AFAM ONYEMA
CO-FOUNDER, DIRECTOR & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Afam Onyema graduated cum laude from Harvard University 2001 and worked for Hill & Knowlton, Inc., a global public relations firm. He entered Stanford Law School in 2004.

During his time at Stanford, he served as Vice President of the Black Law Students’ Association and a two-time Public Interest Fellow. In January 2006, Afam traveled to Ghana through the law school’s International Community Law Clinic. He also co-founded GEANCO during his time at Stanford. After graduating in 2007, Afam declined multiple lucrative corporate law offers in order to lead GEANCO full-time.

Afam has been profiled and/or interviewed by BBC News, National Public Radio (NPR), People Magazine, Vanity Fair, US News & World Report, Forbes, Hollywood Reporter, Huffington Post, American Lawyer, NBC News, Harvard Magazine, Stanford Magazine, Stanford Lawyer, Ebony Magazine, Newsweek and multiple podcasts. In 2020, he was named one of the Top Ten Most Influential Africans in the Diaspora.

TONY ARCHIBONG

Education 
Bachelor of Science in Economics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

Professional Experience
Tony is currently an LA-based Managing Director at Google where his team leads commercial and distribution partnerships across the Home Entertainment category (TV, Music, Sports, etc) for YouTube products globally. Spanning almost 20 years of experience in the tech and media industries, Tony has accumulated a passion for content creation, product development, consumer entertainment, and the ability for platforms to be used for scaled story-telling. Prior to joining YouTube, Tony served in senior roles at various Tech, Media and Entertainment companies such as Apple, Hulu, and Microsoft. 

DR. KEVIN EL-HAYEK

Education
BA Biology, Harvard University
MD, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Kevin is co-leader of GEANCO’s minimally-invasive medical missions to Nigeria.  He personally recruits and organizes our mission team members and trained dozen of Nigerian doctors and surgeons on the trips.  He is the Section Head of Endoscopic Surgery and Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery at the MetroHealth System in Cleveland, OH. He is also an Associate Professor of Surgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED).

MARK JOHNSON

Education
BA, University of Virginia

Professional Experience
Mark Johnson is an Oscar (Rain Man) and Emmy (Breaking Bad)-winning producer who has produced over forty-five films and television shows.  His recent slate of motion pictures includes the Oscar-nominated The Holdovers and The Chronicles of Narnia franchise.

Previously, he produced Nick Cassavetes’ dramas My Sister’s Keeper, starring Cameron Diaz; The Notebook, based on Nicholas Sparks’ best-selling novel; Lance Hammer’s Sundance award-winning film Ballast; the Tim Allen and Sigourney Weaver sci-fi comedy Galaxy Quest directed by Dean Parisot; The Rookie directed by John Lee Hancock; Mike Newell’s gangster drama Donnie Brasco starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino; and Clint Eastwood’s A Perfect World starring Kevin Costner.

Johnson produced all of the writer-director Barry Levinson’s films from 1982-1994. In addition to Rain Man, their diverse slate of acclaimed features includes Good Morning Vietnam, The Natural, Tin Men, Avalon, Diner (their 1982 debut project, for which Levinson earned an Oscar nomination for his screenplay), and Bugsy, nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. Bugsy also captured a Best Picture Golden Globe Award. Mark produced the Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts feature film Secret In Their Eyes, as well as Logan Lucky, directed by Steven Soderberg and starting Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, Hilary Swank and Adam Driver.

In television, he was executive producer of the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning drama Breaking Bad since the series began. He is also executive producer of the Sundance Channel’s first scripted series Rectify, created by Ray McKinnon, and the AMC series Interview with the Vampire, Mayfair Witches, Halt and Catch Fire, and the Breaking Bad spin-off, Better Call Saul.

Johnson is a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and has served as the Chair of the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Selection Committee.

SAM NESWICK

Education
BA Economics, Harvard University
MBA, Harvard Business School

​Sam served as Chief Operating Officer of Participant Media, a leading media company dedicated to entertainment that inspires and compels social change.  Sam oversaw corporate strategy and operations, investments, innovation, corporate development, and strategic partnerships, in line with the company’s mission.

Sam joined Participant in 2014 as senior vice president, Strategic Planning, and previously served as chief strategy officer.  Prior to Participant, Sam held senior positions at The Walt Disney Company in Corporate Strategy and Business Development, including responsibility for the landmark acquisition of Lucasfilm and strategic expansion in Asia.  Prior to Disney, Sam worked in management consulting at Bain & Company.

EBELE ONYEMA

Education
BA Political Economics, Georgetown University
MA Social Work, University of Chicago

Professional Experience
Social Impact Lead, Hinge – New York, NY
Director, One Love Foundation – New York, NY
Vice President Global Strategic Planning, Zeno Group – New York, NY
Love Works Director, Soul City Church – Chicago, IL
Director of the CONNECT Center, Y.O.U. (Youth Organizations Umbrella, Inc.) – Evanston, IL
Teacher and Leadership Program Coordinator, Young Women’s Leadership Charter School – Chicago, IL
Velocity Sports & Entertainment Inc. – Norwalk, CT
Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates – Marketing Consultant, Project Manager – New York, NY

Has worked on the production of galas, concerts and seminars on behalf of major organizations, including Georgetown University, MTV, The NFL, and O, The Oprah Magazine.

Areas of Expertise
Event planning and execution, marketing, public relations, human development

GOZIE ONYEMA

Education
AB Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University
JD, University of Wisconsin Law School

Professional Experience
Associate General Counsel, Smiths Group PLC – Washington, DC
Attorney, Holland & Knight LLP – Washington, DC
Attorney, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP – Washington, DC
Legal Intern, Essex Newark Legal Services – Newark, NJ
Project Assistant, Sidley Austin LLP – Chicago, IL

Areas of Expertise
International trade law, regulatory energy law, and strategic planning

NCHE ONYEMA

Education
BA Communications, Boston College

Professional Experience
Visionary and insightful leader with the proven ability to build innovative experiences rooted in empathy that make an organization’s mission come to life.

Nche utilizes human-centered design methodologies in order to amplify the voices of those we serve, and she helps ensure that organizations’ partners feel authentically connected to the populations they impact. She views this as a key lever for scalable and sustainable impact.

Motivated by the desire to promote greater fairness and equity in society, Nche leads organizations and teams to deliver engagement solutions that break down barriers to equal access, empower marginalized communities, and dismantle systems of oppression.

Nche is a do-er and a storyteller who fosters an environment of excellence and collaboration while being a catalyst for growth in failure and innovation. She is a strategic thinker who maintains a short distance between creativity and vision and execution and iteration.

Nche serves on the Brain Trust of GreenHouse::Innovation, a social innovation consultancy that uses a uniquely human approach to problem modeling and solution design. She is also a choreographer and dance instructor. In her spare time, she enjoys travel, cooking and co-ed flag football.

Areas of Expertise
Has conceived and led the production and execution of multiple charity events and galas, conventions, and large-scale international and national sporting events, including GEANCO’s inaugural virtual gala and Chicago galas.

Key Skills: Community Engagement, Human-Centered Design, Event Production and Design, Project Management, Cross-Team Collaboration, Designing for Social Justice and Equity

Strength-Finder Themes: Futuristic, Maximizer, Ideation, Activator, Strategic

JUSTIN STEELE
SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE INVESTMENT COMMITTEE

Education 
BA Economics, Gettysburg College

Professional Experience
Justin is a Managing Partner and Financial Advisor at Paradigm Wealth, a Registered Investment Advisory firm in Bridgewater, NJ. Prior to joining Paradigm, Justin worked at Janus Capital Group for more than a decade and most recently lead the firm’s distribution efforts as the Director of Northern New Jersey.

With almost 20 years of experience in the financial industry, Justin brings a passion for understanding the markets and the unique needs of the individuals and organizations he serves. And having supported non-profits such as The Pat Tillman Foundation and Habitat for Humanity in the past, Justin’s commitment to serve continues as he joins GEANCO.

SCOT HOPPS
SPECIAL ADVISOR AND SENIOR COUNSELOR TO THE CEO

Education 
BA Biological Anthropology, Harvard University
M.S.Eng., Energy Engineering, University of Massachusetts at Lowell

Professional Experience
Lark Hotels, Director of Hotels – Massachusetts
Saunders Hotel Group & EcoLogical Solutions, Director of Sustainability – Boston, MA
Waterline Alternative Energies, Energy Project Engineer – Boston, MA
The Charles Hotel, Director of Front Office Operations – Cambridge, MA
Hotel Teatro, Hotel Manager – Denver, CO

Areas of Expertise
General management, hotel management, budgeting, business development, customer relations, mechanical engineering and renewable energy

CHESS STETSON, PH.D
SPECIAL ADVISOR FOR TECHNOLOGY AND SYMPOSIA

Education
AB, Physics, Harvard University
MS, Neuroscience, University of Texas
Ph.D, Computation and Neural Systems, California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

Professional Experience
Co-Founder of dRisk
Postdoc at Caltech
Assistant Staff at MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Research Assistant at Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

Areas of Expertise
Neurobiology, computer science, engineering, website design and graphic design

JENNIFER STETSON
SPECIAL ADVISOR FOR MEDIA AND PRODUCTION

Jennifer was born and raised in Hackensack, New Jersey.  She has been fascinated with the craft of storytelling her whole life.  After a brief stint in investment banking, Jennifer took her business skills to Los Angeles, where she worked on a Showtime film, Fathers and Sons, directed by Rodrigo Garcia.  She then spent several years in film and miniseries production at HBO, working on such films as Maria Full of Grace, Walkout, Grey Gardens and You Don’t Know Jack.

Jennifer co-executive produced the feature film Entry Level. staring DB Sweeney, Missi Pyle, Kurtwood Smith and Cedric Yarbrough.  Jennifer has also produced several short films, including the award-winning El Tux.

Jennifer directed and produced Rise and Walk, a short documentary of GEANCO’s 2011 medical mission in Nigeria.  The doc was featured at the 2012 Hollyshorts Film Festival in Hollywood.  She has narrated several of the Foundation’s videos and advises CEO Afam Onyema on all media and production-related matters.

PABLO CLARKE
SPECIAL ADVISOR FOR LEGAL AND STRATEGIC AFFAIRS

Education
MBA, University of California, Berkeley, 2014
JD, University of Arizona, 2008
BA, Princeton University, 2000

As a Partner in Paul Hastings LLP Los Angeles office, Pablo advises clients on a full complement of real estate and finance transactions, including mortgage and mezzanine financing, preferred equity transactions, corporate REIT financing, acquisitions and dispositions, acquisition financing, joint ventures, and commercial leasing. He also helps private equity firms, investors, REITs, and financial institutions on matters across a variety of real estate asset classes, including office, industrial, raw land, retail, hospitality, single and multifamily developments, and medical.