARNING. She served as a Project Coordinator, Administrative Assistant and Chinese translator […]
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Director
Howard is the co-founder of Cori, an education company focused on removing barriers to hands-on creating and STEAM learning in schools. Howard brings a unique skill set with a technical background in engineering, passion for teaching, and entrepreneurial spirit to innovate in the education space. He has an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University, Multiple-Subjects CA Teaching Credential and a MA in Cross Cultural Teaching from National University. As a former STEM classroom teacher, professional development coordinator, and school technology director, Howard has always been a strong advocate for STEAM and EdTech programs in schools around the world.
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Peru
Joel Cuadra is a professional in business administration with a specialization in strategic marketing with 12 years of experience in the corporate world and the nonprofit sector. Prior to joining Edify, he served as Director of Community Development & Evangelism and Public Relations Manager for Operation Blessing International, visiting communities all around Peru, leading, training, and implementing programs for community leaders’ development. Also, he was responsible for the measurement and monitoring of action plans of evangelism, seeking not only attendance but spiritual improvement in the lives of people and families. In the private sector, Joel has been involved in the marketing teams of different companies. He also has experience leading teams of 30+ members of different departments for the real estate sector. Additionally, he was in charge of managing relationships for over 200 clients. Joel has a Bachelor’s degree in business administration from San Ignacio de Loyola University and graduated in marketing from IPAE Business School. Joel is happily married to his wife Malu and is a proud father of his son, Luca. His family is actively involved in their local church, where they serve as youth leaders.
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El Salvador
Rafael joined Edify in March 2022 as Country Director for El Salvador. Prior to joining Edify, Rafael worked as a consultant for Fundes Latin America for a Coca Cola project, where he gained field work experience for four years. He also served as Executive Director of the Salvadoran Airlines Association for 12 years, where he gained valuable experience in non-profit organizations. Rafael studied Business Administration with a specialization in Project Management for Non-profit Organizations and Civil Society Organizations. Rafael has been a disciple of Jesus for 26 years in the International Church of Christ in El Salvador where he has served since then. Rafael and his wife, Merly, were trained and appointed as pastoral counselors in the church and enjoy supporting the Married Ministry as well.
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